Your Biggest Member Retention Strategy Might Not Be What You Think...

We talk a lot about member retention in the fitness industry.

Engagement.

Onboarding.

Usage.

Challenges.

Apps.

Attendance.

All important. All talked about. A lot.

But there’s another retention strategy sitting right in front of you every day that probably doesn't get talked about enough.

Your people.

Because members don't build relationships with your systems.

They build relationships with your team.

And when your people are skilled, drilled, motivated, confident and genuinely care about the people walking through the door, members feel it.

When they're not?

They definitely feel that too.

People stay where they feel like they belong

Think about the member who walks through the door and is acknowledged by name.

The team member who remembers they had a job interview last week and asks how it went.

The coach who notices they haven't been in for a few days.

The manager who knows their goals, their story and probably what they're doing at the weekend.

Those seemingly little interactions aren't little at all.

You might have just made somebody's day without even realising it.

You're building connection, trust and belonging in your gym or studio.

And in an industry where equipment can be copied, AI can communicate, prices can be beaten and another gym can open down the road tomorrow, genuine human connection is incredibly difficult to replicate.

That's why I believe:

Your people are your greatest competitive advantage. And if you lose them, potentially one of your biggest risks.

And they might just be your strongest member retention strategy.

Members need consistency.

There's something reassuring about walking into a business and seeing the same friendly faces.

You know them.

They know you.

There's history there.

Now imagine your favourite person suddenly wasn't there anymore.

Then another familiar face disappeared.

Then another.

And every few months you're introducing yourself to someone new behind the desk.

Another new manager.

Another coach who doesn't know your name, your goals or why you joined in the first place.

Every time a good team member leaves, you don't just lose an employee.

You lose relationships, knowledge, trust, connection and a little piece of your culture with them.

That's why team retention and member retention are far more connected than we sometimes give them credit for.

If you want a consistent member experience, you need a consistent team delivering it.

Keeping good people takes more than pay

Of course they want to be paid.

But your people also want to know:

What's expected of me?

Am I doing a good job?

Can I get better at this?

Do I have a voice here?

Does what I do matter?

Is there somewhere for me to go next?

They want to feel valued.

They want opportunities to learn, grow and take on more responsibility.

They want to be trusted to do their job and know exactly what's expected of them.

And just like your members, they want to feel like they belong.

We spend an enormous amount of time thinking about how to create that feeling for our members.

Maybe we should be thinking just as hard about creating it for our people.

Train them. Then keep training them.

One training day isn't development.

Neither is handing someone a script on their first day, pointing them towards the phone and hoping for the best.

Your team needs to stay skilled, drilled and confident in the conversations and responsibilities that make the biggest difference to your business.

Practise.

Coach.

Role-play.

Give feedback.

Set expectations.

Inspect what you expect.

Then do it again.

Because confidence doesn't come from being told something once.

It comes from doing it enough times that you know you can do it.

And when people feel capable, something else starts to happen.

They contribute more.

They take ownership.

They put their hand up.

They take on more responsibility.

They start thinking beyond their job description and about the success of the whole business.

And quite often?

They stay with you for longer.

The right people. Doing the right things. At the right time.

Different people bring different strengths.

It's not about expecting everybody to be brilliant at everything.

It's about having the right people, doing the right things, at the right time.

Get that right and your people have a better chance of succeeding.

And when your people succeed, your business succeeds.

Get the people right and the profit follows.

We have a responsibility to keep good people in this industry

This one really matters to me.

I've spent more than 30 years in fitness, and I've seen some incredible people come through it.

People who remember names.

People who notice when someone isn't themselves.

People who celebrate someone's first workout just as enthusiastically as their hundredth.

People who help somebody walk into a gym when they've spent years being terrified of one.

These people change lives every single day.

So when we find good ones, I think we have a responsibility to look after them.

Develop them.

Challenge them.

Recognise them.

Give them opportunities.

Treat them well.

And create businesses they actually want to be part of.

Because if talented, caring people keep leaving our industry because we haven't given them a reason to stay, that's not just a problem for your gym or studio.

That's an industry problem.

Want better member retention? Start with team retention.

Before you create another member retention campaign, take a look at the people responsible for delivering the experience you're asking your members to stay for.

And ask yourself:

What is my team retention strategy?

Have I given my people the tools, training and support they need to be the best they can be?

Are they clear on what's expected?

Are they confident in their role?

Are they learning and developing?

Do they feel valued?

Are their strengths being used?

Do they feel like they belong?

Are they happy?

And then there's a question I think more business owners should be asking:

How long do my good people choose to stay with me?

Not how long can you keep them.

How long do they choose to stay?

Because perhaps one of the best measures of a successful business isn't only how many members you retain.

It's how many good people want to stay and build it with you.

And if the answer to some of those questions makes you uncomfortable, don't immediately ask:

“What does my team need to do better?”

Ask:

“What can I do better?”

Because building a better team isn't only about expecting more from your people.

Sometimes it's about asking what more you can do for them.

If you want your members to build long-term relationships with your business, you need to give them great people to build those relationships with.

Better team retention. Better member retention. Better business.

Better people build better businesses.