Right from the very start of my career in the Fitness Industry some 40 years ago (Yikes!), I have always been a big believer in former IHRSA President John McCarthy’s view that "The fitness Business is first and foremost a hospitality Business."

 “The big thing I learned that I kept with me for my entire career is the fitness business is a hospitality business—bottom line. Unless and until people understand that, they really haven't entered the high road of the business. (John McCarthy IHRSA President, CBI magazine, Oct 7, 2014)

 Over the course of my professional journey I have had the good fortune to attend Management training at respected companies and Institutions like Disney Corporation, The Ritz Carlton, George Washington and Johns Hopkins Universities and last but certainly not least, the IHRSA Club Industry Management Institute.

All of these training programs passed on valuable information, but it was the Ritz Carlton training that obviously provided me with the greatest learning in terms of the Hospitality-Fitness Industry connection. (The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC is an American company that operates the luxury hotel chain known as The Ritz-Carlton. The company has 91 luxury hotels and resorts in 30 countries and territories. The Ritz Carlton leadership center provides leadership and customer service training to organizations throughout the world.)

 "While most businesses go through the requisite exercise of defining key values or composing mission statements, few leaders understand the importance of regular and repetitive presentation of these core aspects of their business. (The New Gold Standard: 5 Leadership Principles for Creating a Legendary Customer Experience Courtesy of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company" by Joseph Michelli.)

 For our team at the World Banks Fitness Center ours key values were encapsulated in our CRAP Communication system and our Service goals and Action Plan  for the Best Corporate Fitness Center in the Whole Wide World described in my previous Blogs.

 There are 2 main ways the Ritz Carlton goes about reinforcing and keeping the Core values in the forefront of their employee’s minds. 

1.    Credo Cards.

The Credo Card is a pocket card that bears the title “Gold Standards” and lists the details and core values of their mission. The card is a mandatory part of Ritz Carlton uniform and is referred to on a daily basis.

At the WBFC we tackled this with enthusiasm and came up with a small pocket card that described the key aspects of CRAP acronym and a list of our 11 Service Goals. Unfortunately we found that this was not practical for us.

In a dynamic Corporate Fitness Center where Fitness Staff teach classes conduct training sessions, and Occupational health programs at 3 facilities the constant changing in and out of clothes resulted in cards constantly being lost or misplaced.

2.    The  Lineup

This refers to a mandatory meeting that takes place at the beginning of a shift where staffs from all levels of the organization attend. At this 10 minute meeting a staff member speaks on everyday examples where the Gold Standards have been applied. Through the use of positive storytelling, the core values of the company are shared and hopefully serve as motivation for the day ahead.

Again with 3 locations and conflicting work shifts a daily lineup for all staff was a difficult process to implement at the WBFC. However we did come up with a digital version of the daily lineup that proved very effective in reinforcing our Core Values and in keeping all staff informed on what was happening at our 3 centers.

 Mike’s Daily CRAP

As General Manager of the 3 Centers very early in the day (pre 6 a.m.) I would send out an email to all staff we called Mike’s Daily CRAP. This  was a concise email  welcoming staff  to the day and detailing any relevant, operational issues, promotions etc. and tying this in with our CRAP acronym and concluding with our Vision to be “the best corporate Fitness Center in the Whole Wide World.(BCFC in the WWW)

In my experience, the single biggest problem staff has with Management is lack of Communication.  Mike’s daily CRAP email went a long way to solving this. However it wasn’t perfect. In our digital age with staff receiving emails all day long how do you ensure they read this email?

This is where Management has to be very forthright and assertive. As Manager I emphasized that Communication is a 2 way street and reading this email was a mandatory part of the staff’s daily duties. I was very clear that I did not appreciate staff asking me questions that I had already addressed in my morning CRAP. 

Why didn’t you read the morning CRAP? was my direct reply to these types of questions.

Staff have to be made accountable.  Again, effective Communication is a 2 way street. It is never enough to simply write an email and expect Communication issues to be resolved.

World Bank Fitness Center Volunteers Instructors

The World Bank Fitness Center is a very unique environment. The most unique aspect of the program is our Volunteer Group exercise program where staff from within the WB employees teach classes. (NB: Described in my previous article)

With over 30 Volunteers teaching 1 or 2 Group exercise classes per week, they are very important part of the WBFC team.  As Volunteer instructors have full time careers within the World Bank Group we found that there was no need for a daily email to add to their already overflowing email inbox and stressful workloads.

 An update every 2 weeks titled “Here’s what’s happening at the Best Corporate Fitness Center in the Whole Wide World “provided details on operational issues, and reinforced core values and our vision. This served as a great way to foster team spirit and involvement.

It is worth noting here that given their Volunteer status I would be far more accommodating when they asked questions which had already been covered in the update. The Management relationship and expectations with Volunteers who all have full time jobs, has to be different than for full time fitness staff. 

Keeping Volunteers informed and feeling part of the Fitness Center team was the major goal of this fortnightly update. Bottom line the Volunteers need to be thanked and appreciated for providing their time and expertise.

Fortnightly Fitness Staff Meetings

 Rather than rely solely on words on a page, our fortnightly team meeting for all Fitness Staff was an opportunity to reinforce our core values and vision in real time. The meeting Agenda would often include “Story Time” where we focused on examples that reinforced our Service Goals.

 Another method we used was to have staff dip their hands into a bucket which had post it notes numbered 1 through 11. Once the staff member had their number we used a Pecha Kucha* format to present the rule.  In the space of 2 minutes staff  had to explain the importance of the specific rule and give a practical example of a team member who had recently been a great role model of this rule in action.

 Fitness is a hospitality Business

Ritz Carlton Leadership training was great for the WBFC and clearly established the Fitness / hospitality business connection. While we did not apply Ritz Carlton methods verbatim, the emphasis on team building and reinforcing Core Values, Mission and Vison was invaluable.

The daily CRAP, Staff meetings and annual retreats fostered team work and enhanced Communication. The major point I took away is that to have an effective Vison and Mission is more than words on a poster that gets posted on a wall somewhere never to be noticed again.  It takes leadership, consistent work and effective messaging via regular communication to ensure all staff are engaged and feel that they are a valuable team member.

 In my next Blog I will discuss how this helps enhance our member’s experience.

 Please comment and let me know what you think!!