Praise

How Do You Know You Are Doing A Good Job?

For gym owners or managers sometimes it is very difficult to tell if you are doing a good job.

Your employees may be afraid to give you constructive criticism but they are happy to talk about you when you are not around! IF you are lucky you will have one person who is NOT afraid to tell you the truth when you mess something up.

Is there anyone around to let you know when you have done a good job? All too often the answer is, “NO”.

Compliments feel shallow, forced or insincere.

Remember- Actions speak louder than words! In the gym we are more than a paycheck to most (hopefully all) of our employees.

You know you are doing a good job when:

Coaches/ teachers volunteer to sub for a class.
Coaches/ teachers do things to make your job easier
Coaches/ teachers willingly do MORE than what is required of them.
Coaches/ teachers are PROUD to be associated with you. They want to introduce you to their friends and family
Coaches/ teachers play a joke on you.

You can not look for these things to happen every day, although that would be nice. If ANY of these things happens every once and a while, you are probably doing OK.

If NONE of these things happen, EVER– You probably have some work to do.

PRAISE THOSE AROUND YOU.

Here’s what the psychologists think about praise: “Positive reinforcement works better than punishment.”

Here’s what the management experts think: “Employee recognition leads to profit.”

Here’s what the neurologists think: “Dopamine, which is released in the brain any time we hear something we like, is a powerful chemical.”

How important is praise in the workplace or in the gym? A 2010 study published in Harvard Business Review found that at Best Buy, a 0.1 % increase in employee engagement drove $100,000 in operating income to the bottom line of EACH store per year.

In your gym- employee engagement involves a lot of things.