SCW Spotlite: Issue 48

Measuring Group Fitness Instructors Beyond Attendance

by Staci Alden

The number of people who attend group ex classes should not be the only way we, as managers, measure success of the instructor. A 6:30am Tuesday yoga leader is likely to have fewer attendees in their class than the 5:30pm Monday strength coach; no matter how good or bad that instructor is. The gap in attendance has very little to do with the quality of classes, and more to do with the fact that fewer people are in the club at the time of their class. It’s vital that instructors feel they are just as valued for their engagement, consistency, and dedication. Let’s discover six other ways of measuring an instructor’s value beyond attendance.

Take Action

A strong team of instructors is filled with “action takers.” It is important to track and recognize those who are visibly evolving and improving their class programming and not just showing up to teach the same class, the same way, every time. In theory, it takes 10,000 hours to become a master at something… and those hours are not about just showing up, but intentionally challenging and improving each hour.

After attending an instructor’s class, jot down the feedback you provide them so when you return to their class in the future, the notes can help determine if anything changed or improved. Even if the employee agrees with the feedback, their action is much more valuable than words. Recognize your instructors publicly and in one-on-one situations.  Review when they “take action” or show self-improvement in their class experience.

Overall Engagement

How can we expect to successfully manage a team if they aren’t engaging with our communication? First, keep tabs on the instructors who are not responding to emails or even opening them. There are many strategies to assess the engagement of your team via email. For example, you could ask for a specific reply to ensure they read the entire message and then track who responds. Another could be a “read receipt” trigger where you get a notification or a report of how many instructors open a specific email.

A second sign of engagement is meeting attendance. If you host a meeting, whether it’s virtual or in person, assign someone to track who’s there and notice who contributes to the discussion.

A final measurement for engagement is cheerleading; track which instructors are attending other classes or promoting other teachers and club events during their own class.

Reliability

Your team needs to know you’re paying attention to the details and holding them accountable. Identify how you can regularly assess arrival times for your instructors. Don’t just look for who’s possibly arriving “late” to the club in order to start class at an ideal time, but also who’s going above and beyond by arriving early.

When your club or department implements a new system or audits certifications, pay attention to which instructors are the first to follow suit and provide valuable and supportive feedback. We must recognize instructors for their reliability on logistical tasks, i.e., regularly tracking attendance, clocking in and out, cleaning up the studio, keeping their CPR and primary certifications up to date… etc. The more you hold instructors accountable and reward them for following expectations, the less unnecessary effort or energy you expend on housekeeping items. Therefore, bettering the entire team and managerial experience!

Teamwork

Are you leading an actual team or simply a group of instructors who teach at the same facility? A team understands that winning involves more players than just themselves. Teammates cheer for each other and help in times of need. Attending and subbing other’s classes along with encouraging participants to try different classes are actions of a group fitness instructor who deserves a high teamwork rating. Share these expectations and values of teamwork with your team. Praise instructors out loud for supporting each other and incentivize instructors, possibly by paying them, when they attend another class.

Versatility

The pandemic challenged our teams in unique and memorable ways. Try creating a list of the instructors who rose to the challenge. Who on the team has become certified in a new format? Learned how to teach virtually? Taken it upon themselves to help educate, encourage, and mentor new instructors? These instructors are the ones who are self-motivated, a trait that with the proper recognition, can be just the fuel and confidence booster that instructor needs.

Going Above and Beyond

If you want more instructors to go above and beyond for their participants and the facility, you must articulate what going above and beyond truly means. Consistently arriving on time is an expectation; learning and remembering something significant about a participant goes above and beyond. If you receive a comment that “Rachel is the best barre instructor!” that does not necessarily mean Rachel goes above and beyond. Before sharing the feedback with the instructor or the team, ask for more. Once you’ve received detailed and specific praise from a participant about why they love an instructor, go crazy! Save it in a file for later. Be sure to share it with the instructor, upper management, and the rest of the team.

Another way you can express to your team how to go above and beyond is by getting to know employees in other departments. Ask other departments like the front desk, membership, and childcare which instructors they know well, and ask if they are kind, helpful, and approachable.

I hope these ideas for different ways to measure instructors helps you recognize your team beyond attendance and highlights their efforts and contributions to the others. This type of evaluation shift, may cause a surprising ripple effect. The right instructors will stay and evolve with your team leading to participant satisfaction increasing more instructors to strive above and beyond. You may even notice that your job as the Group Fitness Manager has become more manageable.