How Dare They?

I'll have to be honest and say that I am one of those boomers who doesn't respond overly well to having my work questioned by a twenty something who's only been in the industry five minutes.

Okay that's probably because, more often than not, they are right, dammit. And I wish I'd had the balls, naivety - call it what you want - to ask those kind of questions when I was their age, but nevertheless.

That's not to say that there aren't some spoilt little so-and-so's out there who've never had to work for a thing in their lives - and don't see why they should start now - but 'twas ever thus.

By its very nature this is a young and energetic industry and, not withstanding the fact that the wages at entry level are pretty shocking, we are likely to continue to attract young people into it.

So, rather than launching into our grumpy old men routines, it is up to those of us who are allegedly older and wiser to learn what turns "Gen Why" - and all the other gens - on, and flex our management styles accordingly.

In other words they're here to stay, so get over it and get on with it.

Here are a few tips: Apparently Gen Y wants constant feedback, openness and transparency - so tell it how it is. They want to be trusted, given responsibility and allowed to fail without fear. They want flexibility around their working conditions and they want to be judged on outcomes not processes - give me a job and some boundaries and then let me get on with it.

Sounds fair enough to me. I'm off to update my Facebook site.

Tim Webster
Consultant
Fitness Professionals

More from one of the UK's leading authorities on Generation Y, Simon Walker, in the next week's post.

To find out more about the conference and to book your place with an Early Bird discount visit the FIA website or email flame@fia.org.uk.

The Fitness Industry does San Diego…

Following 3 months of preparation; late night calls to America, pestering suppliers with booking forms and generally rallying the troops - the IHRSA Convention 2010 in San Diego finally arrived… and as quickly as it crept up on us, it’s now over and all signs of jet-lag have faded to general tiredness!

This was my first trip to San Diego and I fell in love (maybe this was destined to happen – ‘Anchorman’ being one of my favourite films)… such a clean, practical city; all situated around the Convention Centre; it’s difficult to imagine San Diego without it – a very different place I’m sure.

The IHRSA Convention was this year titled “The Future is You!”; aptly supported by a trade show full of new products such as the I-phone app that plots your workout; the Core Tex balance platform and the contagious Zumba demos; as well as a host of interesting seminars; including the Women’s Leadership Summit.

The FIA was based in the International Club for the majority of the week, meeting members; old and new, as well as international counterparts. The lounge was buzzing for the most part, and was seemingly dominated my Brits (despite our flag being missing…)

Outside of the convention, the FIA “Play” schedule kicked in, offering UK delegates the chance to kick-back with familiar faces and view a little more of San Diego…

Our planned Sea Cave Kayaking trip was disappointingly traded in for a bike ride as wind and waves were deemed to be too treacherous by local lifeguards (it was only when our bike ride took us to the waters edge that we were thankful for that decision!). A fairly tame bike ride took us by some stunning scenery and wildlife; Sea Lions, Pelicans and Cormorants – and our “surfer-dude” guide talked us through each of these sights, which was all too much for the industry’s “naughty school-boy” contingent, who took to making their own fun…

That evening we set sail around the San Diego bay in our luxury yacht, equipped with a glass of champagne, tacos and a handsome captain!

It was a great trip from an FIA perspective – a rare opportunity to put faces to names, meet our members and have those more relaxed conversations that a busy office environment is not conducive to. Additionally, from a personal perspective, I learnt a great deal about my colleagues; like precisely how much water (to the millilitre) you have to feed Karen before she’s running to the loo, and just how susceptible Dave is to peer pressure – lovely tattoo!

For photographic evidence click here.

Hayley Bevan
Events and Sponsorhip Manager
Fitness Industry Association

Obnoxious Upselling

I have taken a short vacation from blogging, mainly because of not coming across anything that pissed me off enough to blog about it. That all changed the other day in WH Smith.

Obesity is a killer: one of the biggest causes of heart disease in the western world. It nearly always involves the person concerned having a diet that is obviously less healthy than it really should be. And healthy diets rarely involve significant amounts of crisps or milk chocolate. I speak as an unreformed carbandfatoholic.

I find the compulsory upselling carried out by WH Smith checkout staff to be particularly obnoxious. I was just paying for a newspaper when one said, "Would you like one of these chocolate bars for just a pound?"

I am now reasonably strong about confronting my chocolate problem so I was able to Just Say No. But a lot of people are successfully ambushed by this ploy which exploits them when their defences are down.

Don't fall for it. And next time they try it on you, tell them where they can put their Toblerone.

Graham Davies
Speaker & Director at Speakers with Content

Graham Davies is a 'recovering barrister' and former President of the Cambridge Union. In his role as a Personal Presentation expert he is a regular guest on the BBC, CNN, Sky News and Channel 5. He is the one they call on to analyse major political speeches. When not speaking, he relaxes by providing David Cameron with a sense of humour. Graham is giving the closing keynote at the FIA Conference on July 14th at Cheltenham racecourse.

To find out more about the conference and to book your place with an Early Bird discount visit the FIA website or email flame@fia.org.uk.

'Fit for purpose'

The phrase ‘fit for purpose’ has been haunting me once again.
Last week, as I listened to the outputs of a number of our leading industry thinkers at the 2010 Commission workshop, that phrase kept popping into my head.

IF we want to become ‘Community Activity Hubs’, do we really have the right skills sets to realise that ambition?

IF we have a role to play in delivering ‘preventative and remedial’ medicine, do we really have the right skills sets to realise that .....

IF we want to break through our 12% glass ceiling (12% of the population are members of health clubs and leisure centres), do we really have the right skills sets to .....

You get my point.

I always think that our industry sometimes behaves like some latter day Basil Fawlty: we are very good at beating ourselves up about our retention rates, about the lack of our people/empathy skills, about not really creating a warm enough welcome for gym novices ...... but now, finally, we are starting to work on the solution to these problems, rather than keep reiterating it. That is the task of the 2010 Commission.

What has emerged is that whilst we have an excellent qualifying and career infrastructure in place for fitness trainers, we don’t really have anything for the other 160,000 plus people in the industry. What executive development programmes do we have for our middle managers? What people training courses do we give our people at reception? Etc. Etc.

Having identified the problem, people have already started working on the solution. Over the next few weeks you will learn about the ‘Skills Protocol’ and many other new developments in this area. This is fantastic news for everyone in the industry.

Imagine an age when the ‘gym experience’, in terms of the customer experience, is the envy of other sectors. Imagine Business Week citing our industry right up there with The Ritz Carlton, Amazon and Jaguar as the best of (customer service) breed.

Or perhaps we should just hope that the ‘gym experience’ is enjoyable, rewarding and something everyof Britain’s inactive consumers wants to enjoy....and benefit from.

Imagine if we were ‘fit for purpose’.

David Stalker
Executive Director
Fitness Industry Association

What's the point of life?

Phil Dourado has worked in leadership development for seven years, five of those as a Director of The Inspired Leaders Network. He is lead author of the book Seven Secrets of Inspired Leaders and author of The 60 Second Leader. Phil also founded TheLeadershipHub.com, a global community and development platform that has been described as 'like Facebook for leaders'.

"We are here to add what we can to life, not to get what we can from life." William Osler.

I just came across that and it's a reminder of something good leaders know and do - contribute and serve.

The ridiculous attempts to save 'bonus cultures' and other old-think approaches to life and the world - "my role in life is to accumulate and consume as much as possible" - that are going on all around us at the moment, may be the last throes of a primitivism we are moving away from, with the climate debate prompting us to shift how we think of our lives away from accumulating and consuming.

For leaders, Ken Blanchard puts it this way: "That we have too many self-serving leaders and not enough leaders who serve."

It's the move away from a scarcity to an abundance attitude that we are all inching towards (those of us who are comfortably off, that is) - from waking up thinking, "What can I earn/accumulate today to stave off...what, starvation?" to "What can I contribute today?"

As people know who love their work, when you go out determined to contribute, you find people queuing up to buy your services anyway.

Or am I a fanciful old hippy? What do you think?

Phil Dourado
Owner
The Leadershup Hub Ltd

Phil Dourado is giving two presentations around leadership and customer service at the FIA Conference on July 14th at Cheltenham Racecourse.

To find out more about the conference and to book your place with an Early Bird discount visit the FIA website or email flame@fia.org.uk.

Let's Dance with Change4life

With less than a week to go, the industry will be opening its doors for the next Department of health campaign, Let's Dance with Change4life.

Over 1000 clubs have registered to take part utilising the opportunity to be part of a national campaign which over the last 6 weeks has seen exposure on National TV, radio, magazines and outdoor poster sites around the country.

Now the time is approaching to ensure you membership department is fully prepared to maximise this opportunity and convert free trials to members.

Here are few tips that you may find helpful to ensure your Lets Dance with Change4life weekend is a success:

Sales Tips: Before, During and After

o 7 days prior to the event ensure all participants are called, if there is still space in the class ask them if they would like to bring a friend.

o When completing the guest registration form, hand them a voucher outlining membership offers if they join after the class has finished.

o Ensure all staff has knowledge of what takes place in the classes to be able to use on incoming, outgoing calls and tours of the facility.

o If possible ensure you have as many members of staff available before and after the classes to maximise the opportunity of sign ups.

o Set specific targets for the team to achieve over weekend i.e.:

- Book 6 classes over the weekend with 20 participants in each (50% non-members) = 60 potential prospects.

- Look to make 1 in 3 people members = 20 new members over two days.

- Once targets are achieved, reward staff with a night out, a half day, extra holiday etc

o 7 days following the event ensure all non member participants are called and asked how they found the class and if they would like to join (can extend weekend offer to these people with a 24 hour deadline). If non committal, offer them a day pass to trial all facilities and arrange appointment.

o Set team sales targets against those that did not join on the day to achieve within 7 days.

As ever it would be great to hear back from participating facilities on the success or the challenges you faced while running the campaign so here at the FIA we can continue to develop campaigns that deliver for the industry.

Click here to see a class taking place for Let's Dance with Change4life.

Richard Blackmore
Sales & Membership Director
Fitness Industry Association