One of the most important qualities of winning teams is the ability for a coach to empower their players.
By enabling independence and building trust with your athletes, you are able to tap into their strengths and develop them not only into impactful players, but also people.
As the owner of a sports training business, this same concept holds true. You are like the coach of your team of trainers and staff. So, how can you empower this team in order to best develop your athletes and grow your brand?
Staff empowerment starts with enabling independence, supporting growth, and giving them the tools to succeed.
Enable independence and increase autonomy
In order for your trainers, coaches, and staff to develop into empowered and capable leaders, they need to feel like they have the skills, insights, and ability to make decisions that will benefit your business.
Provide thorough training
A critical way you can empower staff to become independent is to train them thoroughly so they feel confident in performing the necessary responsibilities of their respective jobs. Focus on spending time making sure that your staff knows the ins-and-outs of your operations software and can handle most daily tasks before their first shift. This will help to set them up for success from Day 1.
Additionally, if making a switch to a new app or platform, ensure that you are able to involve them in the onboarding process so that you’re able to increase staff buy-in of the new software. Establish trust, and make certain your newer staff feels comfortable asking questions to you or other leaders. Allowing easy two-way communication is key to employee empowerment.
Demonstrate trust
As David Grossman says, “Trust must be earned. It comes from a conscious effort to walk your talk, keep your promises, and align your behavior with your values. Building trust is worth the effort because once trust is lost, it can be very difficult to recover.” In order to empower your staff to become independent, you have to demonstrate that they have your trust.
Bonus tip: With sports management software like Upper Hand, you are able to give your staff the autonomy to set their own schedules, while still being able to keep a pulse on what is going on within your facility’s walls.
Support individual goals and promote growth
To truly empower your team, make it a priority to support the growth of individuals within your business. By investing in reliable programs that help develop and engage your coaches and staff, you will enable them to find more purpose at work.
Provide paths to growth
Do you have a front-desk manager who dreams of becoming a certified instructor? Or an instructor who aspires to join management? If it makes sense for your business, think about ways you can provide growth paths to your employees who want to expand their roles within your business.
Offer workshops and additional training
For sports coaches and trainers, staying at the top of their game is critical, and there are always new tricks to learn. Countless sport and class-specific workshops happen all over the country, so consider offering your instructors the opportunity to attend. Attending additional training will both grow their skill set and enable them to become more confident, invigorated, and empowered teachers — a win win!
Challenge them with attainable goals
A key way you can empower your sports training staff is giving them challenging but attainable goals. By working alongside your staff to define understandable and relevant goals, they can show their competitive side and willingness to work to meet their targets. Hopefully you’ll find that when your staff works hard to meet their objectives they increase their know-how and have fun doing so.
And, when your sports staff or instructors meet their goals, they will be more empowered to hit their next targets.
Implement systems that enhance their work experience
While there are dozens of ways you can empower your employees, one of the most important ways to empower staff is to make sure that your business’ systems and tools help–not hinder–the way they do their daily tasks.
Focus on finding a sports facility management solution that empowers employees by making their daily tasks more user-friendly and giving them more time back in their day to focus on what’s really important–maintaining relationships with clients and members, developing skills, and helping to grow your business.
Software that empowers staff
A critical component of any sports business is the core software that manages operations. From enabling clients and members to schedule lessons and classes to running payroll and selling merchandise, your all-in-one sports management software should be extremely user-friendly and easily integrate with your business model.
Upper Hand recognizes that a one-size-fits all approach to software is not the way to win. Our software is designed specifically for sports facilities and training academies, and by working closely with industry leaders like you, the software is able to evolve with impactful feature updates on a regular basis.
When you choose Upper Hand, you choose a partner with a team of industry experts. Your empowered staff can easily contact our team who, with a collective knowledge and background in the sports training industry, help you apply best practices to level up your business.
Sports coach and staff empowerment is critical to help your business retain capable and committed employees. Focus on training them to become independent and trusting them to make informed decisions, allowing them to grow and develop in their roles, and be sure to implement systems that make their daily administrative tasks more streamlined.
For more information on how Upper Hand’s software can help your business stay ahead of these trends and others, schedule a demo.
