The secret to increasing personal trainer retention

Aaron McCulloch Co-Founder and Director Your Personal Training

Members who have personal training stay for an average of seven months longer, but the industry retention rate for trainers is staggeringly low. Trainers coming and going like a revolving door is not only bad for members, but costs gyms a serious amount of money.

There’s also a glut of unfilled roles in the industry, with major operators often having more than 100 personal trainer (PT) vacancies across their estate at any one time. Once you have a good PT, it makes sense to hold onto them. So, what’s the best way to do that?

1. Set them up for success I know from my conversations with trainers they feel they aren’t fully supported or part of the business infrastructure, often left to fend for themselves.

Set your PTs up for success by talking about launch marketing with new trainers, supporting them in acquiring clients. This doesn’t have to be difficult and can be done using a repeated template approach – a small outlay generates a big return.

Additionally, minimise admin time so trainers can concentrate on selling. This means supplying all the forms they need, from PARQs to health and safety policies, to client/trainer agreements.

2. Provide a ‘business mentor’ It’s no secret that a successful PT is more likely to stay. As a result, the investment of a little time with a ‘business mentor’ makes financial sense.

Operators already have the people with these skills in their business and being a mentor is often an appealing role for another colleague.

3. Offer complementary education Even if your PTs are self-employed, providing regular training and development opportunities to ensure your team are constantly upskilled helps trainers to feel valued and invested in, supporting retention.

4. Deliver regular PT sales campaigns This one should be obvious but all too often I see it forgotten about.

It’s not rocket science, but too often we see operators limit growth and opportunities, breeding frustration and ultimately leading to the high turnover we see in the industry.