I recently spoke to a business owner who had received a great resume and had a phenomenal interview with a potential employee. There was just one hiccup though. The applicant was requesting an hourly rate more than any other current coach receives. In fact, it was 37% higher than any other coach in the gym.
The owner was at a loss. She desperately wanted to hire this person who would be a great fit for the gym and had some serious qualifications, but she didn’t know how to do that without feeling disloyal to the current staff.
I asked her why she was considering this applicant so carefully despite the pay. In the end, it came down to skills. The applicant was more experienced and more skilled than anyone else in the gym.
So a lot of people would say right now, “Well, that justifies the pay!”
But I took a different route.
What if we took all that extra money you would be paying this person and invested it into staff training so that every person in the gym was that qualified?
Her eyes lit up. The thought of having all of her coaches with the skills this person had thrilled her. This method also has a long-term strategy. When we invest in our staff training, we are multiplying our efforts. Those staff members can then train future staff, so we’re exponentially increasing our knowledge and skills as a gym.
So before you consider taking on a staff member who will be paid far above your current range, consider what that budget could do for your current staff.
Invest in staff training and watch your current staff get more confident, have a better “team” morale and make a greater long-term impact on your program!
