Employee Benefits: How Does Your Health Club Compare to the Competition?

Could you use some guidance when it comes to compensating your health club’s employees? If so, you’re not alone. The IHRSA Health Club Employee Compensation & Benefits Report, published in March 2017, can help you compare your club to the competition in terms of hourly pay, annual salaries, and employee benefits.

The report is based on survey data provided by leading IHRSA member health clubs in the U.S. and Canada, and provides compensation information for senior management/corporate staff, salaried club-level employees, and hourly club-level employees. Salary information for select job titles is provided by geographical region, company type, and size in number of units and total annual sales. The report also provides a brief macroeconomic outlook on compensation and unemployment.

Key Highlights: Employee Benefits

• Most responding companies provide medical insurance to their salaried employees (91%) and hourly employees (71%).
• On average, companies pay 67% of the premium for salaried club-level employees and 61% of the premium for hourly club-level employees.
• Approximately 62% also provide medical insurance to salaried employee dependents and 45% of hourly employee dependents. On average, companies pay for 33% of the family coverage premium for salaried club-level employees and 23% of the family coverage premium for hourly club-level employees.
• Of those providing health insurance, the most popular types are PPO (34%), traditional indemnity (27%), HMO (21%), and high deductible/HSA plans (20%).
• On average, responding companies experienced an 8.9% increase in health care premiums from 2015 to 2016.
• Two-thirds of the responding companies offer a retirement plan to employees. Of those companies, a 401(k) plan is clearly the most popular type of plan (82% offer one).
• Nearly two-thirds of the respondents match employee contributions to the 401(k) plan.
• The average number of paid leave days offered to salaried employees ranges from eight days for employees with less than one year on the job to 21 days for salaried employees with over ten years of tenure.
• The average number of paid leave days offered to hourly employees ranges from five days for employees with less than one year on the job to 16 days for hourly employees with over ten years of tenure.
• One-third of the responding companies allow unused vacation to carry over to the next year. Fewer (15%) allow employees to receive compensation for unused sick days.

A complimentary copy of The IHRSA Health Club Employee Compensation & Benefits Report was sent to all healthclubs.com featured employers and to all IHRSA members who completed the survey which resulted in the report. It can be purchased online, either in full or in three cost-effective parts. Please contact store@ihrsa.org with any questions.