Monday, 4 August 2014

Why Should Hotels and Fitness Businesses Consider Hiring Consultants


The first thing that always used to strike me when i was contacted by a consultant was "why would I need a consultant?" I was was the club, some years we had success, some years were tough but ultimately my bosses were happy and there was no risk of unemployment.

As I went further through my career I learnt that hiring the right people for the right roles meant I could put my focus in the right areas of the business to ensure we maximized success.  Quite often though I found I was hiring individuals on later to utilize their skills to plug a different skills gap.

It led me to the belief that my approach was right, round pegs for round holes.  what was wrong was that I was having to train and develop these pegs first and fit them into the right holes.

Then came the recession and impact that then had on sales and flow through to our profit.  With no realistic prospect of driving the top line it meant that something had to give, this was costs and ultimately like most businesses the payroll.  I am not aware of any hotel or leisure business that has stood up to the recession and said they refused to cut costs and not to lose staff.  Either by natural attrition and then not replacing them or by much harsher decisions such as stricter management or redundancies.

Now that we begin to shows signs of recovery, many businesses are again looking for growth on their sales lines but are still nervous about employing the resources to achieve this growth.  There is certain level of commitment that is needed when starting to employ to deliver growth and challenge which often holds back decisions such as this.

This is where an industry consultant can make a huge difference.  Consultants may appear expensive and i guess if you hired them full time to achieve what you wanted then they probably would be! However, that is not how you should use them and the benefits to your business can be massive.  This is why?

1) There is no commitment other than that signed by you and the consultant.  This can be short or long term or even results based if you both agreed
2) They are industry experts so other than your own business protocols require little or no training
3) They should require little or no supervision
4) They will bring with them an array of idea's, techniques, information and knowledge that can be passed on to not only bring success but lead to long term gains, long after they have stopped working with the business
5) As they are likely to work less days the costs is often far more palatable that if you hired a full time Manager in that role.  There is also no holiday, sick or pensions to consider paying
6) Their cost would not have to appear on the payroll line.  This is often important as most business leaders see this as a key driver with regional and national Directors making reduction of payroll or productivity scores a massive focus.  By invoicing for services an accounts team could choice where to place the cost.
7) They would bring with them potential solutions to other parts of your business that may help solve challenges you have faced in operations etc
8) They are impartial and could therefore give accurate and direct feedback regarding your operations as well as providing the solutions to the challenges.  Employed staff are unlikely to offer up their own failings and often spend huge amounts of time and effort covering them up
9) They are able to provide insights into competitors
10) Their work schedules are often more flexible and Freelance staff will work around when you require them in the business
11) Consultants are often branded with no having the same desire to see success in a business as they are not part of the team.  What needs to be remembered is that their reputation is built on your success.  If they fail with their projects their work dries up.  It is therefor in their vested interest to ensure you are successful. So even if for purely selfish reasons (which is rarely the case) it is important they buy into the product and deliver you success
12) Finally.....and probably most importantly, they will pass on this vast knowledge to your teams so that when they leave your team will be set up for success

I used to make the mistake of seeing consultants in the wrong light. World leaders, Governments departments, Large public companies all use them.  So should the Hospitality industry!  We have seen great change over the past 5 years and so maybe starting to embrace the opportunities that a consultant can give  is worth exploring

Project Body UK Consultants

Success is paramount

A Nottingham based Leisure, Fitness and Wellness Consultancy.  We aim to provide a innovative solutions and a results based approach to driving success for our business partners.  
An awards winning team with over 25 years experience in the leisure and fitness industry within small clubs, hotel based environments and large 5000+ member facilities we have the experience and know how to enable your business to be successful.  We have also run our own fitness and well being company for the last 7 years both with the Natural Group and Project Body UK.
We understand the pressures and difficulties faced by a modern health and well being business, let us guide you along the right path.

Our Key Services Include:

  • Full Consultancy service - a root and branch review of the operations, sales, staffing, H&S, plans and performance.  We will create a plan to develop the business and to achieve success.  We will work closely with you and provide the tools and expertise to deliver results.
  • Auditing - a detailed analysis and feedback on your current operations, sales & membership processes along with support and tools to enable change.  We will also help ensure company and industry audit compliance by carrying out those audits prior to the official dates and ensuring challenges are managed.
  • Retention - a review of your retention statistics and current processes to ensure a detailed understanding is ascertained followed by a workable and effective plan to enable you to reduce attrition to satisfactory level.
  • Mystery Shopping - the best way to understand your business, its challenges and successes is to allow us to mystery shop your club or business.  Not just as a prospective client but as member of regular client.  Businesses that invest in an effective mystery shop program show massively improved focus and standard from employees and ultimate drastically improved results.  
  • Operations Support - a large range of operational tools made available to allow your business to improve every aspect of its operations.  These include daily operations and safety check, gym checks and standards, full range of weekly and monthly reporting tools, booking processes and operating procedures and risk assessments.
  • Sales and Marketing - a full assessment of the businesses current practices with support and guidance to improve these and the results.  We can provide full training, new processes, marketing plans and ideas, support with online presence and social media.
  • Business Planning - setting your business up for success is often missed to to lack of time or expertise.  Doing so often leads to the challenges that business then faces.  We can help create that road map to success.
  • Training - a range of training courses available including sales, first aid, lifeguard, operations, H&S, pool plant
Our team are dedicated to ensuring our clients achieve results.  A successful business is shown not only through its profit but also by its members loyalty and feedback, its staff engagement and its reputation in the wider community. By investing in our support we will ensure you obtain a greater understanding of your business position as well as a wide range of solutions.

For more information on how Project Body UK can help get in touch or log onto www.pbukconsulting.co.uk or call 07929369658

Monday, 23 June 2014

Selling Health & Fitness - Why People Buy


Successful business are started with bringing in clients. By no means is this the only way to ensure success but without clients you can't build a business to then work on your retention, [personal training, gym challenges etc. Over the next few articles we will run through how you can improve your membership and club sales and start to take control of how you sell your club.

Why people choose to buy

The success of any fitness fitness business, in fact any business throughout the world is based on its ability to encourage customers to purchase their product or service.  This basic premise is standard throughout all industries, business types and scale of enterprise. Without customers making a conscious or even sometimes unconscious decision to purchase as business does not exist.

So in order to understand this it is important to first appreciate why a person may decide to buy your services or product.

Needs vs Wants:

Needs are those things that as living things we need to survive and to ensure we have a basic quality of life. These include such things as food and water, shelter, clothing.  We need to purchase these items to be able to survive the world and so are seen as essential purchase.
Health and fitness services do not not unfortunately fall into this category and so become a want, something that a client needs to desire, one which has an emotional rather than logical attachment and one which involves feelings and thoughts.

An example being:
Buying a new car. No one really needs a £50,000 Jaguar or Porche to get to work.  the basic need is a car that will allow them to get from a-b.  The reason why some people will spend huge sums of money though is linked to feelings and emotions.  These could be anything from wanting to show off their extravagence, it makes them feel successful, it might attract the fairer sex.  Who knows, what is important is that it is driven by an inner desire and not a basic need.

Brian Eisenberg identified 20 reasons why people buy:

Basic Needs – We buy things to fulfill what Maslow describes as the bottom of his hierarchy; things like food and shelter.
Convenience – You need something now and will take the easiest or fastest path to get it. Think about the last time you were running out of gas, or were thirsty and found the nearest beverage of choice. This could also be choosing the safe vendor (no one ever gets fired for hiring IBM), purchasing something to increase comfort or efficiency.
Replacement – Sometimes you buy because you need to replace old things you have (e.g., clothes that don’t fit or are out-of-date). This could be moving from a VCR to a DVD player.
Scarcity – This could be around collectibles or a perceived need that something may run out or have limited availability in the future. Additionally, there’s a hope to gain a return on investment, such as collectible or antiques; anything that accrues value over time.
Prestige or Aspirational purchase – Something is purchased for an esteem-related reason or for personal enrichment.
Emotional Vacuum – Sometimes you just buy to try to replace things you cannot have and never will.
Lower prices – Something you identified earlier as a want is now a lower price than before. Maybe you were browsing for a particular large screen TV and you saw a great summer special.
Great Value – When the perceived value substantially exceeds the price of a product or service. This is something you don’t particularly need, you just feel it’s too good a deal to pass up. (Like the stuff they place near the end caps or checkout counters of stores.)
Name Recognition – When purchasing a category you’re unfamiliar with, branding plays a big role. Maybe you had to buy diapers for a family member and you reach for Pampers because of you’re familiarity with the brand, even though you don’t have children yourself.
Fad or Innovation – Everybody wants the latest and greatest. (iPhone mania.) This could also be when someone mimics their favorite celebrity.
Compulsory Purchase – Some external force, like school books, uniforms, or something your boss asked you to do, makes it mandatory. This often happens in emergencies, such as when you need a plumber.
Ego Stroking – Sometimes you make a purchase to impress/attract the opposite sex; to have something bigger/better than others, friends, etc. To look like an expert/aficionado; to meet a standard of social status, often exceeding what’s realistically affordable to make it at least seem like you operate at a higher level.
Niche Identity – Something that helps bond you to a cultural, religious or community affiliation. Maybe you’re a Harvard alumni and Yankee fan who keeps kosher. (You can also find anti-niche identity by rebellion, assuming you’re pretty comfortable with irony.)
Peer Pressure – Something is purchased because your friends want you to. You may need to think back to your teen years to think of an example.
The “Girl Scout Cookie Effect” – People feel better about themselves by feeling as though they’re giving to others, almost especially when they’re promised something in return. Purchasing things they don’t need–or wouldn’t normally purchase–because it will help another person or make the world a better place incrementally is essential certain buying decision.
Reciprocity or Guilt – This happens when somebody–usually an acquaintance, or someone rarely gift-worthy–buys you a gift or does something exceptionally nice and/or unnecessary. Now it’s your turn to return the favor at the next opportunity. Examples:
  • Event – When the social decorum of an event (e.g., wedding, bar mitzvah, etc.) dictates buying something or another.
  • Holiday – ‘Nuff said.
Empathy – Sometimes people buy from other people because they listened and cared about them even if they had the lesser value alternative.
Addiction – This is outside the range of the normal human operating system, but it certainly exists and accounts for more sales than any of us can fathom.
Can you think back to the last time you bought something and fully explain the reason why?
Fear – From pink Taser™ stun guns to over-sized SUV’s to backyard bomb shelters–and even stuff so basic as a tire pressure gauge–are bought out of fear. So, before you go knocking “fear” as a motivator, ask yourself: Are you Y2K compliant?
Indulgence – Who doesn’t deserve a bit of luxury now and then? So long as you can afford it, sometimes there’s no better justification for that hour-long massage, that pint of Cherry Garcia ice cream, or that $75 bottle of 18-year single malt scotch other than “you’re worth it” (best when said to self in front of mirror with a wink and/or head tilt)
Now you may wonder why it is so important to identify peoples motivations to buy? The simple answer is so that you can adapt your sales technique to the individuals who walk through your door or view your products online.  A person entering your club/facility is not buying the pool or gym that he will no doubt use. They are the emotions and feelings that using these facilities will give them.
Your challenge is to determine what those emotions are.  What is the key driver that has brought them into your facility? How do they want to feel or not feel, which is often the over riding factor.

Next time we will review Communication styles and personality traits

Any questions please get in touch at ryan@pbukconsulting.co.uk

Thursday, 12 June 2014

Staff Engagement

The Importance of Employee Engagement

You will read in many business leaders autobiographies about the importance of your employees to the success of your business.  Richard Branson put it best when he said:


No business will fully achieve their pinnacle without the input and the growth of their employees.  No matter how energetic, clever and hard working the manager is, without an engaged and effective team the true potential can never truly be reached.

We live in a world where everything is measured and the end result is what counts most.  I agree with the sentiment to a point but I must stress at this point that success is not always measured by reviewing the balance sheet.  For example, many clubs saw a down turn in their business during the height of the recent recession.  This down turn was not caused by a sudden change in staff morale, effort or skills but by something far more powerful.  Believe it or not but managers were still dismissing staff for missing targets and budgets based purely on paper based performance criteria. I my mind this was utterly ludicrous!

Many outside influences can impact the success of the business and it is the manager’s responsibility not his/her teams to control these the best they can.  A manager should take responsibility for the success and failure of the business.  Those club and managers who take a realistic approach to business and manage their teams based on effort, idea generation, retention and service standards as well as the bottom line are far more likely to have long term success than those who don't.

So what is that you are looking for?

1) Train your team: Whatever their role they should be trained to the highest standard.  This does not mean spending huge sums of money but does require investment in time.  Not just time to deliver but time to plan.  If you want the training to be effective and meaningful then it needs to relate to your business and the context in which you want the new skills to be delivered.

For example, there is a wide range of sales based skills that can be trained.  Leisure sales are specific skills and so should be trained as such.  Break down what is expected and how you want it to be done. 

By breaking down your expectations on how you want the process delivered you can then manage effectively against this.

2) Set your expectations but make them realistic: You should set out the individual and teams goals at the start of the year so everyone is aware of what needs to be achieved and what is being expected.  However, remember that your goals are not always your team’s goals.  You cannot simple pass down all your managers’ expectations of you to your team.  Often only you can influence those goals and so it will only de-motivate your team.
Also don't make stretch goals where you feel the targets are already a challenge.  Over cooked expectations will have a de-motivating impact right from the start and can have devastating impacts on performance.

3) Get buy In - You should involve your team in the developments of the annual business plan.  Whilst you are there to guide the process and ensure the key elements are included you should allow your team to develop the overall plan and have a massive input in how you plan to achieve your goals.  Letting go and allowing input is not a weakness but in fact the opposite.  It shows you value your team’s idea and allows them to feel they are part of the team’s success and not yours.
There is nothing worse than working hard all year for the manager to take all the credit

4) You need to make it fun.  We spend a significant amount of our adult life at work. If it is not fun then what are we doing. We work in one of the best industries in the world for encouraging fun and enjoyment, clients count on us to make their leisure time fun so why is it that we don't encourage our staff to play at work.  (To learn more read the FISH book)
You do not have to compromise standards to create an environment where your team feel they are able to be themselves and have fun with members.  You want to encourage interactions with members, any interaction will encourage retention and those ones that build friendships are like gold dust and should be cherished.
Only you will know your team, but you should look for opportunities that will build on this premise.

5) Show your team loyalty.  You are responsible for the business performance not your team.  You should push your challenges on too them.  You are there to protect your team from senior managers and ensure you create a bonded team ready to fight for success. 

6) Manage performance: you should manage performance fairly and with understanding.  Harsh & intimidating meetings to discuss a previous month with only make the employee nervous and overly concerned about the end action.  You want this person to perform and achieve, you will only do this by offering support and guidance.  It won’t work with everyone, but if you hired a person for a reason then quite often that gut feeling was true.  Work with them and in time you will find that star quality.

7) Celebrate success: Don't under estimate how impact celebrating success is.  It may be a small milestone for you but it is often a big one for the team or individual.  Get superiors to congratulate the team or employee, it can work wonders for them to feel they are being recognised by senior members of staff.
Enter awards, compare your team against other clubs in your business and pick out what you do best.  You can always find things you are best at.  If not then that's where to start with your goals.  

8) Create competition; we are in business to be successful are we not.  To quantify success we are all compared to others.  Whether than be other clubs within your business or against industry statistics it’s important you compare.  This also allows you to create competition, a them versus us attitude with a drive to be the best can have profound impacts on success.  Getting those last few sales at month end to beat your fellow club can be just the incentive you need.
Enter industry competitions, when we won the Flame awards the whole team bought into the process and the need to win.  That period was probably the most enjoyable 12 months in business as everyone was sold on the idea and the need to win and achieved it.  A brilliant feeling

9) Don't be afraid to hire people more qualified than you:  I hear all the time "they are over qualified".  How can this be the case?  Until you interview someone you can never understand their motive for wanting to work for you.  They may want less stress, less responsibility, be coming back from time off with kids.
Ultimately, you have the potential to employ someone with great skills on paper and who could offer a key to future success.  Don't miss an opportunity because of your perceptions of threats to you and your position.
Be brave!

We all want success; bullying and old school management is not the way to do it.  It can be easier to discipline and try and force performance.  In the long run you will end up with far more stress and anxiety, an unhappy team often with the same challenges as you started with.

Change your attitude, look and plan for success and let your team take you there.  Your job should be to assemble, guide and encourage.  Hire experts to do a job and let them do it.  Your life will be far more enjoyable and the success with be far more satisfying.

Project Body UK Consulting
www.pbukconsulting.co.uk

Saturday, 1 June 2013

How should we measure a successful health club?


What Makes Success

Is this the Holy Grail that everyone seems to be searching for? Well that may depend on how you quantify success.  Quite obviously for most organisations success sits directly under the banner of "PROFIT" and the buckets full a club can generate.

Whilst we are all in business to make profit I do not believe it is always the case the profit should be the true indicator of success and whilst it is often true that a well run club is also a profitable one, it is not always the case that a not so profitable club is not actually a more successful one.  The levels of profit can be impacted by a wide variety of outside influences and I believe profit alone should never be the single indicator of either a clubs or a manager's success.

Examples of the outside influences would include:

Levels of competition
Age of facility versus its competitors
Costs such as rents and rates fluctuate vastly across the country and even within towns
Financial clout and support of the owners
Location and ease of access

Over the years I have seen many companies compare managers based purely on profit with many very good manager's being "encouraged" to move on to pastures new as their performance is misjudged.  As an industry we are generally very poor at looking deep into our businesses to find the real success and very quick to judge.  If we really want to critique our businesses we need to look at how we arrive at our profits and the journeys that each club is following.  To do so we need to look at the following:

1) Membership Income:
Far too often clubs focus on new member sales rather than the average monthly net gain.  I worked for a company like this that never even took notice of the leavers and recall one club being celebrated as the best in the country for its sales in January but actually lost almost a third more members than it sold.
A club who continues to gain members by controlling their attrition as well as driving new member sales is surely a better run club and long term a far better prospect.  New sales as with any business are vital for growth but a clubs attrition shows far more about its health than the volume of members coming in.
You should always focus on your net gain and not just new sales.  Just as important is the cash value of the new members, think about yield and membership type rather than just simple numbers. Your budget is about cash not physical bodies so try and maximise the revenue each member can bring you.  Numbers are a simple way to control sales teams, in reality if we were all smart we would be focusing their targets on membership income and this would encourage better selling, better retention and greater yields

2) Membership vs other income:
Some clubs have a very successful membership base and this allows them to deliver high profits with very little efforts.  Quite often it is those clubs with average membership revenues but high secondary spend revenues that are in fact more successful.  These clubs are adept at diversifying their businesses to maximise revenues from every source.  What skews the figures is their profit percentage is often worse because of the additional cost of sales in the business.  This should not detract from their performance though as any club that is able to drive large additional revenue is by far the better of the 2 clubs and in a much better position based on their spread of revenues.
I have seen clubs applauded for their revenues who bring 90% through membership.  Imagine the potential in their business when you see others in the same company with a split of 60/40 or even 50/50.  In my mind the question has to be what are we missing?  If the split was made 70/30 it would be a 20 increase in other revenues and not a decrease in membership.  A club in this 90/10 situation often sits back and relax as there is no real urgency to change. Those with a 60/40 split have often been forced to adapt and change to survive and are usually the teams that are constantly looking to change, adapt, and bring new ideas.  These are the clubs with smart managers

3) Member retention:
A club that keeps its members will always be successful.  It takes the pressure of the need to drive new sales but also happy and loyal members will actually help drive new sales through referrals.  Clubs however should not just be managing retention but also thinking about length of membership. With the average cost of recruiting a new member being upwards of £100 it can take 2-3 months before a club makes a penny from its new members, even more so if you consider the free months that are currently part of the package.  For a new member to be worth signing up as regards profit we need to be aiming at keeping members for 12 months at least.  Retention strategies are now just as vital as new member plans and I believe in the current market an even more valuable skill and asset to a business

4) Members satisfaction:
With retention being so important, all clubs should have some form of Member satisfaction score process in place. Whether this is done internally or through an agency the scores are vital and should form part of any measuring process for a club and its manager.  The survey should include in-depth questions about facilities, processes, cleanliness, activities, classes and gym staff.
By measuring its customer’s feedback you will get a true understanding of the health of a business.  Customers are not always right (we will discuss that another time!) however they will more often than not give a true insight into a business and how its run.  We should embrace this feedback and act on it.  By doing so you will make great strides into creating a very loyal club.

5) Measure by percentages and not actuals:
If we are to compare performances we should base it on percentages and not just actual cash figures.  There are few clubs with the same number of members, the same cost base and the same payroll costs.  Basically no clubs are the same.  However, you can compare them based on how they convert these figures through percentages.  You can have an agreed payroll percentage, an agreed cost of sales level and an agreed profit percentage. This percentage will be determined by your business model.  A budget gym with have a completely different set of percentages to a full service gym. However 2 budget gyms should not and should be easily comparable.
As a manager it should be our job to know our figures both in terms of actuals as well as the percentages and how these compare to our rivals and our compatriots in our own companies.  As companies these figures should be shared to allow direct comparison, to encourage learning’s and more importantly encourage competition between clubs.

6) Associate engagement and retention:
Just as important as business performance is the level of engagement and staff retention.  This should be measured and success rewarded.  A strong manager backed by a happy and engaged team will lead to success.  Our industry does not place enough emphasis on evaluating this major aspect of our business and should learn from other industries in the hospitality world such as hotels.  Ultimately we are in a service industry but we are still slow on the uptake of this notion

7) Standards surveys:
Mystery audits are always a great way of seeing exactly where a business sits.  A club that is well run should never fear a mystery audit as it should always be run to audit standards.  It is rare that a club that is well run would fail an audit due to them arriving on a day that everything goes wrong.  Failed audits are due to the club not being run to the standards expected by the owner/organisation.

I believe every business should carry out unannounced audits on a 6 monthly basis.  They give a real insight into where a business is, whether they are following the standards set out and that they are clean and well run.  As a Manager I do not fear audits and I set my clubs up to run daily to these standards.  Do we achieve this level 100% of the time, no of course not but the fact that we are all aware what those standards are ensure we do almost all the time.

By delivering the company standards, you will ensure all expected processes are in place alongside the expected service delivery.  Challenges with cleanliness, equipment breakdowns etc will be rare and customer engagement should be high if carried out effectively

There are other ways to measure success in a club and in its manager but the above named points is what I believe will give you the strongest indication of whether there are challenges in a business or not.  Cash success is a very unreliable source as a single indicator and does not show the efforts and endeavours that may have gone into achieving that outcome.  I have seen too many managers lose jobs purely on this criteria and it is a very short sighted approach.

The responsibility of ensuring all the above is measurable is as much down to the manager as the company as a whole.  No, the manager cannot organize blind audits but they can ensure they know their business that they know their percentages and how they compare to other clubs in their area and to their compatriots.  It is a manger's responsibility to ensure success and to do so he/she needs to understand what success means.

Do they know how their business did last year, how they compared, what their member’s think, what are their key challenges.  Do they have a business plan, sales plan and plan of attack for solving the key issues?  No one will sing your praises as a manager and you are there to be shot down when things go wrong.  My suggestion is arm yourself with information.  Most importantly the information will allow you to be successful by knowing your business but it will also allow you to celebrate success with you teams and develop plan to build on successes or turn around your failing.






Thursday, 30 May 2013

The Health & Fitness Industry



Having worked in the Health & Fitness Industry for over 15 years I believe I have been very fortunate in the career path I have chosen.

At this point I will admit I am unlikely (until I venture out on my own anyway) to retire a millionaire working in this industry.  I am also unlikely to ever work that standard 9-5, Monday to Friday .  However, there are many riches to my job and chosen career which still draw me in as much as when I started all those years ago.

I started as many do as "Lifestyle consultant" or in other words a gym instructor.  Bit like a bin man being called a waste management engineer, whilst the latter is more flattering we still call them our bin men. (that is not to detract from the important work they do however!).  I was never meant to be a gym instructor on £8,800/year when I left University.  I was told I would be a graduate trainee on £20,000/year like all graduates did? That was as much of a lie then as it is now!

Anyway having done sports science I was offered a gym instructors job in a great little club in Leamington Spa in Warwickshire.  Not having planned to do fitness and in all fairness whilst I had played sports all my life  I had never actually been in a gym.  I understood the theory having a degree in Sports Science, but would I enjoy the practice?  HELL YES! and i'll tell you why;

1) The fitness industry attracts the same type of people in the same way sport does.  They are generally (not always) fun, bubbly, driven, competitive individuals.  This when managed effectively can create a real desire to succeed and be the best.  It also creates teams that whilst you are young are perfect for some great graet laughs and entertainment.
2) The industry is so diverse in so many ways. You can talk about clubs ranging from small hotel businesses to the cheap budget gyms all the way up to full service gyms and leisure centers with golf courses.  Not only this but the off shoots of those with their own companies running small personal training and boot camp companies or weight management and kids fitness also need including.
3) The roles in the industry are so diverse. Take a standard health club for instance.  The role of an instructor may include his standard gym work, cleaning, membership sales, retail sales with clothing, drinks and food as well as creative stuff with creating individual personal training sessions, running classes, gym challenges and events.
The bigger clubs have career paths available to almost anyone from sales, to kids activities, personal training, food and beverage, swimming teaching, studio classes, outdoor adventure and much more.  Early on it can be a real dilema as to which way you take things.
4) The job is about creating a desire and having fun.  Members and guest frequent leisure facilities for a vast array of reasons but ultimately they want to enjoy their leisure time (even though many appear to be doing quite the opposite at times).  It is our job and role to ensure they do.  Who would not enjoy the challenge of ensuring your guests enjoy their leisure time, when the commodity your selling is fun and success then that breads an environment of fun and success - well it should do anyway.

I don't know of any other industry that would allow for the development of so many skills in an environment that should be fun surrounded by people with a desire to have fun and to be winners.  Does this feeling always exist? No it doesn't and there are many reasons for it, including outside pressures, business performance, poor management, poor team selections and much more which we will discuss over time.  On the whole though this is an industry that attracts like minded individuals and I am certain is the reasons for its huge success.
My favorite Club -Holmes Place in Nottingham

Ultimately, the Health and Fitness industry continues to grow even through sharp recession because people value their leisure time and are more conscious of the health and lifestyle.  As with all industries to work in there are some great highs like being able to win Nationally recognized awards such as the UK Flame Awards which we won in 2011 and there are of course some areas to improve on.  

Holmes Place Nottingham poolside
Over time I hope to give a real insight into this ever growing industry from ways to improve, pitfalls to avoid, new and innovative solutions to challenges and industry uptakes and news as they come up.

Please feel free to join in the debates, comment on anything I have written or ask questions.  Lets have to open discussions about our industry