Your best hire can quickly turn into a bad hire if they don’t have a good first month of work. They need to get up to speed quickly in order to perform at their best in your company and to become a confident and productive member of your team.
Clarity is key for new employees to perform at their best, particularly in the fitness industry where relationships, energy and consistency are key determinants of success for employees and for the business. All employees perform best when they have a clear understanding of what success looks like for them from the very start and that’s why it is so important to clearly define success for the first 30 days for trainers, front desk staff, sales consultants, managers and coaches alike.
Don’t Confuse Orientation with Onboarding . The First 30 Days are Critical.
At FIBR we’ve seen firsthand that when you have a solid structured onboarding process that clearly sets out the organization’s expectations for new staff, those team members develop into strong performing employees within a relatively short period of time and are less likely to abandon ship and cost valuable time and resources in turnover.
Start With Clear Expectations
The biggest mistake an employer makes is assuming that a new hire knows what is expected of them just because they accepted the job.
Each fitness company has its own culture, systems, member experience, communication, etc. Even the most experienced candidates need to be told how your company operates.
Your new hire needs to know about your company culture, your systems for delivering member services and experiences, and your way of communicating with members and employees alike. This is all part of your job description but you can’t just hand this over and assume they’ll understand how to put it all into practice. Instead, outline what you expect the new hire to achieve during the first month by sharing the objectives you believe will ensure they have a good start and achieve the goals set for them.
For example:
- How many member consultations should they complete?
- What level of client retention is expected?
- How quickly should they learn scheduling software?
- What does exceptional customer service look like?
- How should they communicate with teammates?
Clearly-outlined expectations ensure new staff members can focus on gaining confidence rather than spending time trying to figure out the basics of their job.
Break Goals Into Smaller Milestones
The first month of work can be a very overwhelming time, especially for new staff at busy gyms and studios where there are many systems to learn and many members to build relationships with, all at the same time.
Instead of your employee being swamped by dozens of new objectives to master, break down your gym or studio’s long-term objectives for them into the weeks of their onboarding program, with one clear objective to reach each week.
By the end of week one, employees should know the basics of the systems, the culture of the company, as well as understand what to do and how to carry out the tasks of the job by observing experienced team members.
Week two might introduce independent responsibilities with supervision.
Week three can emphasize increased ownership and confidence.
By the end of week four, the new hire should be able to perform the vast majority of the core responsibilities of the job independently but receive guidance and support when needed.
This will enable new employees to feel that they are progressing in a consistent manner rather than being swamped by too many objectives.
Define What Success Actually Means
Vague goals create vague performance.
Instead of saying, “Provide great customer service,” explain what that looks like in everyday interactions.
That might include:
- Greeting every member by name whenever possible.
- Responding promptly to questions.
- Following up after personal training consultations.
- Maintaining a clean training space.
- Being proactive instead of waiting for instructions.
The more clearly a manager has defined what “successful” looks like, the easier it is for employees to achieve it.
Schedule Regular Feedback Conversations
Many managers wait until performance review time to tell their employees how they’re doing.
By the time you get around to having a formal performance review with an employee, the small problems that you had hoped would go away on their own have often become bigger problems.
Within the first 30 days of an employee’s time with you hold regular and informal feedback conversations.
Check a few key things with your team in a simple 15 minute meeting once a week to keep them on track.
- What’s going well?
- What feels challenging?
- What additional support would help?
- Are expectations still clear?
- Are there any obstacles slowing progress?
These informal check-ins during the first 30 days create an ongoing feedback loop rather than waiting until the formal performance review and rehashing small problems that have grown into larger issues.
Feedback that flows on a regular basis is far more effective than feedback delivered in a single session. Employees appreciate being informed of both good and bad performance quickly, and managers appreciate the opportunity to nip bad habits in the bud.
Make Feedback Immediate and Actionable
Feedback is most effective when delivered immediately to events or to outcomes that have just occurred.
Acknowledge an outstanding consultation by a trainer the same day it took place.
Discuss a sales conversation that didn’t go so well immediately after while details are still fresh.
Keep your feedback behavioral focused, not characteristic focused.
Instead of saying:
“You aren’t confident enough.”
Try:
“Pausing after each membership option to allow the prospective member time to ask questions would greatly improve the quality of the sales conversation.”
Being able to provide employees with specific information on how they can improve gives them something to work on immediately.
Build Performance Checkpoints Into the First Month
Formal performance checkpoints help both managers and employees measure progress objectively.
Rather than reviewing overall performance, managers and employees should focus on specific Performance Checkpoints at regular intervals.
Many fitness organizations benefit from checkpoints around:
Day 7
Focus on onboarding completion, cultural fit, technology training, and initial confidence.
Day 14
Review the new hire’s completion of their daily responsibilities, their communication, their interactions with members, and their performance metrics for the period.
Day 30
Check if the employee is ready to take on the full responsibilities of their role and discuss accomplishments to date as well as the areas where they require more development. Set goals for the employee for the next 60 to 90 days.
Accountability is reinforced while employees are recognized for their progress.
Encourage Questions Early and Often
Some new employees are hesitant to ask for information on new tasks and responsibilities because they fear others will think they are inexperienced.
Unanswered questions can lead to avoidable mistakes down the line. Managers should actively encourage curiosity during the first month.
Simple phrases such as:
“What questions came up today?”
“What still feels unclear?”
“What can I explain better?”
These help create psychological safety.
Employees who feel that it is safe to ask any question are likely to learn very fast and become productive sooner.
Pair New Employees With Strong Role Models
Even the best written training materials aren’t a replacement for having new employees observe other team members performing at high levels.
Pairing new employees with other team members, especially those who are high performers, can also aid in learning, even if the new employees are given the best training materials. They can ask the other team members for help with the many everyday questions that would normally require to call the manager.
A mentor can demonstrate:
- Member communication
- Sales conversations
- Facility standards
- Conflict resolution
- Time management
- Daily routines
Learning through observation typically happens sooner than confidence is built. This allows new hires to learn and become familiar with the team’s culture in a timely manner.
Celebrate Early Wins
Recognize the good work of others when it happens. Don’t wait for the big event.
There are many milestones along the way to full engagement of new employees. Celebrate the first successful consultation, the first positive member review, the completion of certification, the first excellent team contribution, etc. If you recognize the good work that your new employee is doing early on, they will feel valued, and their positive behaviors will be reinforced.
Early recognition will also help employees maintain higher levels of engagement even after the first few weeks on the job.
People do things because they have been rewarded for doing them.
Adjust Expectations Without Lowering Standards
Not every employee develops at the same pace.
Some master systems quickly but need coaching on communication.
Some will master the latest technology for the gym’s systems and business in no time, but may need to work on their communication with members and other staff. Others may develop excellent member relationships but need time to become familiar with operational processes around the gym.
Managers need to coach employees differently and support them in the area where they need improvement. However, the manager needs to maintain the performance standards of the rest of the team.
Helping employees where they need it does not mean lowering standards. It means helping them meet the same standards in the way that best suits them.
The First Month Shapes Long-Term Success
Onboarding new hires to a successful conclusion is more than processing through the necessary paperwork and giving the new team member introductions to other staff members.
It establishes trust, creates accountability, and helps employees understand how their work contributes to the organization’s success.
Define goals in the onboarding process, give consistent feedback and set performance checkpoints in check points throughout the process in order to give new employees confidence in their role in the company’s success to achieve success sooner.
For fitness businesses, recruiting from within the fitness industry can mean that other businesses are also trying to recruit the same people, which is why the first 30 days and months of employment are crucial in setting the employee up for success and in turn in ensuring that employee remains with the business for the long term and performs to the highest standard.
Thoughtful onboarding, great coaching and clear performance expectations so they can reach their full potential from day one is what we believe at FIBR helps guarantee your long term success.
