Operational Excellence Part 3: Consistent Athlete Experience

5 min read

Sections

In part one of this series, we talked about ensuring your opening and closing practices are documented and consistent. Today we’re diving into how you can do much the same for your member experience. After all, consistency is a critical part of operational excellence. Consistency transforms a passionate hobby into a thriving business. It improves athlete retention and motivation, and it reinforces a strong sense of community at your box.

To systematize your athlete experience, you’ll need to work on training your athletes and staff to follow specific operational procedures. The three following areas are those that need the most structure to create a consistent experience.

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Reservations and Check-Ins

To start, make sure you’re training your athletes to reserve their spot in class, arrive on time and check-in. You can do this by putting a rule in place that states athletes must reserve their spot at least one hour before class and check-in before it starts. For instance, you can say a reservation must be in place by 6 PM for the 7 PM class, and all athletes should be checked-in and ready to start before 7 PM.

Member App Class Detail Page

Use Zen Planner’s Member App to enable athletes to reserve their spot in class, and see which friends will be attending

If no one has a reservation within the hour, you can make it standard policy that your coach can go home. One caveat is that the onus on enforcing this overall guideline is on your coach. If he or she doesn’t ensure compliance, your guideline won’t be followed. If you decide to create a reservation and check-in rule like this, be sure to include it in your new athlete welcome packet, announce it in your newsletter and social media pages and keep it written on your whiteboard.

To make athlete check-ins quick and easy, use a tool like Faceboard and our Staff App.

Tracking Workouts

The next opportunity for consistency is in tracking WODs and PRs. It’s always better to have athletes log their scores, but you’ll want and need significant staff involvement in the beginning and when each new athlete comes in. But if you get the policies and support system in place, you should see near 100% athlete compliance with workout tracking.

One of the easiest ways to get the process started is by having your staff members log scores after class on the whiteboard. Then ask your athletes to record them on their own using the Member App. You should also require your coaches to log their scores and make them public so that your athletes feel comfortable logging theirs too.

Have your coaches make the process fun by commenting and liking your athletes’ scores in the App. Of course, some athletes will be more private and appreciate the option of not always making their scores “public.” But that’s okay because they can still log their progress but not share it with everyone else.

member app wod
Besides involving your coaches, you can ensure athletes log their scores by repeating WODs every few months. With repeat WODs, athletes can see their progress and improvement and get excited about tracking it. It’s also critically important to name every WOD something that’s easy to remember and give your athletes clear instructions on how to find the workout in the App.

Class Consistency

Finally, each and every class needs to be run in a consist manner, no matter who’s coaching. Classes should start on time and open and end the same way. To make this happen, program everything- from the warm up to the cool down, as well as how long each segment should take- and share it on the whiteboard and in your Member App.

Use the “text” function in your workout tracker to explain things like warm-ups, form and technique. Documenting these things helps ensure each staff member follows the exact plan, and since these notes are public, your athletes will see them and know what to expect.

For example:
Warm Up (10 minutes)
Run 400
Three rounds:
10 Mountain climbers
8 Hollow Rock
6 Push Up

Skill (15 Minutes)
Double-Under Practice. If you have double-unders, go for a PR or try triple-unders.

WOD:
For Time:[WORKOUT NAME] Calories Rowed (50/40)
40 Deadlift (165/115)
30 Chest to Bar Pull Ups
20 Back Squats (165/115)

Delivering a consistent member experience is just one of the steps in achieving operational excellence. Stay tuned for next week’s post in our continued operational excellence series.


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About the Author: Kelli Sweeting

I'm Coach Kelli, a devoted CrossFit gym owner with 15 years of experience managing my facility, along with owning yoga studios and wellness centers. Beyond the fitness world, I have a passion for cooking, cherish moments with my children and family, and find joy in spending time outside. Having experienced the highs and lows, I'm dedicated to leveraging my expertise to help you grow and succeed on your fitness journey.