Well my big boss (the one that actually hired me) decided to pay me a visit today and this is the first time I have seen him since I have made the move to the new club. He hasn’t been in to see me in a few months so I knew I was overdue for a visit. I think that is a good thing that he hasn’t come to see me in a few months though because I think that it means that I am doing something right. We had a nice long talk about getting things done in a timely manner. The main point of the talk is when there is a problem, make sure that it is addressed right away. Be persistent was another point that he made about getting the problem solved. He said that you really have to go after what you want. Just because you tell someone what you need once doesn’t mean that they will follow up with you. You have to go after them and make them hear and give you what you need. I think this was a really beneficial talk that we had and will not only help me to become a better manager, but also a better person!
So I have been without a second morning shift janitor and a second night shift janitor for about a month and a half now. It’s probably one of the hardest things to try and handle because the club is so big and needs all the attention that it can get. Well, those problems have finally come to an end because I have finally found two janitors that I would like to hire. What’s even more exciting about the new hires is that I have finally found a female janitor. This is exciting because for the time that I didn’t have a female janitor, I had to have my lead janitor come in earlier than normal in order to get the women’s locker room clean. Now we actually have someone to clean it which means that he can come in at his normal times. This also helps because the two janitors that I do have don’t have to be overworked like they have been. Janitors are a big part of any business and I have really learned that over the past couple of months. Appearance is everything when trying to sell the service of a gym.
Man this is the third time that this has happened to me since I have become a manager with the company. Yes you guessed it, I had yet another employee quit right before they were supposed to work their shift. What was different about this employee quitting however is that I kind of felt this one coming. There was a small incident yesterday that kind of led me to believe that she didn’t really want to be with the company any more. When, she first came in yesterday, she seemed to not be herself as I was told by my lead janitor. When I came in, I had an angry member waiting on me so that she could complain about her and how “rude” she was. Well like any situation, I made sure that the member knew that I would be handling the situation first. The member left, and like with any problem with people, there is always two sides to the story. I asked her what her side was to the story, not accusing her of anything, and she immediately started to break down and cry. She continued to say how the lady was lying on her and that she would never do that. Regardless of what happened, I just let her know that in any situation whether she was wrong or right, always remember to remain calm with customers. I thought we had a good talk but apparently not because I got the call early this morning that she would be quitting. Needless to say, I am not having such a good two weeks.
So I found out that creating a good competition within the workplace is an excellent way to get people going on doing their job more effectively. I found out today that my staff actually hit their goal for the pay period and it was mainly because of the competition that was put in front of them. Having a staff with an athletic background makes it a little easier to motivate them with the competition. By also having them so motivated to do the work, it takes a lot of stress off of my plate because I don’t have to worry about having producing in the sales department. I can focus more on managing the club and fixing the club and making sure that our members continue to be happy on top of making sure that we are making the money that we need to make. I love the staff that I have and I look forward to continuing to work with them.
So you guys remember me bragging on how much I like the new hire that I got a week ago, well that joy was very short lived. Let me explain. When I first hired him, he told me that he would be going out of town for a week and that he already had it planned. I understood that, I wasn’t going to stand in the way of him traveling. So he goes down to Washington D.C. Monday comes around, and I haven’t heard from him so I give him a call (he has a shift that needs to be covered Tuesday night). He never responds to my calls. Finally get a text message at the end of the day saying sorry, but I am actually going to stay down here now because I have a new job down here. This is so frustrating because I had no warning that the job was even an option down there. If he would have told me that he was hoping to land a job while down there, that would have been okay because I would have been able to set up for interviews and had possible candidates ready to take his spot. That didn’t happen so I recommended for him not to be hired for the company.
So, my mentor and I have talks every week on things that are going well with my club and things that aren’t going so well with the club. This week, we had a talk about making sure that I remember who is in charge at my club. The type of personality that I have, I’m genuinely a nice guy, and sometimes that can get me into trouble, not real trouble but having the possibility of losing control of the club. Sometimes I find myself asking for certain things when I should really be taking control of the situation. She explained to me it’s not about being a dictator but simply making sure that they know who is in charge of everything. Once we had the talk, I took her advice and used it and it actually turned out pretty well because my employees already like me and they respect me so they have no problem following orders from me. I really do love the staff I have over here at the Powell location!
When spring time comes around, that is my worst nightmare when it comes to some of my workers. For the most part, I have a fairly young staff, so when spring arrives, they tend to take vacations, and it forces me to have to find substitutes for them while they are way. This is probably one of the least things I like to do with this job. It is already hard enough finding someone who wants to work part time and that will do the work that I ask of them effectively. Most of the people who work for the company already have another job on the side so when they aren’t working at LA Fitness, they are at the other job, which makes it hard for us to find replacements. I had one girl this week tell me they will be going on vacation in a couple of weeks and another tell me they would be going on vacation in a month. Two of my best workers so you can only imagine how I feel right now.
So I finally found a guy that I like for the front desk position and now I have to go through the training process over again. The thing that I like about this guy is that he seems to pick up on things fairly easy so it won’t be hard to get him used to the systems. One thing that I look for in hiring people is are they energetic or do they motivate themselves or do they need to be pushed. With this guy, it seems like he can pretty much get going himself and likes to challenge himself as well. I think I’m going to like him.
Well, I had to fire my janitor and I’ve had people quit in the last few weeks so we have to scramble to find people to cover shifts. With that being said, I have plenty of interviews that need to be set up. I’m not a particular fan of the interviewing and hiring process just because of how long the process is of doing it. You have to call everybody and set up the interviews, which could be quite a few people. Then you have to go through the interview and try and get a good read off of the person to make sure that they are the right person for the job. Then once you hire the person you have to train them on what they will be doing. Training is not a two day activity, but is more of an ongoing process that really doesn’t end until I actually feel like they are comfortable with the job. It’s a process that I’m not quite fond of but it has to be done in order to make my life a little bit easier so I guess in the end it is all worth it.
So, today I walk in to another excuse from the my janitor and for whatever reason was not able to make it to work today. When firing someone, I was always told to have a witness; I think this is to ensure that there is no misconception on what was said. Well since he could not make it in for me to do it, I decided that I needed to call him and get it over with. I would much rather do it face to face but I figure this may be easier on both of us because he doesn’t have to drive all the way to work jus to turn around and leave again and I get to go on about my day without too much confrontation. At the end of the day, I was able to successfully take care of business and now the search is on for a new janitor to replace him.
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