PEERS HELPING PEERS:
PF Certified Training Clubs
Provide Tailored Possibilities
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making our brand better. They are really
doing it for the right reason.”
After hearing Impact Fitness speak
about the program during the May
Huddles, Sunshine Fitness Management
knew it had to be part of the program.
“When the leadership team from the
Klebba group spoke about the CTC
in-depth, their excitement was obvious and
pushed our franchise to express interest in
becoming a CTC,” said Sunshine Fitness
Vice President of Operations Joe Landau.
“As the first franchisees, we feel a level of
responsibility to share our knowledge and
experiences to help other franchisees and
the Planet Fitness brand to continue to
‘Lead the Planet.’”
Sunshine Fitness chose its veteran
Orange City, Florida, club, which had
undergone recent renovations, to take
part in the program. The location is led
by longtime team members Keith Moore
and Daniel Oliver. “Keith has been with
us for eight years and has held numerous
positions, from front desk representative
to general manager,” Landau said. “He has
a passion for mentoring and teaching staff
members, and his integrity and communi-
cation skills we feel will have a great impact
on other franchisees.”
A positive experience is exactly what
the certified training club program is
about: people learning from people, not in
theory but in practice. “This program gives
franchisees an official resource where they
can ask questions and gather advice from
another group that has a lot of experience
in a multitude of situations,” Landau said.
“The CTC develops a community outside
of your respective franchise, allowing
franchisees to share best practices, improve
brand consistency and gain confidence.”
Perhaps one of the greatest attributes
of the program is the ability to tailor the
training to the needs of the trainee. “We
will actually have the trainee go through a
pre-training survey to indicate what areas of
operations they would like to train in,” said
Keirstead. “It helps us to understand what
their base level of knowledge is. Are they
pretty proficient in
daily operations and
they just want to
learn more about the
leadership aspect, or
are they completely
brand new and don’t
even know how to
by Jessica Loeding
ring in a bottle of
water?”
As the franchise base grows, PF sees the
increasing importance of offering a certified
training program. “What we realized is
we have gatherings and conferences where
people meet and they talk, but the CTC
program is a formal way of bringing people
together to share ideas and best practices,”
said Keirstead. “We are just providing a
platform from which they can share.”
Currently, there are seven certified
training clubs in the system, and 198
people have taken the certified training
manager exam. “Every single group has
gone above and beyond expectations and
are eager to share their passion and experi-
ence, so whether you are a new franchisee
to the system or you’ve been around a long
time and are just looking to innovate, I
would encourage any franchisee to consider
sending one of their team members to a
certified training club,” said Keirstead.
For those interested in becoming a
certified training location, there’s a reward
also. “This program has led us to utilize this
club as a place where our staff can go for
additional training and skillset improve-
ment. Our franchise has been pushed to
create better practices to use in the future.
It has also given the CTMs a real sense
of pride and comradery in working with
their team to accomplish the goals we set
together,” said Landau. “Lastly, there is a
companywide excitement as we embrace
the responsibility that will have a positive
effect in helping other groups.” G
Jessica Loeding is the PFIFA director of
communications and editor-in-chief of Geared
Up. You can reach Loeding at 678-797-5169
or [email protected].
hile certified training locations are
not a new concept in franchising,
the program is beginning to take off in the
Planet Fitness® system. Introduced just two
years ago, the PF® certified training club
(CTC) program brings franchisees together
in a pro ductive and structured environ-
ment to share ideas and best practices.
“A CTC is a location that serves as
a training environment for either new
or existing franchisees and their teams,”
explained PF Operations Systems Director
Katin Keirstead. “A prospective CTC
goes through an approval process with
the operations team before they earn the
designation of CTC.”
The process begins with a recom-
mendation from a franchise business coach.
Once the recommendation is received, the
club will be sent an evaluation form to
ensure they meet the basic requirements.
“We ask them to tell us a little bit more
about their training process,” Keirstead
said. “Oftentimes, they will use the PFU
online courses, but most groups have
additional training they will put people
through where they will talk about the
history of their franchise group, what
their core values are and more about their
individual organization.”
The club manager and regional
manager overseeing the location must pass
the certified training manager (CTM) exam
and have taken all of the online courses in
Planet Fitness University, in addition to
having attended a PFHQ-sponsored work-
shop and holding a brand excellence review
(BER) with a passing score. Preference is
given to candidates who have been through
a presale, grand opening or other projects
such as a re-equip. Once the basic qualifica-
tions are met, PFHQ will visit the club.
“We will interview the regional
manager and the club manager to get a
sense of why they want to participate,”
Keirstead said. “This program is very much
about peers helping peers. There is not a
lot of reward or glory involved. A benefit
to the CTC is they get to collaborate with
people who are invested and involved in
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