Boosting Retention with Education: Empower Your Staff and Your Members

The more we explore the relationship between retention and education in health and fitness clubs, the clearer it becomes that they are deeply intertwined. In fact, a well-educated member is not only more likely to stay committed but also more engaged in their fitness journey.

As well as training, developing, and progressing staff, you need to educate your members on a wide range of topics, which helps with retention for both members and staff.

Staff Education - Technical and Soft Skills

Most staff have technical skills through training, whether a level 1, 2, 3, etc fitness instructor, or lifeguard qualifications, which have mandatory and regular updates to maintain safety standards.

But soft skills and business understanding is often lacking, or not given enough focus in the fitness industry. Perhaps this is because these skills are harder to train. This is also why forward-thinking managers are looking to recruit people with soft skills; compassion, empathy, initiative, as the technical skills can be added more easily. This shift will take time though, and we need to work with what we have, try to upskill the current workforce, who are willing, with the right tools and show them the stimulating pathways and career opportunities open to them.

The Membership Retention Essentials education course is for everyone working in leisure or fitness. Students learn why retention is important to them, how they can affect it, and what makes members stick around longer.

Member Education - Share Your Knowledge

While writing and developing the Retention Education Suite, it’s become clear that educating members is a big factor in retaining them too. The more knowledge you give your members, the more they will progress, and more engaged they will be.

Members who participate in workshops, attend classes, book PT, or simply read newsletters visit more often, and are less likely to drop-out.

There are education opportunities in all of the standard interactions; Induction, Body Composition, Programme Review, First Class, Technique Sessions, Challenges, and all communications sent to members, as well as Member of the Month stories, for example. Think about how you can ‘upskill’ your members with each contact.

Health Education for Staff, Members, and non-members 

To close the loop, HealthSeekers is also a movement to educate more people about their health. As discussed above, staff learn and develop, find more purpose. By building experience and having interesting conversations with HealthSeekers, staff are constantly learning from wider demographics that the usual gym members.

And when you join a HealthSeekers programme, you learn about why your health matters, how you can improve, and what you want to do about it, through coaching. Behaviour change is a constant education journey, for the coach and the coachee, listening and learning from each other, developing, and progressing together.

Retention is Education, and vice-versa 

Education plays a crucial role in boosting retention rates in the fitness industry. It provides staff with the confidence, purpose, and tools to engage more members. At the same time, it empowers members with the knowledge they need to stay motivated, achieve their goals, and remain committed to their fitness journey.

To explore how education can enhance your retention strategies, find out more about our comprehensive Membership Retention Course Suite, designed to help clubs thrive by keeping their staff and members engaged and loyal.