Stressful Staff?? Spoiler Alert: It's Likely A You Problem.
No more Mr. Nice Guy/Girl/They/whatever
Don’t expect a 10 when you can barely afford a 7.
As business owners, our expectations of ourselves are high. We view time as an unlimited resource by taking on more than we can handle and strong-arming results through hard work.
Only got 4 hours of sleep?
Fuck it. You show up anyway and train your clients at 5am with a fresh 300 mg of caffeine flowing through your bloodstream. Because your coaching performance is always at a 10, none of the clients realize you’re a walking corpse fueled by energy drinks.
Had to sacrifice your own workout to get work done?
All damn day. You realize that leadership isn’t some badge you get to wear just because you sign the checks. So you put your own fitness on the back burner to get the business to where it needs to be.
This is where you go wrong.
You’re a 10/10 in your business in terms of work ethic and skill set.
But you make the mistake of expecting your employees to match your score and output.
Let’s be honest with ourselves. You’re a 10 because you’re the owner, your livelihood, and reputation is on the line with this business. You have all the risk, but you also can have all the reward.
So why would an employee ever match your 10?
In reality, most gym owners hire 5s and 6s.
Within time, if developed right, they can become 7’s or 8’s.
Rarely will they hit 9-status. It’s possible, but only after years of experience and a ton of development from you.
If you ever find a 9 straight out of the hiring gate, hold onto them for as long as you can. We call this a “batteries included” hire, and they are rare unicorns.
However, since you likely cannot offer an employment and compensation opportunity to attract 9s, do this instead:
Manage our expectations
Put on our entrepreneurial beer goggles
Take home a 6
Tell everyone they’re a 9 (but actually put in the work to eventually get them there).
Rinse and repeat. The HR department of your business is never-ending.
Employees will fuck up. Here’s how to handle it…
During the time in which you’re busy developing staff, they are going to fall short of your established role expectations.
If you’ve taken any of my courses inside of Microgym University, you know that I’m big on clearly listing the expectations that your business expects from each role within the org chart.
As you’re well aware, those expectations and/or performance requirements are not always met. This is what I’d refer to as an infraction.
#1: Infractions and unmet performance requirements need to be discussed and documented formally.
If they showed up late to coach class (even once).
If they failed to hit their expected sales goal (even once).
If they can’t follow the step-by-step instructions for properly closing the gym at the end of a shift (even once).
Then you need to discuss and document.
#2: Have a private meeting, with a witness.
It’s an actual meeting because it’s important.
It’s private because you’re not looking to start a rumor-mill.
You’ll have a witness because it’s just smart to do.
Ensure that this meeting is simple and to the point:
”Sally, I asked you in here today to discuss your late arrival to coach the 6am class. Do you understand the expectations of your role as it relates to arriving 30 minutes prior to a coaching shift?
OK then. This is simply a meeting to inform you that we have high expectations for you within this role and believe you’re fully capable of meeting & exceeding them. Is there anything I can do to help make sure this doesn’t happen again?
OK then. Please sign the bottom of this infraction documentation that simply states that we met in regard to this issue. If this continues, your position within this role could likely be compromised.”
#3: If infractions continue, remove them from that role and move on. If there’s improvement, praise them at their quarterly performance review.
No extra detail needed. It’s that simple.
Informal verbal warnings are for owner who are afraid of having hard conversations.
“But, I mentioned it to Sally like 100x! She just doesn’t listen!”
By following the steps above, you’re demonstrating to the employee how seriously you take these infractions.
What do you think it relays to the employee when you simply send a text message or have a passing verbal conversation?
Exactly. Do more if you expect more.
If you’re looking for a complete HR deep dive as to how to handle recruiting, hiring and firing — check out the latest courses within Microgym University.
There’s over 100 hours of business courses available that are specifically for gym owners. This is not a system you have to follow, but rather access to the best practices from some of the most successful gym in the country.
#hardworkdonesmart
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