Hiring is one of the biggest points of stress (and potential failure) for gym owners. And yet, most of us don’t get serious about it until it’s already causing us problems.
We hire too fast. We hire for the wrong reasons. And we often hire the wrong people.
The wrong hire won’t just cost you money. They’ll cost you time, energy, culture, and eventually retention — both staff and members.
Let’s break it down.
The 3 Most Common Hiring Mistakes
1. Hiring for technical skill over human qualities
When most gym owners recruit, they look at coaching ability first. Qualifications. Experience. Course lists.
That’s the easy part. And frankly, it’s the least important part.
I can teach someone to coach. What I can’t teach — or at least not quickly — is:
- Work ethic
- Standards
- Self-awareness
- Communication
- The ability to be a functioning adult in a team environment
The technical stuff can be trained. The human stuff is either there or it’s not (and takes a long time to ‘train in’).
2. Hiring too fast to fill gaps
You get busy. Then someone leaves. You panic and hire the next half-decent person who applies.
It solves the short-term problem – but you’ve just introduced a long-term problem.
Bad hires rarely fail fast. They hang around, dragging down standards, culture, and energy. And by the time you address it, you’re six months behind where you should be.
Better to leave a gap than fill it badly.
3. Hiring people who want a job, not a role
You don’t need people who want “a job”. You need people who want to build something.
The people you want are engaged, hungry, open to feedback, willing to own their piece of the business. They see the opportunity inside your gym, not just the hours on their rota.
Plenty of people want paid hours. Fewer want accountability. Know the difference.
What You Should Actually Be Hiring For
Here’s the real filter:
- Drive: Do they want to grow? Are they self-motivated?
- Coachability: Can they take feedback? Do they want to improve?
- Values Fit: Do they share the standards, behaviours, and outlook that define your business?
- Energy: Can they handle the pace and demands of real gym life?
- Culture Fit: Will they raise or lower the average?
If you get those right, the rest can be trained.
The ‘A Player’ Lens
You can break hiring down into four simple boxes:
| Skill | Drive |
|---|---|
| High Skill / High Drive | ✅ A-Player |
| High Skill / Low Drive | ❌ Dangerous |
| Low Skill / High Drive | ✅ Trainable |
| Low Skill / Low Drive | ❌ Avoid |
You want A-Players. You can work with Trainable candidates, as long as you have the time to get them up to speed and don’t expect them to be operating at 100% immediately. You should avoid the others at all costs.
Rule of thumb: Only hire people who raise the bar. If they don’t make your current team slightly nervous (in a good way), they’re probably not good enough.
How To Fix Your Hiring Process
Let’s get practical:
1. Get brutally clear on the role
Don’t write job ads. Write scorecards.
Define exactly what outcomes you expect. Not tasks — outcomes.
If you don’t know exactly what you’re hiring for, you’ll default back to “someone who can coach”.
2. Always be recruiting
Don’t wait until you’re desperate. Build relationships. Keep a light pipeline of potential candidates open at all times.
You wouldn’t only market for members when numbers drop — same applies to staff.
3. Build your employer brand
The best candidates aren’t scanning job boards. They’re watching how you operate.
The stronger your brand, standards, and leadership, the more good people will want to work for you.
4. Interview for behaviours, not just answers
Use real-world scenarios. Get them on your member Challenge or trail period and see how they fit in with the team, and interact with the members.
Anyone can talk a good game in a chat – you want to see how they actually show up under pressure.
5. Make onboarding a proper filter
Your first 12-16 weeks should be an extension of your hiring process.
Train. Test. Observe. And if it’s not working — cut early.
Final Word
A bad hire will cost you ten times what you think you’re saving by hiring fast or lowering your standards.
Your team is your product. The better the people, the stronger the business.
Hire slowly. Hire up. And only hire people you’d genuinely want to coach alongside for the next 5 years.