Retention and engagement are core business drivers for fitness clubs navigating today’s competitive market. With annual turnover rates reaching 80% for roles like personal trainers and front desk staff, club leaders must prioritize people strategies as much as programming. During a recent webinar hosted by Daxko and featuring experts from Netchex and EDGE, actionable strategies were shared to help clubs attract, engage, and retain top-tier talent — all while improving the member experience.
The Cost of Turnover: Why Retention Matters More Than Ever
Employee turnover is a profit drain. With roles like personal trainers and front desk staff turning over at an alarming 80% annually, the financial and cultural costs add up fast. It costs around 20% of an employee’s annual salary to replace them. This includes lost productivity, recruitment, training, and even unemployment taxes. For clubs and fitness organizations, tackling these issues head-on with strategy and technology is urgent.
80% annually for roles like personal trainers, group instructors and front desk staff… Everyone who works for us that interacts with our members is an ambassador for our culture and brand… Praise publicly. Do peer kudos. Do kudos from members, managers, any way that you can… Sometimes the ‘human’ is taken out of human resources because we’re doing so much administrative work…
Concetta Lewis, VP of Talent, Daxko Understand What Today’s Workforce Really Wants
Fitness clubs navigate a highly competitive and evolving employment landscape. To attract and retain top talent, leaders must align with the evolving expectations of a more mobile and culture-driven workforce.
As Michael Arredondo of EDGE pointed out, the employment landscape is shifting. With more job options than ever, especially in the gig and virtual fitness economy, staff are choosing culture and connection overcompensation alone.
Concetta Lewis from Daxko emphasized that fitness employees are more than just team members — they are brand ambassadors. When they feel recognized and aligned with your culture, they deliver exceptional member experiences.
The younger workforce is big on engagement and feeling like they’re part of something bigger. If they don’t feel recognized or appreciated, they’re likely to leave… You can pull up the Netchex mobile app, give a shout out to a coworker, and people can comment or react with emojis. It makes people feel like what they’re doing matters… I think one way to really upset an employee is to mess up their pay. They’re passionate about the work, but they also want to get paid for it — accurately and on time... Let the system work for you. Let technology handle the compliance, taxes, and reporting — so HR teams can focus on recruiting, training, and culture… If you’re seeing certain employees with too many hours, they might be burnt out. If some have too few, they might leave because they’re not getting enough work.
Anna Smith, Director of Account Management, Netchex Actionable Tactics That Keep Employees Engaged
Delivering a high-impact employee experience starts with meaningful interactions, personalized recognition, and smart use of data and automation. As our speakers shared, leveraging technology to remove administrative friction allows leaders to focus on people, not paperwork.
Personalize Recognition Through Peer and Member Feedback
Recognition is a low-cost, high-impact tool. Anna highlighted how Netchex allows employees to receive shout-outs for milestones, work anniversaries, and standout performance — especially across multiple club locations. This visibility builds morale and fosters community.
Michael explained how EDGE collects real-time feedback from members and converts it into public praise for instructors. These online kudos not only make staff feel valued but boost the trainer’s brand and your club’s credibility.
Make Payroll a Trust-Building Moment
According to Anna, one surefire way to damage retention is a single payroll error. Netchex’s platform ensures accuracy and supports complex pay structures like class-based or commission pay. Consistent, flexible payroll strengthens trust and loyalty.
Automate the Admin to Focus on the Human
When HR teams are bogged down with manual processes, they lose the ability to build genuine connections. With automated onboarding, payroll, and compliance tools, leaders can refocus on culture and coaching.
Concetta encourages clubs to “let the system work for you,” enabling managers to spend less time on forms and more time engaging with their people.
Use Data to Prevent Burnout and Make Better Staffing Decisions
Technology is about insight. Anna and Michael agree: leaders must watch for signs like declining hours, lack of engagement, or reduced shift uptake. These may indicate burnout or disengagement.
EDGE’s scoreboard feature and Netchex’s AI-driven HR ticketing system help surface real-time KPIs and sentiment data to drive smarter decisions before turnover happens.
Onboard with Purpose and Consistency
First impressions set the tone. Anna stressed the importance of turning Day 1 into a meaningful welcome — not a paperwork marathon. With Netchex, employees can complete onboarding steps before they arrive, freeing the first day for culture, training, and connection.
Michael added that highlighting non-salary benefits and growth opportunities during onboarding helps new hires see a future with your club.
Build a Culture That Feeds Retention
Every touchpoint matters from onboarding to payroll to recognition. By investing in tech-forward tools like EDGE and Netchex, clubs can streamline their operations while deepening engagement.
That’s why we created EDGE. We’re focused on helping clubs get more out of their secret weapons — the people who drive their business forward… The landscape is getting more and more competitive. There are more clubs and virtual options, and trainers have a wider variety of employment choices… After a session, we ask guests how their experience was with their trainer. If it was great, we prompt them to shout them out online. That recognition gets tracked and shared with the trainer just like a social media ‘like’ that feels rewarding… Recognition leads to retention, and retention leads to better member experiences.
Michael Arredondo, Co-Founder and CRO, EDGE Ready to retain your best people and build a culture of excellence? Schedule a demo with Club Automation today. Explore our integration with EDGE to unlock employees as a growth channel and boost employee motivation with rewards and recognition. Learn how our integration with Netchex allows for seamless data exchange, enabling Netchex to automatically pull pay data from Club Automation reports. This eliminates the need for manual entry, improving accuracy and efficiency.
