We often get asked this question, and to be honest – there’s no right answer. If you’re not sure how often you should be doing this, take a look at the following:
What is the culture like in your gym? Do you have a positive environment or a negative environment most of the time? Do employees look happy coming to work or are they regularly trying to get someone to cover their shifts? Do they attend bonding events for staff and athletes or are they always busy?
If the culture in your gym is struggling, you may need to adjust the frequency of your evaluations. These evaluations are a two-way form of communication. Make sure you’re always challenging them with new goals and congratulating them on their accomplishments both inside and outside the gym. What specifically did their contribution do to make the gym a better place? What was the result? If they recently had a team with 98% retention, they should be congratulated for a super successful year the season prior.
How frequently is your staff contributing to the ideas and projects at the gym?
If your staff isn’t fully invested, the answer might be “never”. At the same time, if they’re asking if you’ll have an opening for a full-time director in May after college graduation, they’re probably eager to be at the gym more often. Even part-time staff can get involved in the gym in a way that can make a difference in the lives of children and in the overall impact the gym has on the community. If your staff are full-time students or have full-time jobs, find out what extent they’d like involvement in the gym outside their regular hours. We found that by asking staff that question, we were able to gauge their intentions to be at the gym long-term.
Are you regularly meeting your quarterly strategic priorities and working on the long-term goals of the gym?
Sometimes you’re not doing this because you’re stuck in the day-to-day functions of the gym. When we’re in the weeds, we become poor leaders. We’re more focused on tasks than people, and it shows. If you’re not regularly meeting your goals for the gym, maybe you need some help from people who are already committed to the gym. Consider using your staff evaluations as opportunities to ask for help. Set goals for your staff that work toward the gym’s priorities and goals. Not every goals for staff has to be in regard to developmental training. If you’re looking to expand your building in the next few years, consider having a staff member make a list of areas they see that you could improve and either save more money or make more money. Let them know what you’d like to do and see how they’re willing to help!
I could have easily answered this question by telling you to do your evaluations quarterly, annually or semi-annually. At the same time, I think if you’re doing them annually and you have an incredible culture and a room full of people who are eager to help, then you don’t need to do it more frequently than that. If you have a room full of people who seem disengaged, uninterested in what’s happening in other parts of the gym or competitive among their departments, you likely need to increase the frequency of these evaluations and help your staff with their personal development plans and career goals so they better understand the big picture.
