Most gym owners focus on building a brand that appeals to members, both current and future. But your brand doesn’t just speak to potential clients, it speaks to potential staff, too. The way your business feels to work in matters just as much as how it feels to train in.
If you want to attract high-quality people to your team, you need to be intentional about your employer brand.
That doesn’t mean a logo or colour scheme. It means how your business is perceived by potential hires. It’s the reputation you build through your actions, your systems, and how you treat your staff – both publicly and behind closed doors.
You already have an employer brand. The question is whether it’s helping or hurting you.
Successful business = good staff
Most gyms don’t struggle to find someone to hire. They struggle to find the right person—and to keep them once they’re through the door.
There’s still a lingering belief in parts of the industry that staff are replaceable. That we should pay the bare minimum, stretch hours to the max, and hope loyalty fills the gaps. But smart gym owners know this approach is short-sighted.
The right staff make your gym better. They increase member retention, reduce your admin burden, improve culture, and help you grow. And they don’t come cheap, or stick around for no reason.
The best candidates are looking for more than just a wage. They’re looking for an environment where they’re respected, challenged, supported, and given a path forward.
Inbound branding
If you want to attract A-players, start by creating a business they’d want to be part of.
That means:
- Clarity on who you are, what you stand for, and how you do things
- Structured roles with clear expectations and development pathways
- Full-time contracts, decent pay, and some degree of life balance
- A culture where staff feel valued – there’s reciprocity and mutual respect
This isn’t about trying to seem perfect. It’s about doing the basics well, being honest about what the job involves, and having your house in order.
A good employer brand starts with operational credibility. If you’re inconsistent, disorganised, or scraping by, that will be obvious. No amount of polish or fast-talking will make up for it.
Beyond the job post
Attracting great people doesn’t start the moment you need someone. By then, it’s often too late.
You should be building visibility before you’re hiring – sharing your values, your team culture, the perks of working with you.
This might be through your Instagram stories, your member newsletter, your own training posts. It doesn’t have to be flashy, but it does have to be intentional.
When the time comes to post a role, the job ad should be clear, specific, and aligned with how your gym actually works. Don’t list a bunch of clichés; show people what the job really looks like, and what success in your gym actually means.
Clarity attracts commitment. Vague promises attract churn.
The loyalty trap
There’s one more piece that often gets overlooked: knowing when to let someone go.
Many gym owners fall into the “they’re part of the family” trap. If a staff member’s not performing, or are getting too comfortable and stagnant, you probably have a suspicion they need to go. But when they’ve been with you a while, letting them go can feel like a betrayal.
It’s understandable. But if you want to protect your culture, you have to be willing to make hard calls. Just like your membership, your team needs a certain amount of movement.
Too much churn and you lose consistency. But too little and things start to stagnate. If standards are slipping and no one’s addressing it, the culture goes downhill fast.
Your job isn’t just to hire the right people, it’s to keep the bar high.
Drive and direction
The best people don’t just want a job; they want a role with purpose, inside a business that’s going somewhere.
If your employer brand makes it clear what you’re building, what you stand for, and what kind of environment you create, you’ll start attracting people who share that vision.
They’ll self-select. And they’ll stick around, because they know what they’re part of. The goal isn’t to “sell the job.” It’s to build the business that good people want to be part of.
Need a second pair of eyes to hash out your business questions, challenges, and roadblocks?
Book a 90-minute call with JC Vacassin here.
