Leah Rich, the talent strategist for Talent Hack, shares how trainer perks have changed and what you should be offering them.
Your customers used to love the free ponytail holders and eucalyptus towels. While those perks might slightly elevate the experience, times have changed. The clients are coming and staying for the instructors.
Your instructors used to love the flashy perks too. You could hook new instructors with free childcare and a free gym membership, but they’re waking up to the fact that niceties don’t pay the bills and they have other options. The days of finding instructors to teach for less than $12/hour because they “just do it because they love it” are over. It’s time to invest in your people so they’ll invest in your customers.
What do they want? Convenience, alignment and money.
Convenience
Instructors used to accept the fact that they’d drive to the gym during rush hour to teach their 5:30 p.m. class. They accepted they’d have to show up 30 minutes before class and stay 30 minutes after to build their community. And they accepted they’d only be paid for the hour they taught. They agreed to these terms because there were no other options.
But then the pandemic hit. Rush hour traffic was no longer a thing, but neither were in-person group fitness classes. They didn’t waiver in their commitment to their clients so they pivoted and continued to serve their communities online, but often without the gym’s brand attached to it. They were representing their own personal brands, creating their own schedules and building their own loyal communities.
It wasn’t easy, but it was convenient. They didn’t have to worry about childcare. They gave their kids a coloring book and Legos to play with for an hour and we’d occasionally see their kids join them on their mat for added cuteness. An hour teaching literally meant an hour and they could repurpose that one class as an on-demand video so they weren’t trading their time for money.
So how do we lure instructors back to the old ways when they’ve grown accustomed to convenience? We make it convenient for them to come back.
You have the power of a built in audience. Their biggest pain point is finding new clients. They want the convenience of showing up, teaching a full class of people, enjoying their company a few minutes after class and then going back home to their families. They want the convenience of a built-in membership. Invest in your marketing and they’ll nurture every person who shows up for class to keep them coming back.
Alignment
There’s a reason your business is open. You exist to serve your community in a special and unique way. Do you help women strength train? Do you help people train for physique competitions? Whatever your mission statement is, make it clear.
Instructors and trainers are also getting clear on why they exist in the fitness space. Instead of working for you, they want to work with you. That means they’re looking for gyms that they’re aligned with instead of exclusively working at gyms with open slots.
Use the interview and audition as an opportunity for both of you to communicate who you are and what you stand for. You should make the decision on whether they’re aligned with your brand just as much as they should collect that data for themselves. Then, sell the opportunity. Tell them why working for you is going to help them impact the right people and create personal growth. They don’t care that they get free guest passes, they want to create real change in their clients’ lives. The more you believe in each other’s mission statement, the more collaborative the work experience. You’ll see an increase in trainer retention and happy paying clients.
Money
Industry average pay for fitness instructors at a gym hasn’t increased since the 80s. Instructors were used to making $35/class and not getting paid for any social media marketing or community building they did before or after class. They were used to not getting paid for the hour of programming and playlisting, but chalked it up to, “I love it, so it’s fine.”
We used to hear trainers say, “I know how to program workouts and make people feel good about themselves, but I don’t know sales and marketing.” They relied on you, the gym, to funnel them leads and facilitate the sale. It was understandable that the facility would take a large cut of the profits. But once they pivoted online, they discovered they only needed three participants in class to make the same amount of money. We’re seeing more fitness professionals build their personal brands and nurture their communities. So why would they come back to the gym and split the revenue?
While you may be funneling them new leads through your marketing efforts, your clients are sticking around because they love the experience created by the humans running your business. Reward them for their hard work and loyalty with money.
Pay scales with incentives are a great way to keep your trainers motivated to continue building their personal brands and market their classes. Set a base pay and add an additional bonus for every participant over a certain amount. For example, if the room fits 30 people, have their base start at $35 and give a bonus of $2 per person above 15 allowing them to cap out at $65 per class. This encourages them to nurture their communities so their participants come back and makes them feel valued for their efforts.
Show Up for Your People and They’ll Show Up for You
Hiring talent has changed, but it’s not impossible. If you believe in your trainers mission, pay them fairly and provide them with convenience, they will gladly come on board to build your brand and community.
