Why You Should Turn Your Health Club Employees into Followers

If you had to guess, would you say your health club staff is just as driven and productive even when management isn’t around?

If the answer isn’t a resounding ‘yes,’ your employees likely view themselves as subordinates.

The Danger of Subordinates

“Subordinates may or may not do what you want them to do,” says Chris Stevenson, owner and founder of Stevenson Fitness in Oak Park, CA. “I always hear people say at night, after the manager leaves, nothing gets done. So you can’t be successful with subordinates.”

They key to a more engaged workforce, according to Stevenson, is to turn subordinates into followers by creating a strong culture at your company.

“When you infuse that culture, that’s when you start to create followers,” he says. “People aren’t just going to work—they’re going to a cause; going to something they believe in.”

How to Turn Subordinates into Followers

To turn subordinates into followers, you need to strategically implement and express your culture in everything your company does. That includes:

• hiring and firing;
• employee recognition;
• meetings and communication;
• print and online marketing;
• signage in the club;
• and practically everything else.

“It’s important that everyone buys into core purpose, mission, and values,” Stevenson says. “Great leaders develop other leaders, so that means empowering people to make decisions, providing consistent training, making sure people aren’t only coming to work—that they’re invested in the purpose and mission and they’re becoming better for having worked for you.”