With the rising costs of health insurance, more and more corporations are making health club memberships available to their employees, either as corporate paid benefit or at substantially reduced rates.
But not to add more duties to already overtaxed HR departments, many of these employers are turning to International Fitness Club Network (IFCN), an affiliation of health clubs, gyms and wellness centers in virtually every city in the U.S. IFCN handles all the employee communications and provides an online directory of participating health clubs.
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…participation in IFCN is, and has always been, free of charge to all clubs who can follow the safety standards and agree to the membership guidelines. IFCN does not charge health clubs a set up fee, or take a percentage of any membership dues like other smaller networks do…
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Healthtrax Fitness & Wellness (above) with 16 locations has enrolled hundreds of new members through participation in the IFCN program.
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The strategy is to mitigate the occurrence of disease in the first place. So much is known today about the harmful effects of smoking, excess weight, and sedentary lifestyles. So, it makes sense for corporations to look at affecting their employee populations in these three areas. By targeting employee health risks, employers can better manage health care costs.
Over 7,000 Health Clubs, Gyms and Wellness Centers in the IFCN Network
For over 13 years, International Fitness Club Network (IFCN) has been a leader in generating new members for the health club industry. With over 7,000 health clubs participating in its network, IFCN is able to reach employees and participants of large corporations and insurance providers that most single and multi-club operators are unable to penetrate.
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Clubs participating in IFCN see the program as an extension of their internal sales department, taking advantage of the fact that they are getting new members without any of the marketing or sales expense it would take to reach the large corporation or insurance markets. When banning together to create a network like IFCN, clubs have an extraordinary advantage over those facilities that choose to remain unattached to any other sales influence.
A Human Resource Executive does not have the time or resources to create relationships with individual health clubs in all the areas needed to satisfy their employees, by geographical location, or by the amenities offered. For example, a corporation like McDonald's would need a full-time department to handle just that need. That is why it makes sense, often for pennies per employee, for corporations to draw upon the experience that IFCN has mastered over the years.
Preventive Wellness for Corporations
IFCN was formed around the same time that corporations really started believing in the concept of preventive wellness, but were having trouble finding a benefit to offer their dispersed population of employees. How could a company have a tailored, and often high-end on-site full-facility health club that was available to 25% of their employees who actually worked at the corporate headquarters, but not offer an equitable benefit to the 75% of employees who worked off-site, most often in different states and at times, in different countries? What more and more of these companies are continuing to realize is; you can't. You can't offer inequitable benefits without it causing strife among the population, instigating what is commonly know in the industry as the "Ivory Tower" Syndrome.
Preventive Wellness for Corporations
IFCN was formed around the same time that corporations really started believing in the concept of preventive wellness, but were having trouble finding a benefit to offer their dispersed population of employees. How could a company have a tailored, and often high-end on-site full-facility health club that was available to 25% of their employees who actually worked at the corporate headquarters, but not offer an equitable benefit to the 75% of employees who worked off-site, most often in different states and at times, in different countries? What more and more of these companies are continuing to realize is; you can't. You can't offer inequitable benefits without it causing strife among the population, instigating what is commonly know in the industry as the "Ivory Tower" Syndrome.
Healthtrax Fitness & Wellness
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The term Ivory Tower Syndrome is applied when there is an obvious dissatisfaction from the dispersed employees who feel as though they do not receive equal treatment from Senior Management, as do their peers who happen to work at the Corporate Headquarters. In other words, the employee is thinking "what about me"?
IFCN has been able to bridge the gap between multi-location corporations and companies with the "Road Warrior" sales force, and a reasonable fitness benefit accessible to everyone, even when traveling.
IFCN member clubs agreed to follow health and safety standards set forth by the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA), offer a free week trial to IFCN clients as well as their lowest membership rate for the type of membership that the IFCN member selects. In essence, IFCN clubs extend what they have already established as their corporate rate.
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When a company gets on board with the concept, and ultimately the health care savings of preventive health programming, they have committed to offering their employees the resources to empower them to change their lifestyle behaviors and improve their health. It's no secret that a main ingredient in any behavior modification program is becoming more active. IFCN helps these companies by offering the resource of health clubs, incentivizing them to enroll at preferred pricing, and empowering these employees to take that step to improve their health and ultimately costing the company less in healthcare costs and absenteeism.
Participation in IFCN Is Free of Charge to Qualifying Health Clubs
And one last thing that needs to be mentioned; participation in IFCN is, and has always been, free of charge to all clubs who can follow the safety standards and agree to the membership guidelines. IFCN does not charge health clubs a set up fee, or take a percentage of any membership dues like other smaller networks do. IFCN is simply increasing membership at clubs by charging the corporations an administration fee to maintain the network, and take responsibility for their employees' health. Why wouldn't a club participate, when not enrolling would be giving their competition, who may already be an IFCN member, such an obvious advantage?
IFCN Contact Info:
Go to IFCN Contact Page
Posted: 8/28/2006
Source: IFCN
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