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Hireology CEO and Co-Founder, Adam Robinson, spoke at the annual Anytime Fitness Conference on Saturday, September 8, in Louisville, Kentucky. The event brought together club owners and managers from across many of Anytime Fitness’ 4,200 locations.
Anytime Fitness is the world’s fastest-growing gym franchise and as a strategic hiring partner in the fitness industry, we wanted to pull together some key trends we noticed at the conference. See an overview of the trends below.
The Fitness Industry is Rapidly Growing
During the opening ceremony, Anytime Fitness Co-Founder and CEO, Chuck Runyon, discussed how rapidly the fitness industry is growing. The success of Anytime Fitness is a clear example of the industry’s growth, as it was founded in 2002 and has already expanded to more than 4,200 locations in more than 30 countries. And the total number of fitness centers in the U.S. is more than 34,000.
As the fitness industry grows, so does the competition. Today’s consumers have countless options to get in shape – including other full-service gyms, fitness apps, at-home videos, and specialty studios such as yoga, cycling and crossfit. This means fitness franchises need to offer a top-notch customer experience to attract and retain members – or risk losing them to the competition.
Successful Franchise Owners Invest in the Latest Technology
In his speaking session, Chuck Runyon also touched on the importance of successful fitness franchises investing back into their businesses and embracing the latest technology. As consumers become more tech savvy, they expect technology to be integrated into their day-to-day lives – including as part of their fitness routines. For example, many group fitness classes – especially cycling classes and high intensity training sessions – now include leaderboards throughout the room to show who is leading the class, encouraging participants to get the best workout possible.
Other fitness centers have embraced apps to offer a more engaging member experience.In recent years, mobile app usage has increased 168% and fitness apps in particular have seen a 62% increase in daily usage. Online group class reservations have also increased by 144%. Beyond reaching customers while they’re on the go, fitness franchises that maintain a mobile app can provide a better customer experience, as customers don’t have to risk showing up to a class that is at capacity or has been canceled due to lack of interest.
Employees Are a Key Source of Competitive Advantage
Adam Robinson’s speaking session focused on how fitness franchises can build their best teams. When it comes to staying ahead of the competition, employees are critical to a differentiated customer experience. In fact, 68 percent of gym members have stopped working with a personal trainer because of a poor experience, meaning hiring the best team possible should be a top priority.
To build the best fitness franchise team, it’s key to build a strong employment brand. A strong employment brand can help fitness franchises attract more qualified applicants, which will lead to better hires, better managers and leaders, and a stronger company culture overall.
Top fitness businesses also take it a step further than building a strong employment brand and embrace hiring technology to make sourcing and hiring top talent as efficient as possible. Anytime Fitness has tapped into Hireology’s integrated hiring and talent management platform to help fill more than 20,000 positions across the growing fitness franchise. Using Hireology, Anytime Fitness owners can customize their recruiting strategy to each location, develop effective job descriptions, strategically source talent, quickly identify qualified applicants and automate many steps of the hiring process.
For more information on how embracing technology and building your best team can help your fitness business grow, read our resource, “Overcoming the Fitness Industry’s Top Challenge: Competition.”
