Full Transcript
How are businesses not only attracting new workers but keeping their current staff? That's one of the topics we'll talk about today. I also have new data and information to share that points to a promising future for our fitness industry.
Thanks for joining me for another IHRSA Take 5, sponsored by Precor.
Data From Mindbody
Recently, Mindbody shared their latest data on what people are booking around the world. They found that in most countries, including the U.S. and Canada, bookings are not only up, but increasing week to week compared to data from 2019. In the US, especially, class and appointment bookings are trending upward in most states. Of course, this is great news, especially for those clubs in Tennessee who've seen the biggest week-to-week increase at 24%. Thanks to Mindbody for being such a great partner through this COVID experience we're all having.
Attracting New Team Members
Many clubs have been sharing that they're having a hard time hiring, recruiting, bringing back, or keeping staff as pandemic restrictions ease and we return to something close to normal. Some businesses have turned to increasing the minimum wage they offer their staff as well as adding additional incentives. For example, in May, Chipotle announced they were hiring 20,000 workers, and that by the end of June, they would raise the hourly wage to 15 across the country. But to cover the increase in wages, the restaurant also is increasing the price on menu items by 4%.
Of course, Chipotle is not the only major company raising the minimum wage to attract workers. Taco Bell and McDonald's are also adding benefits and running hiring events to lure applicants. Some companies are even offering $50 to applicants who simply show up for the interview. And others are offering signing bonuses and even free iPhones after six months of employment. In speaking with many club operators, they are now offering similar things and finding the need to deploy strategies like these just to get people to apply for the jobs that are open on their staff.
Wellness Is an Umbrella for Healthy Living
We've been sharing research from Credit Suisse over the last few weeks, and I want to thank them again for recently presenting some of their data at our Global Health and Fitness Alliance meeting recently. I know everyone really enjoyed hearing from them, and so I'd like to share a bit of their research on defining wellness.
According to Credit Suisse, wellness is an umbrella for healthy living overall. In the research, they say that the three trends behind the quickly developing healthy products and technology include: one, those supporting healthier eating, two, physical activity, and three, mental health and physical self-care. The new research shares also that 47% of Americans choose a virtual workout once a week. 49% of Americans also own a wearable fitness device, and 61% of respondents in a recent report say that they value health and wellness now more than ever coming out of the pandemic.
However, only 56% of consumers believe their health is good or very good and 63% of Americans have a BMI that is above normal. So we still have a long road ahead of us in the journey of helping more people become active and lead healthier lifestyles.
Support the IHRSA Foundation with Amazon Smile
Last week, we mentioned the newly redesigned IHRSA Foundation website where you can find our current initiatives, resources, and ways to support the foundation. With Amazon Prime Day coming up on June 21st and 22nd, you can also use Amazon Smile to support the IHRSA Foundation with every purchase you make. To get started, be sure to login to smile.amazon.com with your existing Amazon account information and then choose the IHRSA Foundation as your preferred charity of choice. This is really a great way to support IHRSA and the foundation with no cost to you.
