Geared Up Issue 4 2017 | Page 41

the financial aspect of the job, they also sought more recognition and appreciation. The changes Sunshine Fitness made to strengthen its frontline has helped lower turnover and make the company a sought-after place to work. Finding the Right Fit If there is one thing franchisees agree on when it comes to the frontline, it’s that you have to hire the right people. Bringing in the right talent is the first step in ensuring the cultural piece gets off on the right foot. Impact Fitness places emphasis on recruiting personnel to support the company’s growth and maintain the standard of excel- lence in its 15 clubs in Michigan, Indiana and British Columbia, Canada. Working alongside veteran managers, Impact Fitness created a comprehensive interview packet that even the weakest manager can utilize with success. “We focus on creating a first interview that addresses key success factors that we believe will most likely lead to engaged, happy, ‘win-win’ employees committed beyond just the financial motivation. We keep it conversational and focus on getting to know the person in front of you as a person rather than someone to fill a spot or complete a task,” said Regional Manager Christopher Klebba. “We want to bring this unique group of millennials onboard with the big picture of our goals and vision at Impact Fitness as something they can champion and rally around. We hit them with our company values and our growth outline: ‘Team Development Plan,’ a growth process that outlines the journey from hiring to regional manager.” The prospective employee is then placed behind the desk with Impact’s teams, saying hello and goodbye and interacting with customers and staff. Likeability and energy are at the top of the traits Impact searches for when hiring. “Every leader, club and team has a unique pulse. We want to bring on individuals that will be Recognitions and Rewards Once the right people have been hired, the strength of the frontline depends heavily on keeping those people. Incentive programs and a clear pathway for development can be instrumental in retaining top talent. In response to its employee survey, Sunshine Fitness rolled out the Super Talented Achievers Rock (STAR) program at its 31 locations. Team members earn points on a weekly and monthly basis that can later be used for an array of items – gift cards, TVs or vacations, just to name a few. Continued on page 40 Impact Fitness outlines for new personnel the journey from hiring to regional manager. a special, positive culture match to the team they are interviewing for,” Klebba said. “Ultimately, it is up to us to show them why this is more than a job and make them catch the vision, but we love to ask a lot of questions around their values and motivations to see where they are at and what they’re looking for.” While Black Duck Partners franchisees Mike Dobrynio and Tim Lennon don’t have a magical tool to solve the hiring and retention issue, the two do believe in spending the extra time upfront to hire great people and then ensuring the leaders within the organization treat all team members with respect. “The respect part is empowering people to make decisions, succeed at times and fail at times, delegate responsibilities so the organization can grow, look to solve problems and not just bubble up problems, and have a team-first approach, which is all part of great leadership,” Dobrynio explained. While the company’s top “One Minute Manager” goal is friendliness, Dobrynio said it is impossible to train someone to be friendly, so the right person must be hired from the outset. “It takes extra time to find these people, and sometimes we find someone who may say they are friendly to get the job but they turn out to be unfriendly,” he said. “We have a trial period in place for new hires that helps us get these unfriendly new people quickly off the bus.” A slower, more thorough approach also works best for Sunshine Fitness, which employs a three-step interview process. An internal recruiter will conduct the initial phone screening, while a manager and assistant manager oversee the second interview. From there, the candidate must complete a form that asks for references and the social media outlets where the candidate is active. After checking references and social media, a regional manager does the final interview. In addition to the energy and enthusiasm necessary for PF®, Sunshine Fitness looks for what it considers the two most important qualities in a team member: character and judgement. “You have to find out what they believe in. Do they have integrity when you’re not there? Every time you walk out that door, are they going to do the same things and have that same integrity when they’re working alone?” Landau said. “Judgement is also huge. We have 8,000 members in the club, and if the manager’s not there, without judgement any kind of situation can go south. You have to make sure the employee has customer service, enthusiasm and integrity that’s going to work well when you’re not there combined with judgment. Our business touches so many people.” 39