Compensation vs. Recognition

Today, July 14, 2008, is the official deadline for entries to the 15th annual Nova7 Facility Awards competition. While, each year, the number of entries rises and declines, no doubt due to a variety of factors, I sometimes wonder if facility operators really recognize the importance of this type of award for their facility’s employees.

So, my question for you is, what do you believe motivates your employees more: compensation or recognition? My guess is that the majority of your responses will be split somewhere near the middle. This dissension seems to be caused by a disconnect between what managers think employees want, and what employees really want: cash or other tangibles, such as trophies/plaques and public expressions of gratitude.

The debate between compensation vs. recognition has been ongoing. While many companies realize the need to recognize employees for a job well done, many others take the easy way out by throwing money at employees instead. But, money isn’t everything, especially when it comes to job motivation. That said, everyone has to have a sufficient amount of money to meet their needs. But, rewarding someone by bribing them with cash is hardly an incentive to make them want to excel at their jobs.

The reality is that money pays the bills and buys extras, but it doesn’t make people feel good about themselves. And, everyone wants, or rather needs, to feel good about themselves. Feeling good about their accomplishments is what makes employees want to excel, and then continue to excel.

An online Maritz Poll survey, conducted in October 2005 of 1,002 randomly selected, full-time employed adults (502 men and 500 women) ages 18 to 65-plus from throughout the United States, found that employees who were completely satisfied with their company’s recognition programs were significantly more satisfied with their jobs, more likely to remain with the company and more likely to recommend their workplace to others. Specifically, 55 percent of those surveyed agreed or strongly agreed that the quality of their company’s recognition efforts affects their job performance. Yet, at the same time, only 10 percent of them strongly agreed that they are completely satisfied with their company’s employee recognition efforts.

According to a MotivationNetwork article, “Webster defines compensation as ‘that which is given or received as an equivalent for services, debt, want, loss, suffering, etc.’ Clearly, compensation is linked to security and safety, for no one feels safe unless sufficiently compensated to meet their needs. Recognition, on the other hand, is defined as ‘acknowledgment and approval, gratitude, etc.’ Recognition appeals to the higher levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, especially social and self-esteem needs.”

Establishing recognition programs can often be time-consuming, especially for independently owned facilities whose owners/managers are already wearing umpteen hats. That’s why I initially asked whether facility operators really understand the importance of such awards programs as the Nova7 Facility Awards. This, and other industry awards, such as the IDEA Health and Fitness Awards and the ICAA Active Aging Awards are meant to take the burden off of you, while, at the same time, provide a service to you. You’re off the hook for developing your own recognition programs, and your employees are recognized not just within your facility, but nationally among the entire industry with trophies and plaques, and, even more importantly, with words of praise in industry publications.

If you didn’t get your staff involved in entering one or more of these awards programs this year, I strongly encourage you to do so in the coming years.

Full Disclosure

Brianna Godfrey was miffed when the personal trainer she’d hired at Gold’s Gym was replaced with no explanation. Wilfredo Rivera was, by her account, a true professional. “He was very motivating, very encouraging, he knew what he was talking about — really a good guy,” Godfrey told a KUTV reporter.

She was even more miffed when she found out why her trainer went missing. Rivera didn’t call in sick or quit. He was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and rape.

This news was upsetting, to say the least, but what upset her most was that she didn’t hear the truth from Gold’s Gym. Instead, she found out her trainer was a wanted criminal — captured thanks to a nationwide manhunt called “Operation Falcon” — from a story on the local news.

Perhaps Gold’s Gym management hoped that by keeping its mouth shut about the circumstances of Rivera’s absence, they’d avoid the fallout. Instead, the club lost a customer and its reputation.

It’s possible that management was embarrassed. Indeed, they should have been. Not only was one of its personal trainers arrested for a violent crime, but he had previously served time in a federal prison for drug and weapons charges.

Gold’s Gym had the chance to prove itself as a forthcoming, up-front business when Rivera was arrested. Management could have stepped up and been honest about the circumstances of his disappearance, and reassured members that the charges weren’t brought by another member. Instead, management kept its mouth shut, leaving Godfrey feeling confused and betrayed.

And why’s that? Apparently, Gold’s doesn’t hire its trainers. Instead, it contracts them through a separate agency called Professional Fitness . “A spokesperson for Gold’s Gym said he was assured background checks were being performed, and that every trainer had come up clean,” reported KUTV. “Now he says they are evaluating if they will continue their relationship with Professional Fitness.”

Um … evaluating? Is that a joke? How about terminating its relationship with Professional Fitness? That seems a more appropriate response to the situation.

But then, I think we can all agree that there was nothing appropriate about how Gold’s handled any of this.

Everyone makes mistakes; but, informing your membership when an employee has been arrested on suspicion of committing a violent crime? That’s a no-brainer.

The Brain Needs Exercise, Too

Members come into your facility every day to work out their bodies. They are trying to lose weight, gain muscle, lower their chances of disease, improve their time in a race and more. However, a small but growing number of members may also be coming into your fitness center to work out their brain.

Studies have found that exercise can improve brain function and memory. One study found that a simple, hour-long exercise program twice a week had a positive effect on the ability of Alzheimer’s patients to perform daily activities. Another found that schools that push fitness and nutrition among students have seen standardized test scores rise by as much as 50 percent over two years.

Exercises specific to the brain can also help improve memory, or at least slow its decline. Puzzles, games and educational activities can help people’s minds stay sharp. An article published by ABC News says that the brain is particularly stimulated by multi-tasking, such as playing a game and socializing at the same time. It also thrives on trying new things — even something as simple as taking a different route to work or switching around your exercise routine.

With more older adults becoming members of fitness centers, the time may be right to offer “mind exercises” to your members. In addition to the exercise options you already offer, why not offer special classes or activities for the brain? You could offer weekly or monthly seminars on a variety of topics (not necessarily fitness- or health-related, since learning of any type helps to stimulate the brain), daily or weekly brain teasers or puzzles (members turn them in for a prize drawing), a word-of-the-day posted in the locker rooms, or classes on your group schedule that combine exercise with memory activities or learning.

Ideas abound for how you can encourage members to exercise their brains. Your older members will especially appreciate these types of offerings, and you can solidify your role as a whole-body fitness center, or even just one that likes to have fun and engage its members with puzzles and games.

Fitness Engineering

With all of the controversy over
genetic engineering, there’s some good news for those who are against it. It appears that scientists may not actually need to alter genes to rid us of the myriad diseases that plague our society. Instead, all individuals have to do is eat right and exercise, and the disease-preventing genes will actually increase, while the disease-promoting genes shut down.

Sound too good to be true? Not according to a recent
study conducted at the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, Calif. The study involved 30 men with low-risk prostate cancer who decided to undergo three months of major lifestyle change in lieu of conventional medical treatment such as surgery or hormone therapy.

This study could have an exciting implication for the fitness industry — especially at a time when it’s reported that fitness facility memberships declined in 2007 for the first time in 10 years — primarily due to people cutting back on expenses due to high gasoline and grocery prices. The implication of this study, however, is that people can’t afford not to be a member of a fitness facility. This is a do-or-die situation — especially for those with bad genes.

The new marketing approach for the industry could be something like, “Wish you could just scrap those genes your parents’ burdened you with? We’re trained to help you genetically alter your chances of getting sick. Sign up now for our program of fitness engineering.”

People are worried about falling victim to diseases such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension and a host of others. A marketing approach that focuses on wellness with research to back it up is a whole lot better than the focus on appearance.

All the Rage

I hate to revisit a contentious topic, but I’ll do it anyway. Remember all the hoopla about grunting? Depending on which side of the workout bench they were on, people focused on any number of issues: member rights, club rights, membership agreements, women in the workplace and appropriate behavior on the fitness floor. They discussed all aspects of grunting — whether or not an exerciser has the right to grunt, whether or not it helps a workout — and ended up splitting the equivalent of a whole head of hairs.

But, I’ll wager no one thought to take it one step further and consider what would have happened if a manager hadn’t stepped in to diffuse the situation.

Whether or not you agree with how Planet Fitness Manager Carol Palazzolo handled that particular grunting scenario, a recent situation (and subsequent lawsuit) demonstrates what might have happened if she’d stayed on the sidelines and let Albert Argibay grunt himself silly in the free weight area.

Someone might have gotten mad. In fact, he may have even felt a spot of rage. What kind of rage, you ask? Well, it hasn’t been named yet, but it will be.

The thing is, I don’t want a new “rage phrase” coined in a fitness center. “Spin rage” is bad enough (thank you, NY Daily News). I can think of more that would be equally bad. Can you imagine yoga rage, occurring when the instructor holds the Downward-Facing Dog just a few seconds too long? Or treadmill rage, occurring when a wannabe marathoner goes way over the 20-minute limit? How about Swiss ball rage, occurring when an exerciser bounces excessively high in an attempt to touch the ceiling?

Sadly, none of those are more ridiculous than the event that inspired “Spin rage,” wherein a man repeatedly shouted the dubiously self-motivating, “You go, girl!” accompanied by some enthusiastic grunting. It was just too much for Christopher Carter, who felt the need to remove Stuart Sugarman from his group cycle and slam him into a wall. You go, girl … er, guy.

So, thank you, Carol Palazzolo. I know it was a tricky situation, and you got a lot of flak for the choices you made that day in the weight room. But thank you for postponing, at least temporarily, a seemingly inevitable new rage phrase.

Side note: Guess what. You now need padded group cycling walls. Look for them at the next trade show.

No Need for Separation of Church and Fitness

When it comes to encouraging people to exercise, the fitness industry can use all the help it can get – maybe even from a higher power. A 2003 Harris Interactive survey found that 90 percent of adults in the U.S. believe in God. That’s A LOT of people! By comparison, only 10 percent of people in the U.S. belong to fitness centers. Maybe the fitness industry could get a boost from religion.

According to an article in the Montgomery Advertiser, many fitness pros and enthusiasts are taking the Biblical principle, “your body is a temple,” to heart. In addition to church-hosted group exercise classes and diet support groups, community fitness centers that offer faith-based fitness programs are beginning to pop up.

One example is Holy Spirit Gym in Costa Mesa, Calif. The fitness center is open to everyone, but features Bible scripture on the wall, and Christian music over the sound system.

Another facility, Fit 4 Christ, in Montgomery, Ala., plays Christian and gospel music, and offers weekend spiritual programs, prayer partners, and daily devotionals and Bible study. “People are finally identifying the connection between being physically fit and being spiritually in tune, and they’re inspired to do something,” says owner Antonio King.

While these examples are Christian-based, there are also facilities that cater to Muslim women, the JCC caters to the Jewish community, and many yoga and mind/body studios have a new-age/spiritual approach.

Of course, most fitness centers wouldn’t succeed with a religious-based theme, but some could and do. With so many believers out there, and so many untapped potential members, maybe this is one approach that could get more people into fitness centers. For those who haven’t responded to other types of motivation, maybe God is the answer. For fitness centers looking to fill a niche in their community, maybe God is also the answer.

Woman Power

Women rule! Don’t take offense, guys. It’s just that, since the new millennium, this truth has been emerging, and it just can’t be ignored any longer — especially by business owners.

I remember not too many years ago when we reported in the pages of FM that the number of female members in fitness facilities had finally caught up with that of men. In fact, the latest statistics published by IHRSA show that women make up 57 percent of U.S. health club members. Women are just a lot more serious than men about fitness. The National Sporting Goods Association’s 2007 sports participation survey shows that women constitute a majority of participants in four of six fitness activities: yoga, 85 percent; aerobic exercising, 71 percent; exercise walking, 63 percent; working out at a club, 55 percent; and exercising with equipment, 51 percent.

But, I’m not giving you these numbers to brag about my gender. Really. I’m doing it because, as a facility operator/professional, this knowledge can and will improve your business. If you put it to use.

At the IHRSA trade show and convention in 2001, Tom Peters, an influential guru of management, spoke about the importance of this emerging trend in the fitness business industry. And, he pointed out that while more than half of fitness center members are women, a lot less than that are on fitness center management teams. The problem with that, he said, is that men and women are completely different: They have different exercise regimen needs, and they purchase services differently. As such, it’s not possible for men to create the “perfect” fitness facility experience for women.

That’s a problem, because while Business Week, in an article titled I Am Woman, Hear Me Shop, reported that while “women earn less money than their counterparts, … they make more than 80 percent of buying decisions in all homes.” It’s critical, says the article, that business owners understand women’s needs and dissatisfactions and, in turn, change the way they design, position and sell their products.

With that said, ask yourself, “How have I responded to an increase in the number of women members in my facility?” If you’re drawing a blank, that means you’ve obviously not given it much thought. As such, you haven’t done anything, and you’re losing business.

Even if you have made some changes, it will still help to understand some fundamental differences between the sexes, as pointed out on the Entrepreneurial Connection website’s SuccessSkills Archives article collection titled
How to Market to Women.

• First, women are social beings. They see their membership not just as a quest to become healthy, but as a way to connect with others.

• Second, a woman’s decision-making style, especially when purchasing, is to thoroughly investigate, especially on the web. And, she doesn’t respond well to pressure to close the sale. Therefore, answer questions, but don’t push.

• Third, the details matter. Women notice things that men tend to merely disregard, such as poor attention by the staff at the front desk, unpleasant odors in the locker room, weights not placed in their proper place, etc.

• Fourth, women are stressed. Between their roles as workers, wives and mothers, they juggle more in life than their male counterparts. The fitness facility should be a place where the products work well and are easy to operate, and customer service should come with a human touch. Research shows that, to reduce their stress, women are willing to “pay more for delivery of groceries, meals and dry cleaning, and for service providers such as financial counselors, personal trainers and dog groomers.”

I love statistics. They let us know where things really stand. But, you actually have to use these statistics to your benefit. If you do, you’ll likely be at the receiving end of one of women’s greatest qualities: They’re the most loyal of customers, and they will spread the positive word about your business to all of their friends. If not, expect the opposite. Tom Peters made a point of saying that he’d spoken with a member of a New York stock brokering firm who shared that their average male customer recommended him as a broker to 2.6 people, while the average woman customer recommended him to 21!