Keep Your Staff, Keep Your Members! Strategies for both...

How Staff Retention Helps Member Retention

When we talk about retention in the fitness industry, most of the focus is on members. But the same principles that keep members coming back also apply to staff. And when staff are retained, engaged, and motivated, members benefit directly through stronger relationships, better service, and a sense of continuity that builds trust.

Staff Retention = Member Retention

Members join clubs for facilities, but they stay because of people. Staff are the heartbeat of the member experience. High staff turnover disrupts relationships, creates inconsistency, and makes it harder to build the kind of trust that keeps members long-term. Retaining staff is a key driver to retain members. We see it clearly when supporting operators, good staff morale, positive communication (banter even) between teams, means that staff stick around, and members benefit too.

Speedy Onboarding

Following Up: Why Onboarding Still Matters
In the last article, Inductions for Everybody, we explored why and how clubs should promote and encourage all new members to have an onboarding appointment; because members who do stay longer. That’s better for your business, and better for your members too.

The Airline Analogy

As many of us board flights over the summer, we’re given the option of Speedy Boarding; paying more to get on (and off) the plane faster than everyone else.

What if we borrowed this idea in fitness?

Inductions for Everybody

How can we be more efficient and offer a standard service when onboarding new members? And how can we deliver more? The standard industry term is still induction, but many clubs are changing to ‘activation’, ‘welcome appointment’, ‘step 1’, ‘getting started’, etc. If we’re shifting mindsets, let’s use new terminology.

“All of our members have an induction” is often the response when we ask about retention strategies, particularly onboarding.

Club operators and owners believe that they really are doing their best to ensure all new members have the maximum chance of sticking around.

But when we dig under the bonnet, either through further discussion, or analysis of club data, it often transpires that fewer than half of new members actually attend some kind of onboarding appointment.

 

We’ve looked at this issue many times, with many clubs; from leisure trusts and councils, private clubs and independent gyms, even low-cost, low-staff gyms, where inductions really aren’t popular at all.

Embedding a Culture of Retention Through Strategic Training at InspireAll

A Case Study in partnership with Future Fit for Business

InspireAll is a charitable leisure trust managing leisure services and facilities in partnership with Hertsmere Borough Council, Bedfordshire Schools Trust, Hertfordshire County Council and Silsoe Community Trust. With a strong focus on community impact and service quality, InspireAll is committed to delivering positive health and wellbeing outcomes through its gyms, pools, and wellness programmes.

The Context

InspireAll had already begun to shift its focus towards improving member retention, recognising that keeping existing members engaged was just as critical as acquiring new ones. With cost pressures rising and a team in expansion, the timing was right to strengthen internal alignment around member engagement.

Despite having laid much of the internal groundwork, the team wanted an external partner to reinforce their efforts and provide structured training that could help embed a retention-focused mindset across all functions - not just fitness or sales.

That’s where GGFit and Future Fit for Business came in.

Balancing Retention Efforts and Resources: Making It Work with a Smaller Team

Retention has always been more cost-effective than acquisition, but in today’s climate, it's no longer just a smart strategy, it’s a financial necessity.

With rising operational costs, including increases in employer National Insurance (NI) contributions, many clubs and gyms are facing the hard reality of needing to do more with less. Staffing budgets are tighter. Teams are stretched. Yet the pressure to deliver results, including higher member retention, is greater than ever.

So how can your club maintain or even improve member retention without adding headcount or burning out your existing team? The answer lies in working smarter, not just harder. Here’s how...

Challenge for Change - boosting activity in communities, with 7 tips for clubs, schools, and workplaces

Participating in the Challenge for Change can lead to increased community engagement, support for meaningful causes, and enhanced motivation and collaboration within the organization. It's a great way to promote physical activity, foster a sense of unity, and make a positive impact on the community. 🌟

You can take part in Challenge for Change as an individual, but it's much more fun, and you'll go much further if you take part with your club, school/college, or workplace.  

Find out more at ChallengeForChange.org.uk or read on to get 7 tips each for clubs, schools, and workplaces, and let us know your ideas to boost participation in the comments below...

Who should deliver Inductions?

How to increase induction percentage with limited staff – have everyone deliver them?

If you read this blog regularly, you’ll know we encourage ‘inductions’ for new and returning members in order to improve early engagement, visits, habit building, and ultimately member retention. The question of who should deliver this important appointment came up at a recent workshop, and sparked an interesting discussion.

What’s an induction called?

Before we get into the discussion, and possibly some controversial hot water, let’s talk about the ‘induction’. This term is often used in the fitness industry, but more and more clubs are quite rightly using different names for this appointment, such as Activation, Welcome session, Step 1, Consultation. All have their merits, and we honestly believe anything other than ‘induction’ is a good name.

What’s in an induction?

The Daily Mile & Challenge for Change: How One Small Step at School Can Spark a Global Movement

How I helped my kids (and others) to move more and run around at school

Ten years ago, before the wonders of government recommended daily walks and Joe Wicks daily workouts (aka lockdown), I talked to the head teacher at my kids’ primary school about daily exercise.

I’d read an article about the Daily Mile, and heard about it in my health, fitness, and movement circles. In a nutshell, children get to run outside for 15 minutes once a day, not during breaks or lunch, but skipping part of a lesson. They behave and concentrate better, eat healthier lunches, and are also happier.

First-Month Visits Predict Member Retention – Are You Paying Attention?

As we near the end of ‘the golden quarter’ (the period from January to March when gyms typically see a surge in new memberships), with many clubs reporting good sales at the start of 2025, focus must turn to member retention, if it hasn’t already. The real challenge now is ensuring your new members (and those who returned with new health and fitness goals) establish a consistent routine and remain engaged.

One of the most significant predictors of long-term retention is a member’s first month activity. Do they engage in a range of activities in your club, or more simply how many first month visits do they make?

It’s incredible to think that over 10% of joiners never make a visit at some low-cost fitness clubs. And almost another 10% make only one visit, ever. Budget gyms have done some great things in bringing fitness to millions of new members, but while online joining and optional inductions help sales, these practices hurt retention.

Retention Starts with Culture: The Power of Member Interactions

After a positive start to 2025 for many clubs, February is about maintaining membership sales momentum, but more importantly, focusing on retaining all your new members (and the existing ones) as long as possible.

Filling a leaky bucket doesn’t make sense—stop losing members by focusing on retention, not just sales.

Retention isn’t about complicated strategies—it’s about talking to people, consistently and meaningfully.

How Personal Trainers Can Grow Their Business with HealthSeeker Strategies

Expanding a PT business typically requires higher paying clients or longer working hours. 

Another way is to resonate with a broader audience through HealthSeeker strategies, which focus on engaging the 85% of the population who are not currently members of gyms or health clubs. 

By tailoring your services to meet the needs of these individuals, you can unlock a largely untapped market and establish a thriving, inclusive business model. It also talks to a lot of good PT’s core values of helping people with their long-term health, rather than a quick fix weight loss goal.

This article was originally published in FitPro. Click here to check out their other great resources and education. 

Boost Member Retention: The Power of Group Exercise for New Joiners

Looking for new ways of getting your new members to stick around longer? Group exercise could be the key.  

This article explores why group fitness classes are a game changer for retention and offers practical strategies to engage with more of your new members.

Onboarding focus

While onboarding often focuses on individual inductions, integrating group exercise into the process can significantly boost engagement and retention.

It may not be easy – many popular classes are full, and the timetable can be a bone of contention with members trying to book, so staff might avoid exacerbating the issues. But you have to work on the harder stuff to get greater success.

Class members stay longer; an average of 2 extra months

But most operators know that class members stay longer. Our research shows that booking a class is as effective as, or more effective than an induction at increasing engagement. 

Members who attend at least one class in their first month make 1-2 more first month visits (FMVs) than those who don’t attend any classes, and they will stay around 2 months longer on average.