Sport and exercise psychologist Dr Haley Perlus offers her advice on how to improve the relationship and productivity between clubs and personal trainers.

"If your trainers' performance is lagging, it may have something to do with your club's compensation and incentive plan.

"Although we would like to think that 'pay per performance' is enough incentive to increase work output from our trainers, monetary rewards are often not enough to spark the fire.

“I recommend experimenting with the following three methods:
1. Public disclosure
Friendly competition is a powerful mechanism to increase productivity. Place a whiteboard in the trainers' area that keeps track of each individual's responsibilities and progress (eg number of new members signed up each week).< At first you may encounter resistance, but public disclosure will increase the likelihood of goal attainment.
2. Autonomy
Give your trainers a sense of control, so they feel they have a say in decisions affecting them. Allowing them to choose from a list of tasks and then selecting from a choice of rewards once they complete the task will foster high autonomy. This in turn encourages desire to participate; low autonomy means being obliged to participate.
3. Develop competence and success in your trainers
Individuals who doubt their ability to perform are 'failure avoiders'. Rather than striving to demonstrate success, they focus on avoiding failure because they doubt they can compare well with others. Highlight your trainers' strengths, provide positive constructive feedback and always give them tasks they perceive are within their capabilities.”

Other answers to this question can be found at the IHRSA website (ihrsa.org/industryleader).

This article first appeared in Health Club Management June 2011, p20, click here for more.