What Qualifications Should Gym Owners Look for When Hiring Staff?

James Solomon
June 14, 2024

For continuous success in a business, the owner needs to hire staff with relevant qualifications. The right staff, driven by their qualifications and passion, puts in the effort to grow the business while understanding the demands of the target audience. When the business owner hires the best staff, more and more people gain confidence in the business, helping the owner to establish it as a brand. As Steve Jobs once said,

“ The secret of my success is that we have gone to exceptional lengths to hire the best people in the world. “

Similarly, the same concept of hiring the best staff is implemented for the gym business. If you are a gym owner and want to attract new members, you need to hire staff for each role. A qualified team helps you reflect the face and value of your gym. All the blood, sweat, tears, and money that you pour into your business to make it successful are at the mercy of the employees that you are going to hire for your gym.

Hardworking and passionate staff help you deliver the services that your audience wants and provide them with a remarkable fitness experience. Hiring staff without relevant qualifications can lead to the downfall of your business. As Jim Collins said,

“A company should limit its growth based on its ability to attract enough of the right people.”

So, you have to ensure that you have hired the right employees for gym to deliver better-quality services to the audience. However, you might start to think about what qualifications to look for when you begin to hire new employees for your gym. Finding the right candidate with relevant experience and passion can be challenging. But you don’t need to worry about it. Here, we are going to discuss the qualifications that you should look for before hiring gym staff for a specific role.

What gym roles to hire for with relevant qualifications?

Whether you are going to open a new gym or want to expand your business, it is essential for you to hire a staff who has a passion for growing your gym. Hiring the right staff helps you in

Reducing turnover cost
Improving your brand image
Maximizing gym productivity

However, before hiring gym staff, you have to understand your gym’s requirements and shortlist the positions for which you need the right person.

Starting up:

If you are a fitness trainer who has a passion for starting a new gym, you have to make sure that you identify the initial staff positions and hire people as per the required qualifications. For the initial startup, you require a front desk staff, service personnel, trainer, and cleaning staff. In your studio’s initial days, you can serve as a trainer and assist your members in achieving fitness goals. Thus, for the other staff, you should look for the relevant qualifications.

Front desk staff

Hiring the right front desk staff can help you save time entertaining potential members and concentrate better on your business. The right person at the front desk gives a positive image of your gym and also helps in convincing members to join.

Moreover, the front desk staff also informs members about the training schedules and notifies them about their payments. So, you need a person with excellent customer service skills to create a remarkable customer experience for your members.

Qualification and Certifications of the front desk staff

When hiring a front desk staff member, you have to make sure that all the candidates who apply have a high school diploma with a friendly and helpful personality. Moreover, the employee you are going to hire as front desk staff must be in top physical shape, giving a better impression of the gym to any member arriving at it.

Furthermore, you should give preference to the candidate who has done additional certification along with a high school diploma. Following are the certifications that you should look for

Certified guest service professional (CGSP): This certification is designed for the front desk professional by the American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute (AHLEI). This certification is awarded to individuals who have acquired exceptional guest service skills. This certificate helps the candidate in enhancing effective communication with members.
Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS): This certificate, provided by Microsoft, is specially designed for individuals who want to acquire expertise in using PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Access, and Outlook. It enables the candidate to become an expert in MS Office.
Certified Administrative Professional(CAP): This certification is provided by the International Association of Administrative Professionals(IAAP). It is designed to enhance the candidate’s expertise and skills in administration, including communication, office management, technology, and organizational planning.

So, any candidate with a high school diploma and one of the above certifications is eligible to be your gym front desk staff. The right candidate enables you to focus on your studio growth while managing the gym front desk for a remarkable fitness experience.

Service personnel

If you want to provide a remarkable fitness experience for your members without stopping their workout sessions, your gym must require service personnel. The service professionals help you maintain your gym equipment. This professional regularly checks each piece of equipment and, if necessary, services it. So, you can focus on growing your business without thinking about the maintenance of the gym equipment.

Qualification and certifications for service personnel

To select a candidate for the position of service personnel, you have to make sure that the minimum education taken by any individual must be a high school degree. Apart from basic schooling, that candidate must have 2 to 3 years of experience as a service personnel in a gym.

Furthermore, you can also consider any additional certificate an individual has completed along with 2 to 3 years of experience. Following is the certification that you should look for before hiring a service personnel.

Certified Maintenance and Reliability Professional(CMRP): This service training certificate is provided by the Society of Maintenance & Reliability Professionals(SMRP). This certification enables the individuals to focus on handling maintenance work. CMRP verifies the competence of the candidate in predictive, preventive maintenance, troubleshooting, and corrective maintenance.

Thus, a candidate with 2 to 3 years of experience with certified maintenance and reliability professionals is eligible for the position of service personnel. Proper maintenance will help you enhance the life of your gym equipment and ensure a remarkable fitness experience for members.

Cleaning staff

If you want to ensure that your gym floor is clean and tidy without any mess, you have to ensure that you have hired the cleaning staff. Cleaning staff aids you in providing a remarkable fitness experience for your members by cleaning the floor before opening gym doors.

Moreover, this staff enables you to maintain hygiene standards that have become non-negotiable since COVID-19. Thus, you can focus on other important aspects of your gym without worrying much about gym hygiene standards.

Qualification and certification of cleaning staff

When you hire a cleaning staff member to ensure hygiene standards in your gym, you have to make sure that the applied candidate has a high school diploma or GED. Along with this basic education, the candidate must have knowledge of different types of cleaning chemicals, supplies, and techniques.

Moreover, if any candidate has additional certification along with relevant experience, you have to give preference to the candidate with the certification. The following are the certifications you should look for before hiring a cleaning staff member.

OSHA Safety and Health Specialist Certificate Program: This certificate, provided by OSHA, enables candidates to understand the importance of hygiene at the gym. Moreover, it verifies that candidates have knowledge about important cleaning agents and how to use them to maintain a clean environment.
Certification for Cleaning Industry Management Standard (CIMS): This certification, provided by the International Sanitary Supply Association(ISSA), enables candidates to understand the importance of cleaning in the office environment. It also helps them to focus solely on the quality system for a more hygienic environment.
CMI Cleaning Professional 101: This certification, also provided by ISSA, helps candidates develop a better understanding of why cleaning is important, how cleaning impacts, and how to perform cleaning at a workplace with different cleaning agents.

Thus, any candidate with basic education and one of the above certifications must be eligible for the position of cleaning staff which aids you in growing your studio business by ensuring a hygienic environment for your members.

Growing and scaling

When you want to grow your startup into a full-fledged gym that has the capacity to entertain more than 100 members at a time. Then, you need to hire more employees for a remarkable fitness experience for your members. You have to strengthen your team of front desk, in-house technicians, and cleaning staff by adding more enthusiasts with relevant qualifications and certifications.

However, Managing a large facility requires more time, which reduces your time as a personal trainer. Thus, you need to hire more trainers and group fitness instructors for a remarkable fitness experience.

Personal trainers

At first, you manage your gym as a personal trainer while streamlining other studio operations. However, as the number of members increases, you require more personnel to train them and provide them with a remarkable fitness experience.

You can hire personal trainers with relevant qualifications and certifications in different types of workout training. By offering them services that they like, you can attract more members. You need a trainer who has a passion for fitness, enabling you to attract more members by delivering exceptional results.

Qualification and certifications for personal trainers

When you want to hire a personal trainer for your gym, you must ensure that all the candidates who apply for the job have a bachelor’s degree in the relevant subject.

Moreover, the candidate also has some fitness training certifications that enable them to master workout training. The following are the certifications that you should also look for along with the bachelor’s degree.

Certification by the American College of Sports Medicine: This certification is provided by ACSM. This program is specially designed for individuals who want to train both healthy members and those with health stability challenges. It verifies that candidates have a command of biomechanics, physiology, nutrition, and behavior-changing analysis.
NSCA strength and conditioning certification: This certification is given by the National Strength and Conditioning Association. This course is specially designed for individuals who want to master different workout programs and craft diverse training as per member requirements. It verifies that individuals have full grip training programs that aid athletes in achieving the required fitness and flexibility.

Thus, any individual with a bachelor’s degree and a PT training certification is the best candidate for the position of personal trainer. Such a candidate aids you in providing exceptional services to your members.

Group fitness instructor

If your gym offers group fitness classes to attract a broader spectrum of audiences who want to perform workouts in groups, you need a group fitness instructor to help you provide a remarkable fitness experience for your members. Group fitness instructors help you bring group fitness exercises into your gym, such as yoga, Pilates, HIIT, strength training, etc. So, you can attract more members to your gym and enhance your studio’s financial stability.

Thus, you need an instructor with relevant qualifications and excellent communication skills. Instructors have to interact directly with the members. A trainer with excellent communication skills can help present a better image of the gym to them.

Qualifications and certifications for group fitness instructors

Any candidate who has a bachelor’s degree is eligible to apply for the position of group fitness instructor. Moreover, to strengthen the chance of acquiring the position, that candidate must have some relevant Group fitness training certification.

These certifications aid the candidates in mastering group fitness exercises while ensuring a safe environment. The following are the group fitness certifications that you should look for along with the bachelor’s degree.

ACE training certification: This training certification is provided by the American Council of Exercise. This course is specially designed for individuals who want to motivate and inspire the audience that prefers to perform workouts in groups. This certification verifies that candidates understand essential topics like anatomy, nutrition and physiology to ensure a remarkable fitness experience for gym members.
NASM group training certification: This fitness group training certification is provided by the National Academy of Sports Medicine. This course is specially designed for candidates who want to master group exercises such as functional training, yoga, corrective exercises, etc. Moreover, this certification verifies that individuals have learned about essential topics such as member assessment, physiology, and nutrition.

So, any candidate with the necessary qualifications and excellent communication skills can be the ideal group fitness instructor for your gym.

Expanding your gym:

If you want to expand your larger gym into different franchises, you have to strengthen all the positions in your gym by adding more passionate and qualified members to each team, including personal trainers, cleaning staff, group fitness instructors, etc. They help you maintain a secure environment at different location gyms for a remarkable fitness experience for your members.

Moreover, you just need to add sales and membership manager position to your team. The candidate should have excellent communication skills that aid in delivering your gym’s vision and goals to new members.

Sales and membership manager

With the expansion of your business, you are not able to pay full attention to attracting new members and finding new ways to compile leads. Thus, you need the right candidate that can help you streamline gym membership and also find ways to attract new members to your gym.

Having the right candidate as sales and membership manager in your gym can help you manage membership at different locations and also aid you in implementing innovative marketing strategies to attract new members to your gym.

Qualification and certifications for sales and membership manager

To hire a candidate for the position of sales and membership manager, you have to make sure that all the candidates who have applied for the position have a bachelor’s degree in marketing or business administration.

Moreover, any candidate who has done a professional certification along with a bachelor’s degree must be given preference among the other candidates. The following are the certifications you should look for before hiring a sales and membership manager.

Certified Inside Sales Professional(CISP): This certification is provided by AA-ISP, the Global Digital Sales Association. This course is specially designed for individuals who want to master sales skills and take them to the next level. CISP certification verifies that all candidates who have taken part in the course learn about essential topics such as sales research, qualifying leads, prospecting, closing a deal, email etiquette, sales channels, and account management.
Certified Sales Executive(CSE): The AA-ISP, the Global Digital Sales Association, also offers this certification. This course is specially designed for individuals who want to improve sales margins, close more deals, and develop successful sales pipelines by using effective industry strategies.

Thus, any candidate with the relevant certification and qualifications can be the ideal candidate for the position of sales and membership manager. Such a candidate helps you grow your business by attracting new members and implementing effective marketing strategies.

Final thoughts!

Whether you own a single gym or manage franchises, you need to select the best candidate for your business. Selecting the right candidate with the relevant qualifications and certifications will help you grow your business and achieve solid foundations. It will also give you the team that enables you to ensure a remarkable fitness experience for your members.