As the clash once said “should I stay or should I go now?” And this has been the question asked by a lot of employees and job hunters of late. After a tumultuous, to say the least, last couple of years in the fitness industry we (touch wood) have come out the other side where we are not the receiving end of constant closures and reopening’s - with that has come a bit more job security but also now means a large number of candidates are starting to look elsewhere. But what does this mean for recruitment?

At this point in time we are working in a very candidate driven market - which will of course have significant impact on the hiring process. A candidate driven market basically means now is the perfect time to be on the look out for your next role as there are more jobs for good people. This unfortunately will have the adverse affect for hiring employees, essentially there is more competition for employers.

Candidates are now receiving more job offers whilst current employers are even more keen for them to stay and this will drive competition on their overall package (which it must be noted is not just how much money is in their pocket at the end of the month)A pre covid job market was very much employer driven - people would go to the big names for the most money.

We are increasingly finding this is not the case. Of course salary is still one of the most important things and if you skimp on this you’ll lose people. However, there is more to it than that. So what are the main focuses for people looking for their next role? Salary + bonus - of course this is still hugely important, people will tend to move for a pay increase of around 10% however if the rest of the package is attractive then we have seen people move for less.

This will happen when a company make an effort to make the package more attractive - not by negotiating a lower salary.Culture and vision - hugely important! What does your company stand for? Is there a social conscience? After a number of years working at home in isolation, candidates want to feel like:

1. They matter.

2. They’re making a difference. 

So ask yourself is it clear what your company is working towards and how this prospective employee is going to contribute to this? Does your presence on all social platforms display your culture and vision and are you putting out the image you want to portray to attract those like minded candidates?

Professional Development - the best candidates 9 times out of 10 will have one eye on the future and will rarely move just for a like for like job and nowhere else to go. When talking about the company, speak about the future - is there expansion within your future and if so what does this mean for the candidate?

Not necessarily that lineal progression either, is there success stories within the company where perhaps someone has moved into a central role. Is there CPD available or can they even learn a new skill. All things to consider.

Personal development - just as important for amazing candidates is the opportunity to develop themselves personally. This doesn’t necessarily have to be anything formal but think about the team dynamic - are there people in the business who can help with this? For example here at Love we have a focus on reading professional development resources and senior level staff with experience will often sit down with people and help with financial planning.

These things are not necessarily formal plans but go along way still.

Wellness - when coming out of covid a big focus from candidates has been put on both physical and mental well-being. Candidates will look for options that can aid with that so think about what your company can offer - do you have a well-being plan in place?

One thing that we have seen with some operators is the ability to hybrid work (work from home) for a minimum of one day a week. A large amount of candidates are looking for this, which has cut off a lot of the fitness industry on a club land level - however it can be done! The success stories we have seen will allow admin days etc from home - it’ll get done quicker and more efficiently and give candidates that freedom of remote working.

There will be a number of other ways to attract in a candidate driven market but these 5 are my key starting points. In a candidate driven market that doesn’t look like changing anytime soon, we need to have the mind shift change that the power is in candidates hands.