Geared Up Issue 4 2017 | Page 42

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.