How to evaluate and find the best corporate fitness vendor

As companies reorganize their HR teams, many benefits directors are doing much more work with far fewer people. As a result, you don’t have enough hours in the day to meet everyone’s needs and you have to rely on partners to implement the programs your employees want and need.

If finding a new corporate fitness solution provider has been added to your growing list of responsibilities, you may feel unprepared to move forward. You know it’s an important decision. But did you also know that the right provider brings much more to the table than fitness management? They can also bring HR support and own the recruitment, retention, and staff development you would normally provide.

The vetting process, step by step

What are the most important things to consider? And how do you compare different vendors? The following is a step-by-step list of considerations and a starting list of questions. Combined, they’ll help you identify what’s most important to you as you choose the best partner.

Experience and stability

When looking at a vendor’s experience, you’ll want to feel you’re in good company. Specifically, you want to consider how long they’ve been in business, how many clients they have, and whether their clients are in your industry or serve similar populations.

Questions to ask:

• What’s your client retention rating?
• What is your client satisfaction rating?
• Are you financially stable with reliable funding?

Support for their employees and determining the best fit

An organization that will care for your employees should be doing the same for its employees, too. For fitness center vendors, ask about how they screen and select talent. And look for well-cared-for employees, low turnover rates and ongoing investments in training and education. In short, make sure they “walk the walk.”

Questions to ask:

• How do you source and screen your employees?
• How do you determine what team you’ll assign to our fitness center?
• In what ways do you support and care for your employees?
• What training and continuing education is available for your team?
• What’s your team’s turnover rate and satisfaction rating?

Participation and engagement

You want a fitness center solution that engages your people, not only individually but on a level that supports a community of health. So, you want to learn more about how potential vendors accomplish this. Ask questions to determine the specific strategies they use to make an impact and how they’ll reach your entire population.

Questions to ask:

• How do you measure and report engagement? What report segmentation is available?
• Do you have diverse programming and personalization options?
• How do you promote your programs? What marketing services are available?

Products, services and capabilities

While your primary need is fitness, it’s essential to plan for the potential of expanding services to meet the changing needs of your population. Given that, you’ll want to know whether a vendor can accommodate growth and if they have options for different delivery modes, such as online and hybrid.

Questions to ask:

• Are your offerings configurable to our company’s needs and goals?
• Can your solution be seamlessly integrated with other vendors we work with?
• Do you offer diverse programming for all levels and interests?
• Can you personalize your offerings to target specific populations?

Compliance and Implementation

As you vet vendors, it’s also important to get a clear understanding of what measures they take to ensure compliance, how quickly things can get started and when you’re going to see an impact. So, ask questions about their compliance and privacy rigor, how the implementation process works and how long it takes.

Questions to ask:

• How do you manage data privacy and compliance?
• What does your formal, strategic implementation plan look like?
• Do you have a one-, two- and three-year strategy and plan?

Pricing

When considering pricing, transparency is important. You want to be clear about what you’re getting for the price and precisely what’s included.

Questions to ask:

• What is your pricing structure for an on-site program?
• What is your pricing for additional services? Is it inclusive or are there other fees I should be aware of?
• What marketplace data do you use to determine pricing and value for this state/region?

Doing your homework leads to better decisions

When vetting a fitness provider, you want more than a check-the-box fitness solution. And the only way to get there is to do your homework.

Think through all of the critical behind-the-scenes components that contribute to a successful partnership. And, as these considerations will help you discover, the depth and substance of a vendor’s offerings go far beyond how they manage the fitness center.

Tim Mertz is the executive director of partnerships and strategic execution for HealthFitness, a Trustmark Company, a leading provider of fitness solutions that engage and connect people to create a strong community of health. You can reach him at Tim.Mertz@hfit.com