The Les Mills 2021 Global Fitness Report found that among members, the quality of the Instructor is the number one most important factor in a group fitness class, and 40% are looking for an Instructor who coaches ‘intelligently’. Considering this, it’s essential that clubs recruit and retain the right Instructors and in sufficient quantities.
Adopt an always-on approach to recruitment
Ryan Hogan is the Chief Executive Officer at Les Mills Asia Pacific. He says clubs should adopt an ‘always on’ approach to recruitment, meaning that “they should be constantly on the lookout for great talent who will be able to inspire and motivate your members.”
“Through a targeted approach you can shoulder-tap prospects from within your membership and your current Instructors’ networks. You also want to ensure you are constantly building partnerships with local businesses such as performing arts schools, sports teams, and university physical education departments,” Ryan says. “Ideally, facilities should allocate at least a two-week period every year to have a specific recruitment drive, and ensure you are prioritising identifying talent through local partners,” advises Ryan.
Dennis Hosking, Founder and Director of HealthyPeople fitness recruitment says clubs need to be constantly working on their talent pipeline. "By consistently engaging with potential candidates, a business can build stronger relationships and a positive employer brand. All of this helps to reduce the time to fill vacancies, minimises disruptions caused by unexpected departures, and ultimately helps to secure top talent."
"Regularly reviewing and updating the candidate pipeline ensures the talent pool remains diverse, skilled, and aligned with the evolving needs of your business. In a competitive job market, prioritising the development and nurturing of a candidate pipeline is an invaluable asset for sustained success," he adds.
Of course, the easiest place to identify potential is internally, which is why recruitment events are proving to be an effective format for clubs to attract and identify their next generation of Instructors.
Evolution Wellness (Fitness First Jakarta in Indonesia) welcomed more than 100 participants at their recruitment event
Typically, a recruitment event invites those who are interested in or curious about becoming a group fitness Instructor to come along, find out information, see what it’s all about, and even audition. In April 2024, Evolution Wellness in Southeast Asia ran an exciting recruitment event that saw more than 100 people express their interest in becoming an Instructor.
“This Evolution Wellness event was for everyone and anyone to attend – person trainers, group fitness Instructors, members, and even non-members,” explains Mei Kuen Foo, Les Mills Asia Pacific’s Instructor Training Consultant Team Leader, who attended the event at Fitness First Jakarta in Indonesia. “It’s important that clubs understand the value of having access to new Instructors when they need them,” explains Mei Kuen.
“For Evolution Wellness, the goal of their event was to connect with people who were genuinely passionate about helping others to fall in love with fitness – including Gen Z people as well as older Instructors,” explains Mei Kuen. “We ended up having more potential Trainees than existing Instructors show up to this event, which was great,” Mei Kuen says.
Cleber Nunes is the National Group Fitness Development Manager at Evolution Wellness (Celebrity Fitness and Fitness First). Of the event, he says, “We have many enthusiastic members who have the desire to become Les Mills Instructors but don’t know what to do, so we decided to help them by giving them a chance to show us if they have what it takes.”
People were invited to attend the event via social media and through in-club invitations, and the day itself involved: registration; a welcome speech around what to expect from the day; an introduction to the Evolution Wellness brand and who we are; what the journey to become an Instructor will be like; an icebreaker activity to help them relax a little; and a 60-second presentation on each Les Mills program that they could apply for.
“We have mentors at our gyms, and so each mentor indicated a minimum of two people to join the audition,” Cleber adds. “We opened the auditions to both members and non-members, and around 40% of the candidates ended up being non-members from Celebrity Fitness and Fitness First.”
“The support we received from Les Mills helped to make the event possible and it was very successful,” says Cleber. “I can happily say that we had 100+ people signing up for the audition, which included certified Instructors and potential new Trainees.”
If we had to do it again, the only thing we’d change is getting the candidates to start the pre-Initial Training with our head coaches and mentors more quickly – perhaps even right after the audition, so they can keep the momentum and motivation high.”
YMCA Bowen Hills gave members a chance to ‘sample’ what it’s like to teach
Suzanne Reilly is the Centre Manager at YMCA Bowen Hills in Queensland (Australia). In March 2024, the club ran a similar recruitment event off the back of LES MILLS LIVE Brisbane.
“The goal of the event was to give participants a taste of instructing,” explains Suzanne. “The event involved four short Masterclasses to showcase the programs we have in the club, and these sessions were delivered our Instructors. Then, each participant had to give a 30-second presentation of a short, choreographed routine in their preferred program. Members of the Les Mills Asia Pacific Instructor Specialist team provided constructive feedback, and the last step was then to have them register for Initial Training.”
“The recruitment event was a great opportunity for those members who have considered instructing to sample what it is like to instruct, without any pressure,” adds Suzanne.
Invitations to the event were shared via word-of-mouth and a Facebook blast. “Our goal was to have 8 people take part but we ended up with 15, which was great,” Suzanne says. “To improve the event, next time we’d probably advertise a little earlier to help us gain more traction in the lead up.”
Of course, you don’t have to be a big brand like Evolution Wellness or a YMCA to run recruitment events. “Facilities of any size can run successful recruitment events. They’re a great way to offer a ‘one-stop hub’ for your potential Trainees to help them learn about the steps to become an Instructor,” says Mei Kuen.
Every quarter, Les Mills Club Partners can access an updated Social Media and Events Guide, which contains useful tips to help you organise and deliver special events such as these recruitment-focused ones.
“Remember, people trust people, and advocacy drives 50% of purchases, so your team are the only differentiator that cannot be replicated by the competition,” Ryan says. “Given that your members vote with their feet, it’s critical that clubs clearly understand what they want, to avoid having them walk away and over to the competition.”
What if you could run a recruitment event this year?
Doug Reilly is Les Mills Asia Pacific’s Business Partnership Manager for Queensland North. Doug helped facilitate the recruitment event for YMCA Bowen Hills. He says, “Recruitment events are so valuable because there are always members who are interested in or intrigued about becoming a Les Mills Instructor, but often they just don’t know how to get started. The great thing is that these events are not as hard to organise as owners or managers might think, so we encourage you to reach out to your Business Partnership Manager in Australia or Southeast Asia to find out how you could do something similar to what Evolution Wellness and YMCA Bowen Hills achieved, so you too can successfully recruit from within.”
Find out more
Get in touch with your local Business Partnership Manager in Australia or Southeast Asia, who can help you with:
- support to organise your own recruitment events including agendas, audition criteria and advertising collateral
- a talent matrix and identifying places to find ‘A’ players
- access to the Online Group Fitness Management course to teach your GFM and other GX staff how to win with group fitness in your club
- a timetable analysis and business review
- tips to getting the most from your group fitness offering.
