I think, to a large extent, the impact of the bad economic situation in Belgium came under the radar. While other markets crashed, the Belgian economy experienced zero growth, or at worst a small decline. Even with higher unemployment, most citizens’ financial situation therefore isn’t too dreadful.

That said, there has been some short-term pressure, as well as increased competition from low-cost solutions, which has meant that small enterprises in the fitness sector have had to lower their prices to prevent members from dropping out and switching to other clubs. Unfortunately, this has resulted in some closures.

In my mind, this could probably have been avoided, as recent studies show that Flemish people practise more sport than ever before and are willing to invest in their health. However, there’s no gym-based participation among youngsters and only a small increase in adult participation; most people seek sport in various other environments. Running is, by far, the most popular sport, with 30 per cent of active adults saying they run.

I think the greatest challenge for the fitness industry is to latch onto this evolution and diversification of the way people exercise. This means stepping away from the traditional fitness offering and looking for creative solutions, including a broader variety of activities, family offers, and most importantly out-of-club activities.

In addition, it’s up to fitness industry leaders to lobby for better financial conditions for the club business, based on the economic value and the indirect and direct macro economic benefits through the impact on public health. Of course, directly linked to this, our industry has to make actual participation in club activities a priority, rather than people simply ‘joining the club’.

This piece was excerpted from The IHRSA European Health Club Report: Size & Scope of the Fitness Industry, which was published in October 2013.

“As an employer, it’s well within your right to have your staff sign a code of conduct for social media. We allow our employees the option of joining the Brick Bodies social network, but employees must then be aware that, with any posts they make on their social media pages, they’re making statements that are a representation of the company.

Some key points to include are:
- Employees cannot use the sites for anything personal during work hours.
- Employees cannot make any posts that give a negative connotation to the company or its employees.
- Employees cannot post anything illegal.
- Include information about how to handle friend requests from club members. If the employee chooses not to participate in the company community, they should direct members to the company’s social media pages.
- Conversations via social media with current or potential members should be handled with the same level of professionalism as if they were talking to someone inside the club.

Ultimately, when they make posts, employees must always ask themselves: Does this help or hurt the brand?
Read more answers to this question at www.ihrsa.org/industryleader