Neal I. Pire, is a health club business consultant with 27 years experience, specializing in staff and program development. He has served as author and associate editor for the American College of Sports Medicine’s Resources for the Personal Trainer Manual, and is the author of Plyometrics for Athletes at All Levels (Ulysses Press, 2006). A fitness expert to medical, professional, and community groups, Neal served as lecturer for New York Medical College, and UMDNJ. He is frequently featured in national media such as The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Family Circle, MSNBC, Shape, Fitness, Univision-TV, WABC-TV Eyewitness News and the CBS Early Show. He can be reached at DrFit@optonline.net

In a business where member retention and referrals are dependent on customer satisfaction, recruiting and hiring candidates with the right personality traits and skill sets is crucial. But even the most talented personnel require comprehensive training and continued development to ensure that they can deliver on your company’s mission and service promise.

Expectations. It is important that employees know from day one what management’s expectations are, as well as what they should expect from management. Job description and responsibilities should be clearly defined and discussed by the employees and their direct report(s) as part of the final interview process. Once hired, basic employment policies should be clearly outlined and reviewed as part of the payroll forms ritual. These policies (uniform and grooming requirements, paid leave policies and procedures, payroll and employee benefits procedures, etc.) should be delivered either by a human resources representative or general management.

The big picture. The next step should be a general orientation that will help employees understand the “lay-of-the-land” and begin to identify with the company. This progressive indoctrination will teach employees about the company they are now part of. This is where their importance to the success of the business begins to take shape. This general orientation should include:

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