In our modern high tech society, technology makes our lives easier. There are apps and software that solve just about any problem. We are even seeing the introduction of “driverless cars”. What’s next?

Yet, some health clubs continue to use the outdated approach of using pen and paper to manage their members’ progress.

Making the transition from paper based health club processes to an electronic system is not just about “keeping up” with technology.

Using a technology should be about solving a problem or receiving a tangible benefit.

This article explores 4 key benefits that health clubs receive from eliminating pen and paper from their member operations.

4 benefits to a paperless health club

1. Time Saving

With managing a paper based system, all member records are typically stored in a filing cabinet.

If this is a fitness consultation for example, every time your staff needs to review the members’ file,
they need to go to the filing cabinet and search for the file.

Some form of alphabetical filing system may be used, however, when a file is put in the wrong section, it often results in a significant sift through the files to find the correct file

This search time may only be one minute here and there, however over the course of a year, this time can add up to several hours which could have been used more productively.

By using an electronic approach to member fitness consultations and workout cards, a search tool can be used to almost instantly pull up a member’s file eliminating the need to sift through hundreds of other paper files to find the information you are looking for.

2. Cost Saving

Another consideration by using a paper based system is the cost involved.

This is often overlooked, however, there can be a significant cost to maintain a paper based system.

Cost considerations include the cost of the paper cards (often several pages per member when we consider fitness consultations and workout program), the cost of printing on the cards and the costs of storage (the cost of filing cabinets and also the cost of space). In many instances, it is a legal requirement that centres archive their member documentation for up to seven years. This can require a lot of storage.

In fact, many fitness centres are known to archive these documents in offsite locations which again incur significant costs.

These costs are often overlooked when considering implementing a paperless technology.

If you deduct these costs away from the potential costs of a software solution, in many cases, the actual long term cost of implementing such a solution is very minimal and in some cases, nothing.

3. Environmental factors

An obvious benefit of using a paperless software system for managing member progression at your health club is the environmental benefit.

Using paper cards for storing fitness consultations and workout cards can result in wastage of thousands of pieces of paper each year. This usage directly impacts the environment.

A simple switch to an electronic system will instantly improve your health clubs’ carbon footprint.

4. Eliminating lost information

The final benefit of an electronic approach to managing members’ workout cards and fitness consultation is eliminating lost information.

By working in a health club, you are probably familiar with the following scenario.

A member comes in to complete a workout, they are looking for their workout program but cannot find it in the filing cabinet.

They ask a staff member for assistance but no luck. The program cannot be found and must be re-written.

Such events are a complete waste of time.

Not being able to lose information is one of the biggest benefits of an electronic system.

At the end of the day, technology is about solving problems and should always be evaluated on its capacity to make life easier.

The benefits above outline why switching from paper to electronic member progression processes can be a good move for your health club.

For more information about making the switch to an electronic system for your workouts and fitness appraisals, please go to www.fitdesk.com.au or call1300 181 665 and we would be happy to address your questions.