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STAGE AND EXIT RIGHT PLEASE “SHOWING STAFF THE FRONT DOOR’

Writing a blog on showing ex staff the front door is sure to cause some raised eyebrows. Having had a business for 12 years like many others we all agree on one thing our biggest issue is staff! Now I have to be honest here and say yes I’ve read the editorials,the blogs,the slide shares and I’ve been to numerous workshops on managing staff, but let’s be serious no human is perfect so therefore no employer or employee is. You need to get amongst it to get it and if you’re being honest with yourself right now – I bet you’ve had your fair share of “showing staff the front door”

I work with my team,my team works with me – nobody works for me, until something goes a little pear shaped. There’s no grey area with me it’s either black or white and this is a great way to be, everybody knows where they stand.Trust is earned and I’d rather a thief than a liar – you always know where you stand with a thief but never a liar. Liars always get caught – these days social media does the work for you.

The biggest issue in the fitness industry is soliciting – personal trainers or group fitness instructors decide they want to make a break for it and good luck to them they should use your business as a foundation to grow – there is more to life than working in a gym. But if you’re going to use the club as a stepping stone have the common courtesy to respect not just the business owner but your fellow peers around you. You couldn’t make the break without the opportunity they gave you – people weren’t banging on your door, they opened the door for you.

As a business owner don’t be afraid to give people there marching orders – your brand is bigger than any individual “proven fact” a few people might leave with them but 90% come back – why? Because you created a community and culture that can’t be replicated. People respect you for what you’ve achieved, they don’t respect nor have time for those that betray.

On a recent front door showing it was based on the following and after speaking to club owners it was certainly not uncommon. Personal trainers setting up social media accounts then asking members from the club they work at plus staff to engage in paid sessions not run via the club – meaning they were using the business that employed them to create their own business outside. Bad move,unprofessional and every prospective possible employer is watching and will be wary. Actually you could put them in the same category as leopards! – “Leopards never change their spots” Disappointing in this case for the business owner (me) was to actually see the page and read the posts from two different parties. “don’t tell” childish yes did they need to do it? No! To tell us an indifference to what we read was worse.This is a club where everybody is given opportunity – these people had previously worked in the club a few years back and decided to move out-of-town to have a go at running a business – end result was their business closed,they failed,but good on them for having a go. We allowed them back and in return got betrayal. They got the front door with a few explicit words. Not only have they done themselves a huge disservice they have certainly lost the respect of their former team, at the end of the day the team were victims as well,it was their bread and butter they were chasing. Don’t let your staff run your business, you own it you run it. For every staff member you show the front door another two will walk in eager and ready to go.

In signing off on this blog I see relief yet disappointment in our team,yet I feel for those who have or will encounter such a falsified facade. I can only hope that common sense prevails.