How The Gym Group leveraged recognising a deskless workforce to increase engagement scores by 14%

What they needed:

With all the great services they were offering gym members, The Gym Group faced the problem of keeping their staff of over 2,200 employees engaged, recognised and in the know. The challenge came from the fact that of the 2,200 employees, 75% of those employees are ‘deskless,’ meaning they are without a company email or even access to a company laptop or tablet and can work at any hour of the day.  

The deskless employees are essential talent consisting of fitness trainers who are running fitness classes, performing member services and ensuring things remain clean, safe, and legal, but The Gym Group team did find that this demographic had higher turnover than desired. It was particularly important to find new ways to keep this group engaged and improve their retention. 

When Bradley Martin, Engagement Manager at The Gym Group, joined the organisation, he was tasked with discovering new and better ways to show recognition to employees, even if they weren’t there to receive it in person. Knowing that a platform was the best tool to utilise for creating positive and effective employee recognition, Bradley and the people team went on a search and found the perfect fit for the necessary technology with Reward Gateway.

How we helped:

The team understood that they needed to serve the real needs of their employees, and so obtaining employee feedback was critical to the success of their initiatives, especially those that were deskless. What they found was that a majority of their talent located at the gyms were millennials and Gen Z, and these employees preferred things quick and easily accessible, including their communication methods and ways to give and receive recognition.

The team also listened to managers to see what they needed to be supportive to employees, and found they would like more guidance with individualised programme rollouts. 

So because the ‘core’ is vital in any workout regimen, as it’s the centre of your body, The Gym Group were quick to name its new platform CORE as well. Provided by Reward Gateway, CORE became the platform that offered key opportunities for communication and recognition that showcased the organisation’s values and amazing culture, alongside a full benefits suite and a Wellbeing Centre. Through segmented communications, the team focussed on how best to get the right message to the right person, including how to best support them with FAQs and information on how to successfully kick off their programmes with their clients.

By approaching their employee needs like they were customers, The Gym Group came up with quick and accessible appreciation for employees that all connect back to the organisation’s mission and values through cheeky titles and branding. Through the platform, staff can: