Frontline
Continued from page 39
40
“Our managers keep a
journal on employees focused
on three things: customer
service, tough problem-solving
situations and initiative. They
can earn points in any of those
categories each week. We found
that now management will say,
‘I’m giving you these points
for this week because you did
such an amazing job with the
customer,’ or ‘You went up and
cleaned the big fans.’ ‘You were
dealing with a customer who
A Sunshine Fitness team member
was just unreasonable, and you
redeems her STAR points for gift cards.
did it with a smile,’” Landau
said.
Sunshine Fitness follows that up with companywide commu-
nications. A newsletter is sent out each week recognizing the
highest STAR point person, as well as spotlighting some of the
standout stories from the week. The manager will also give out
thank-you cards to the staff.
Recognizing outstanding efforts in company communica-
tions is also important to Impact Fitness. During the Monday
Morning Memo video call with the leadership teams each week, the
company discusses the “Impact of the Week” where each manager
shares one of the staff member’s biggest impacts from the previous
week. “Each club has their own unique nomination process. The
operations team selects a winner, we blast an email to the whole
company, and the ops team gives this individual a call to congratu-
late them,” Klebba explained.
Additionally, Impact Fitness conducts training courses as part
of its Team Development Plan, including “Mod-1,” a sit-down
introduction to the company and its core values with the COO
that every staff member attends within their first 30 days; “Intro to
Leadership,” a quarterly session for newly appointed leaders; and
“Veterans Panel/Lunch,” where key executives and the CEO spend
three hours with anyone in any non-management position on the
team who has been part of the company for at least one year.
“One event we have found to be fun and helpful is, anytime
we have three or more Impact Fitness team members together for
any meeting or gathering we recite our core values and our reason
for being here,” Klebba added. “All team members have a small,
yellow Impact Fitness card they carry and use to complete this. At
the end, everyone yells,
‘Impact someone today!’
Again, a little unorthodox
but it helps keep it alive
– this information does
nothing on a wall alone!”
Three times a year, Sunshine Fitness also hosts a team-building
exercise with managers and staff. The company provides a set
amount of funding for the mandatory events. “Turnover has always
been a battle, but it has gone down since we’ve focused more on the
recognition and programs. With the frontline staff, people are more
aware and doing a better job because they know they get something
for it,” Landau said. “That goes a long way. Everyone loves recogni-
tion and positive reinforcement, and when you combine that with
getting a reward, I think that’s a double win.”
Sunshine Fitness uses recognition and programs, such as three yearly outings for
staff and managers, to battle turnover on the frontlines.
While increasing incentives has helped Sunshine Fitness,
Landau believes creating a path to upper management and creating
different training programs reinforced the frontline. “As soon as a
person is hired at the front desk, they receive a book of awesome
where they can learn how to go from a front-desk employee to a
manager. You need to spell that out to people and get them excited
that there is a path to manager or to regional manager,” he said.
At Impact Fitness, self-growth, leadership and personal
development are ingrained in the culture and remain top-of-mind
every day. Each member of the staff has a personal growth plan that
furthers the company’s ability to recruit a stellar frontline team and
use tools and experience to keep them engaged. “There is no way
to adjust and react to a high turnover number from the top if you
don’t measure it, review it often and have processes in place. We
truly believe it starts right at the beginning of the interview process
and follows our Team Development Plan,” Klebba said.