“My staff never puts equipment away.”
“Our sales office is a disaster.”
“There are 10 unanswered emails in the inbox.”
“My staff members don’t care as much as I do!”
Ever said stuff like this? We all have.
If you struggle to get consistent action from your staff, you have two possible causes:
1. Your processes.
2. Your people.
It’s easier to blame people for problems in your gym.
You’ll note that complaints from gym owners often contain words such as “someone,” “anyone” and “no one.”
Very few complains start with this sentence: “I analyzed my process to see if that’s causing the issue.”
But before you decide to fire someone, you must determine what’s at the root of your problems. In many cases, you’ll find that you and your processes are at fault.
But sometimes you’ll find it is indeed your people who are mucking things up.
Here’s how to analyze the situation.
Process Questions
Question 1
“Have I told staff members exactly what to do and exactly how to do it?”
If anyone on my staff is failing to perform at the highest level, I first assume it’s my fault: The process isn’t clear enough to them.
Gym owners—and entrepreneurs in general—frequently assume that everyone knows what we know or that our knowledge is “common sense.” But that’s not the case. Often, our instructions are too complex or contain gaps that our brains skip right over.
Example: I once had a cleaner named Sean. His checklist said, “Mop the floors.” So he did—but he didn’t use any soap because I didn’t write “pour a cup of soap into the hot water.” The dirty floors were my fault: Sean was just following my poor directions.
The need for clarity is so obvious to me now that I spend a great deal of my time ensuring every aspect of our mentorship practice is laid out in detail. That includes internal processes and processes we use with our clients.
For best results, document every aspect of your business for team members and don’t skip any steps.
Question 2
“Have I shown them what ‘perfect’ means?”
If I’ve told a staff person clearly how to do a job and they’re not meeting expectations, that’s my next question.
My kids define “clean” as “tidy.” My wife’s definition involves bleach and rubber gloves.
To me, “on time” means at least 15 minutes early, but I know many people who think they’re on time if they’re present five minutes after the start time. To me, that’s late—and it’s unacceptable.
But I can’t be subjective. If my coach arrives at two minutes after 9 on the weekend and I’ve only said “be on time,” I’m creating gray areas.
No one can live up to an imaginary standard. Clearly spell out the gold standard in all work: “Be there no later than 9 a.m.”
If possible, take a picture: “This is what a clean office looks like.”
Question 3
“Have I reviewed their performance with them?”
If staff members know exactly what 10-out-of-10 performance is but they’re scoring 8s, I have to ask that question.
I struggle with this at times. I laid out the process and told people what “perfect” is, so I think everything is fine. Except some people don’t evaluate their performance objectively.
For example, eight in 10 drivers will tell you they’re “better than average” because their egos won’t allow them to label themselves “below average.”
Your staff is the same: If you don’t rate performance regularly, they’ll assume that they’re meeting and even exceeding standards.
Give them a scorecard—your evaluation form—on the day of their hire, and schedule two or three reviews per year for all team members.
Tell staff members that you’ll give them something to improve at every single meeting. If you do that, they’ll arrive expecting direction, and they won’t feel defensive when you say, “Our focus for the next three months is responding to all leads in five minutes or less.”
Question 4
“Do they have an emotional reason to succeed?”
This is the question I must ask if I’m sticking to an evaluation schedule and staff members are still failing.
“It’s your job” doesn’t carry emotional weight for a lot of people, especially when they’re tired and would rather flop on the couch and stream “House of the Dragon.”
But what if they know that their failure hurts others?
“If you don’t respond to leads quickly, people won’t get the help they need and Greg won’t have any PT clients to train.”
Our job is to make them see the consequences of their failure through the eyes of others and create emotional attachment to success.
“What will the buyer think if you spell his name incorrectly on the invoice?”
“Do you think Kim will be motivated to work out tomorrow if you forget to deliver her workout by 6 a.m.?”
And so on. Make it real and make it personal.
People-Problem Questions
If answering the four questions above doesn’t highlight a process problem, you have a people problem.
If you have a great person, they could be doing a job that doesn’t optimally challenge them. Or maybe the wrong person is doing the job.
Question 1
“Do they have a clear view of their future in the company?”
Does the person in question see how performance in a current role will create opportunities later?
Do they believe they’re stuck answering Instagram DMs for life or do they know it’s a short-term responsibility on the way to becoming sales manager?
Set up regular Career Roadmap Meetings for your staff members. Make sure you know where they want to go, and make sure they know you want to help them get there.
Question 2
“Does their future position depend on success in this position?”
Here’s what I mean: Am I judging their worthiness as coaches on their ability to scrub toilets?
I understand this concept because I am not a great cleaner. I won’t be happy in a cleaning role unless I see the big picture and my place in it, with a timeline for advancement.
No one is going to hit a 10 out of 10 on every job—not me, not you and not our staff members. In some cases, a person could simply be in the wrong seat on the bus.
Is it better to get mad at an A+ personal trainer who forgets to take out the garbage or hire a caretaker so the coach can keep delivering great service to clients who pay $90 an hour?
The answer is obvious.
Question 3
“Will this person be part of the team that takes us to the next level?”
The people who got you where you are might not be the same people who get you to the top of the next hill.
As an entrepreneur, you’re constantly developing your skills. But some people don’t have that drive—which is fine until circumstances change.
For example, a coach who loves group classes but hates PT might thrive if you focus on groups. But if you and your mentor determine a focus on PT and semi-private training would be better for the business, you might have a people problem. To solve it, you should chart the career paths for staff members again or plan their exits.
One of the greatest questions I’ve ever learned to ask is this: “Do you still want to do this?”
Surprisingly, the answer is sometimes “no”—and that’s much better than “maybe” because it allows both the owner and their staff to move forward, even if it’s not together.
Ask and Act
When your staff isn’t living up to expectations, assume you have a process problem.
But if you ask yourself the first four questions above and answer “yes” each time, you have a people problem. That’s tougher but still solvable.
Most of the time, the first question you should ask is, “Am I the problem?”
If you are, create the process that creates the result you want, then get out of the way.
The greatest gift you can give your staff is the opportunity to succeed.
