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As more fitness centers opening each week – including full service gyms and studios dedicated to yoga, cycling, boxing, crossfit and more – U.S. fitness industry employment is on the rise. In fact, fitness center employment is projected to grow by 10 percent by 2026.
With so many employment opportunities available, your fitness center needs to have a top-notch company culture and offer employees a comprehensive list of benefits to attract and hire quality talent. Below, we’ve pulled together an overview of recommended benefits you should offer your fitness center employees.
Discounted or Free Membership and Services
Personal trainers and group fitness instructors likely choose a fitness career because they’re passionate about their own health and fitness. One of the key benefits you should offer employees as your fitness center is free membership, so they can work on getting in shape before or after scheduled shifts. And in addition to offering a complimentary gym membership, also offer discounts on other products or services if you have an in-house snack bar, retail store or spa. Such perks will make employees more motivated to join your team and stay around long-term.
Ongoing Training and Certification Reimbursement
For your employees to stay up-to-date on the latest fitness trends and offer members the best service possible, it’s critical to have ongoing training in place. Some fitness brands offer in-house training, such as CPR, customer service, leadership and general job skills training. If your fitness brand doesn’t offer in-house training, implement a process to reimburse employees for continued training or certification reimbursement. Depending on the personal training certification, many trainers need to complete continuing education credits (CEC) in order to remain certified, and CPR training needs to be refreshed every 12-15 months. Offering to cover the CEC or renewal costs is a great incentive to encourage top employees to continue working for your fitness center.
Traditional Employee Benefits
Beyond benefits specific to working at a fitness center, make sure to highlight any traditional benefits you offer to your employees. This can include such benefits as health insurance, life and short-term disability insurance, paid time off, retirement benefits, commuter benefits and more. Include the benefits on your career site and in job descriptions to get prospective applicants excited about working at your fitness center. With a comprehensive list of benefits, you’re also more likely to attract candidates who want to build a long-term career at your fitness center, rather than taking on a short-term role.
Career Growth
Personal trainers and group fitness instructors account for 59 percent of all roles in the fitness industry, but some have career aspirations above and beyond these roles. Highlight potential career paths on your career site and the associated benefits of each. For example, at a growing fitness brand, a personal trainer can move on to become an area director of fitness across several locations, or move on to a management role to train incoming personal trainers.
Employee benefits are just a small piece of the puzzle when it comes to attracting and hiring quality personal trainers, group fitness instructors and administrative staff at your fitness center. For more information on how to build your best team, download our eBook, “Overcoming the Fitness Industry’s Top Challenge: Competition.”
