Augie In Action! Augie In Action! - Ihrsa

| News & Know How | News
In U.K., a
Changing
of the Guard
FIA chairman calls for creation
of National Wellness Service
> In an unprecedented move, Fred Turok,
the chairman of the Fitness Industry
Association (FIA), a nonprofit trade
organization based in the U.K. that,
among other things, works to promote
physical activity, has put pressure on the
government to change its approach to
healthcare. He’s called for the formation
of a National Wellness Service, which
would be similar to the National Health
Service (NHS), Britain’s publicly funded
healthcare system, but would focus less
on treating the sick and concentrate more
on fostering wellness and preventing the
onset of illness.
At the 2007 FIA Annual Industry Summit
in November, Turok, recognizing the everescalating
cost of healthcare, appealed to
government leaders to direct resources
toward the creation
of this new
service. Such a
move, he argued,
would “cost a
fraction of what
we currently
spend on treating
the lifestyle-related
diseases we
currently could
prevent, but fail
to do so.”
Fred
Turok
Pledging up to $1.1 billion in donations
from the fitness industry to initiate what
he termed an “Olympic Legacy,” Turok
recommended that the government make
the most of the nation’s underused fitness
resources, namely “6,000 gyms [located]
no more than 20 minutes from almost
90% of the population, and almost 25,000
trained fitness professionals.” (London
has been selected as the site for the 2012
Olympic and Paralympic Games.)
Prior to joining FIA, Turok had founded
and developed LA Fitness, one of the
U.K.’s leading club chains; it currently
has some 88 facilities and more than
250,000 members. —|
40 Club Business International | MARCH 2008 | www.ihrsa.org
Personal Training
Testing Trainer Effectiveness
By Dawn Allcot
The conventional wisdom is that three key factors contribute to a
personal trainer’s success—education/training; level of experience;
and interpersonal skills.
Cedric Bryant, Ph.D., the chief science officer for the American Council on
Exercise (ACE), is concerned that many club owners don’t give enough
consideration to the third area. “It’s called personal training for a reason,” he
asserts. “The trainer and the client must establish a good personal connection.”
So, how do you ensure that your trainers are delivering on the all-important
“personal” portion of their jobs?
Customer-service surveys are one way to determine
whether or not a trainer communicates clearly,
motivates clients without intimidating them, and
remains attentive during training sessions.
Bill Sonnemaker, the CEO of Catalyst Fitness, in
Kennesaw, Georgia, takes written assessments a
step further. His trainers complete self-evaluation
forms, providing in-depth responses to questions
about client retention, participation, and success, as
well as their own goals and efforts.
If you’re looking for solid numbers to evaluate a
trainer’s job performance, review client retention rates, Personal touch
new customers, hours worked, total revenue brought
in, and total clients. “If members are attending
regularly, not missing sessions, and seem to be getting a good experience, that would
indicate quality performance on the part of the trainer,” says Bryant.
Professional certifications provide another measurable benchmark. Sonnemaker
requires that his trainers be certified through the National Academy of Sports
Medicine (NASM), one of the many agencies that meets IHRSA’s recommendation
of accreditation by a third-party accrediting body. “I cannot impress upon you the
feeling of relief that comes from knowing that all of our trainers are playing on the
same field,” says Sonnemaker.
Certification goes hand-in-hand with ongoing education; experts recommend
that trainers receive a minimum of 10 hours per year of continuing education, in
the form of live workshops, seminars/conferences, distance-learning courses,
or written coursework.
Club owners may wish to consider providing tuition-assistance or paid time off
to encourage continuing education. “Personal training generates a significant
amount of revenue for most club operations,” Bryant points out. “It makes sense
for the club owner to invest in the people responsible for generating it.”
Bryant also suggests hosting a seminar or workshop onsite at the club. “It
makes it convenient for trainers to continue their education, but it also brings some
excitement to the club!”
Written evaluations and metrics assessments give club owners a yardstick by
which to measure trainers’ effectiveness, but nothing beats active management,
according to Bryant. “Walk the floor and observe your staff. When they understand
that you’re engaged in day-to-day operations, it will dramatically affect how your
staff approaches the job.” —|
– Dawn Allcot, dawnallcot@gmail.com