As employees return to the office this summer, many are hopeful to return to their onsite fitness centers. With the proper training of your team, janitorial services and facilities groups along with clear communication and procedures for your members, reopening your facility can be a success.

Here are some of Active’s best practices for reopening your corporate fitness center:

• Show don’t just tell. Paint a picture for your members on what to expect, consider your clientele and communicate through various forms of media  (video content, photos, social media, email, etc.). Your messaging should walk members through your facility so they know what to expect before returning.
• Signage. Place signage throughout the fitness center to reinforce current protocols and operations. Keep it limited to high usage areas or important touch-points (entryways, locker rooms, water fountains, sanitation stations, etc.). 
• Cleanliness. Allow your members to see your team cleaning and lead by example in your cleanliness efforts. Consider setting a closed time period throughout the day for a deep cleaning, preferably during low-usage times, to make the most of the team's efforts.
• Highlight HVAC and air quality. Address member fears or hesitancy early on by highlighting all improvements you have made to the air quality. Upgrade your air filters, add filtration to studios and/or smaller or more crowded areas of the site. Make sure any air quality improvements are included in your communication strategy too.

• Empower your members. Capacity limits present a major opportunity to better serve our members and enhance their experience by incentivizing them to schedule their workouts. In a corporate setting, employees are familiar with scheduling and this creates an opportunity for them to schedule their time in the fitness center. If it’s not blocked on their schedule they are far less likely to complete it. If most working professionals plan out their meetings, team training, and lunch breaks, why not their gym time too?
• Volume Meter. A volume meter is an updated measurement of capacity usage for members to determine for themselves whether they feel comfortable to workout during ‘peak’ hours. While it can seem deterring, facilities should feel confident in empowering their members to make the best use of their pursued gym time. Restaurants and bars have been making use of this tactic for quite some time with Google’s live ‘popular times’ meter. Make reservations for guaranteed use or make it clear to them when you’re at your peak hours, be transparent. 

• Continue virtual and in-person services. Virtual offerings are here to stay but this should not take away from in-person offerings. Regardless of the scope or size of your business, you now have the power to serve each of your members in and out of the fitness center. 
• Virtual add-on services. Consider diversifying both with services beyond just the standard group fitness classes or personal training sessions. Classes for stretching, foam rolling, meditation, mindfulness, body part specific, or even educational sessions may be a good fit to add to your virtual offerings. 

• Evaluate in-person add-on services. What’s worked in the past may need adapted or added precautions to meet your member’s needs. Consider a member survey to gauge new/current interests and leverage your team’s strengths to support new or adapted services.

As always, continue to ensure you are complying with all local ordinances, CDC guidelines and the Active & Safe Commitment provided by IHRSA. 

The Active Team can help your onsite fitness center reopen with our consulting and management services.

Contact us today to learn more. 

You might also like:

https://www.activewellness.com/blog/summer-engagement-strategies

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/organizations/gym-employers.html

https://www.ihrsa.org/improve-your-club/safety-considerations-for-your-health-club-reopening-plan/

https://www.activewellness.com/blog/5-steps-to-launch-an-engaging-virtual-fitness-wellness-program

Kiley Mutschler | Regional Manager

Kiley Mutschler is a Regional Manager with Active Wellness, overseeing corporate and multi-tenant fitness centers in Texas, Arizona and Canada. She has over 10 years of experience managing people at all levels; responsible for hiring, training and building strong teams within the organization. Kiley has held many roles within Active Wellness and was named an IHRSA Rising Star in 2019. 

Brando Caballero | Assistant General Manager

Brando Caballero is an Assistant General Manager supporting his multi-tenant fitness center through remote programming, leading virtual classes, in-person & virtual personal training, along with collaborating with his team on innovative initiatives to support working professionals transition back into both, working and exercising on-site.