DR JOHN MORGAN

RETENTION
members who report less progress and
never get spoken to by staff. In other
words, the negative effect of making
only low progress is nearly completely
cancelled out by always speaking to
members when they work out.
Summary
The amount of progress members make
towards their goals and the frequency
with which fitness staff talk to members
are both related to the likelihood of a
member retaining their membership.
However, these two things are
interlinked and have an additive effect
on the risk of cancelling.
When members receive frequent
communication from fi tness staff, they
are more likely to make progress that
in turn reduces their risk of cancelling.
Members who receive more fi tness staff
communication enjoy the exercise more
and are more likely to meet new friends
at the club. Frequent communication
plus high progress roughly halves the
risk of cancelling compared to no
communication and low progress.
Unfortunately, the members at the
highest risk of cancelling are least likely
to receive any communication from
gym staff. Staff are most likely to talk to
older, long-standing members who are
making good progress. This is somewhat
understandable, as these members have
been around long enough for fi tness
staff to get to know them and are in the
club more regularly than newer, younger
members. Also, the older, longerstanding
members are just as likely to
initiate a chat as staff are with them.
But the ‘at risk’ members need
targeting more to ensure they don’t
miss out on essential communication
with fi tness staff that could help them
make progress and extend the life of
their membership. This needs to be
systematic and not ad hoc, as a small
effect on a lot of members will save
the most memberships.
Figure 5.
Interaction between recent progress and fitness staff
communication on the risk of cancelling
Cancellation rate per 1000 members/month
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
19
30
19
23
Never Occasionally Frequently Always
13
18
14 15
High progress
Low progress
“Frequent communication plus high progress
roughly halves the risk of cancelling compared
to no communication and low progress”
Figure 6.
Seven-month risk of cancellation by level of progress
and frequency of fitness staff communication
Risk of cancelling (%)
25
20
15
10
5
Risk of cancelling by progress and fi tness interaction
Never Occasionally Frequently Always
Low progress
High progress
“If all low progress members were spoken
to at least frequently, 10 per cent of
cancellations each month would be avoided”
So what should operators do
Ensure members frequently Ensure members receive regular
receive support, encouragement reviews of their progress and
and motivation towards their subsequent programme updates
goals from fi tness staff
Develop a strategy for
Ensure staff recognise the
importance of goals that are
not just around physical and
physiological objectives –
enjoyment or social goals,
for example
identifying high risk members
that fi tness staff should
prioritise for interaction
Encourage staff to talk to all
members, not just those at
lowest risk of cancelling
Melvyn Hillsdon is associate
professor of exercise and health
at the University of Exeter, where
he researches physical activity
and population health. Since his
landmark retention report in 2001 (Winning the
Retention Battle), his research into retention
and attrition has led to the development of
appropriate measures of retention, attrition and
longevity that provide data for operators that can
directly inform business decisions. In partnership
with TRP, he has published numerous reports
into the determinants of membership retention.
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November/December 2014 © Cybertrek 2014