Why Your Team Spends More Time Figuring Out Their Job Than Actually Doing It

Your car won't start. Do you immediately think the worst? Engine failure? Transmission problem? Major mechanical disaster?

No. You check the gas tank first. Then the battery. Then the starter. Usually one of those three gets your car running again.

But when your gym has a problem—appointments aren't getting booked, members aren't renewing, leads aren't converting—most gym owners panic and start inventing complex solutions to simple problems.

Why? Because they don't have core processes in place. They don't have the clarity of knowing exactly which three things to check when something goes wrong.

What Are Core Processes?

Let's align our language. Core processes are the key activities that your business must perform well to keep customers happy and satisfied.

I look at it through the 80/20 lens: core processes are the top 20% of things your business needs to perform well on, because those top 20% actually handle 80% of your business.

Here's an example: We don't have an SOP or core process for cleaning the bathroom. We just want the bathrooms clean. However, if I owned a cleaning company, I would absolutely have a detailed SOP on how to clean the bathroom—start at the top, work your way down, every step documented.

The difference? For a gym, cleaning bathrooms isn't in that critical 20%. But member acquisition? Absolutely. Lead generation, appointment booking, member retention—those are core processes that deserve detailed documentation.

It's the top 20% that you want your team to execute extremely well, because this moves 80% of your business forward.

Core Processes vs SOPs

Think of it like a restaurant menu versus a recipe.

Core Processes are the menu items: burgers, fries, salads. The high-level categories of what you do.

SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) are the actual recipes: step-by-step instructions on exactly how to make that burger. A checklist that says "yes, I did it" or "no, I didn't."

SOPs are literally step-by-step instructions on how to do something. They serve as a verification list. They remove ambiguity. They create consistency.

The Four Reasons Your Business Needs Core Processes

You already know you need systems. But here's why you need to help your team believe in them, because if they don't believe in the systems, they won't run them.

1. Scalability and Consistency

I remember my first club when I was the GM. I only had two processes: how to do an FC and how to do a tour. That was it.

That was okay when it was just me trying to do everything. But it became impossible to grow even that one location because I was limited by my systems—or lack of systems.

I couldn't exit that location to work on other areas because everything depended on me knowing how to do it. Without documented processes, I was the bottleneck.

Whether you have one location now or twenty, core processes are the foundation for scalability and consistency. They're what allow you to step away without everything falling apart.

2. Efficiency and Time Management

By streamlining your operations, you reduce redundancy and cut costs. But here's the most important part: your team members spend less time trying to figure out how their job is done and more time actually doing it.

Think about that. How many hours per week do your team members waste asking questions, guessing at the right approach, or reinventing the wheel because they don't have a clear process to follow?

Give them the path forward. Document the process. Watch productivity soar.

I was in a production meeting recently where one of the districts had an issue with appointment booking. Everyone started theorizing about what could be wrong. But here's the reality: if you're not booking appointments, there are only three reasons why.

1. You're not hitting your call volume

2. You're not doing zone calling

3. You're not using your scripts

That's it. Just like checking gas, battery, and starter when your car won't start.

In this situation, the district was supposed to do 50 calls a day. They were averaging 28. The solution wasn't some new strategy or complex fix. It was: follow the process.

Most problems in your gym are the same problems everyone has. And the solutions are also the same. Core processes give you that clarity.

3. Quality Control and Risk Management

As you scale and get more memberships, maybe more locations, there are ways people can cheat your system.

I've seen it all. Team members taking cash from members. Setting people up on EFT with fake signatures, then months later the member complains they never signed up. Someone telling a prospect, "Membership is $700, but give me $300 cash and I'll get you a one-year membership."

Very easy to do when you don't have quality control systems in place.

Behaviors that go unchecked are behaviors that are assumed to be okay. Without documented processes and verification steps, you're inviting problems.

Quality control also protects you legally. If you need to terminate someone or write them up, you need a controlled mechanism to cross your T's and dot your I's in case you ever get sued.

4. Training and Employee Engagement

This is about clarity through communication. When you tell someone to "go sell some memberships," that instruction can be interpreted very differently from one person to another.

Core processes give edges to everything. They give standards to how you do things. And they give love through communication—because clear is kind.

When someone joins your team, they shouldn't have to guess what success looks like. They shouldn't spend weeks trying to figure out the "right way" to do something. They should have a clear roadmap that shows them exactly what excellent performance looks like.

That's employee engagement. That's retention. That's building a team that can execute at a high level without constant supervision.

The Mindset Shift

Here's the key: if you don't believe in your systems, your team won't run them.

You have to be able to show the WHY behind the things you're doing. Why does this process matter? What does it protect? What does it enable?

When your team understands that core processes aren't bureaucratic nonsense but rather the framework that allows them to be efficient, effective, and successful, they'll embrace them.

When they see that having a process means they spend less time confused and more time productive, they'll follow them.

When they realize that documented systems are what allow the business to scale—which means more opportunities for them—they'll champion them.

Building Your Top 20%

You don't need to document everything. You need to document the critical 20% that drives 80% of your results.

Start with member acquisition. How do you generate leads? How do you book appointments? How do you conduct tours? How do you close sales?

Then move to member retention. How do you onboard new members? How do you handle renewals? How do you manage cancellation requests?

Then consider your operational backbone. How do you open and close the gym? How do you handle cash? How do you manage inventory?

These are your core processes. Document them. Create SOPs for each step. Train your team on them. Hold people accountable to them.

And when something goes wrong, check the fundamentals first. Are they following the process? Are they hitting the volume metrics? Are they using the scripts?

Nine times out of ten, the problem isn't that you need a new strategy. The problem is that the existing process isn't being followed.

The Bottom Line

Your team should spend their time executing, not guessing. They should spend their energy producing results, not figuring out how to do their job.

Core processes and SOPs give them that clarity. They create consistency, efficiency, quality control, and engagement.

They're the difference between a gym that depends entirely on you and a gym that can scale beyond you.

They're the difference between reinventing the wheel every day and running a well-oiled machine.

Start documenting your top 20%. Build the systems that will carry your business forward. And watch what happens when your team finally has the clarity to excel.