HPW Student Internship Experience – Laura Bauer Summer 18′
As the intern for Planet Fitness, I became really close friends with my car. Of course I am only joking. In my internship, I traveled the state of Wisconsin all summer long! I visited eight clubs in the North/Central Wisconsin Region almost every week. Planet Fitness has never had an intern before so I was able to morph my internship into what I wanted it to be! How awesome! I used my experiences from the employee wellness practicum to create somewhat of a rough draft for an employee wellness program at Planet Fitness. My dream job with Planet Fitness would be to create a wellness program director position. I would work in the office stationed in Appleton, WI creating HRA’s for more than just a few clubs in one region. I would work side-by-side with the Human Resources representative for the company to improve employee retention and well-being in the workplace.
The main part of my internship and my favorite part involved working with employees at each club. I was fortunate enough to sit down with each employee in Plover and Eau Claire to go over personal wellness goals. I also sat down with managers and assistant managers at the other six clubs. I even had the privilege of meeting and interviewing the franchise manager and the owners! In the one-on-one meetings, I had each person take the strengths assessment from StrengthsQuest. I really enjoyed looking at data and comparing strengths of managers and assistants to the employees from Plover and Eau Claire. I am an advocate for strengths assessments!
Another part of my internship involved promoting. I posted a few of times on Planet of Triumphs which is the social media site at Planet Fitness. I also promoted fitness training which is included with both membership types at Planet Fitness. I created special member deals and giveaways, fliers, and white board designs. I was able to use my creativity to perform those tasks. Pictured below, I am creating my final white board design before my internship was complete! Check it out!
Objectives
- Behavior Change:
- Intern will create Health Risk Assessments for employees in the North/Central Wisconsin Region as well as mentor employees with behavior change through health coaching and reassessment.
- Intern will have employees take the strengths assessment found at the link below. The intern will meet with each employee to go over their strengths. Intern will also meet with the manager of each club outlining strengths of each employee. Intern provide managers with the necessary tools for recognizing strengths. Character Strengths Assessment.
- Intern will assist the Lead Trainers at each club in the North/Central Wisconsin Region with teaching fitness sessions to members of the club. Intern will also work on retention rates with the Lead Trainers and Assistant Trainers at each club to emphasize the importance of certifications with sustaining behavior change.
- Intern will offer contests for Trainers and Assistant Trainers. For each NEW group fitness session sign up, the club gets a point. To work on retention, each returning group fitness session sign up, the club gets 10 points. The club in the North/Central Wisconsin Region with the most points each month gets a prize decided upon by the intern and Regional Manager at a later time. (For example, maybe the club that gets the most points will get a $10 gift card for each Trainer and Assistant Trainer and the member with the most sessions attended during that time wins a water bottle).
- Promotion and Marketing:
- Intern will offer contests for Black Card Members (members who can bring in a guest for free). For each NEW guest a Black Card Member brings in, their club gets 2 points. For each CURRENT guest a Black Card Member brings in, their club gets 1 point. The club in the North/Central Wisconsin Region with the most points each month gets a prize decided upon by the intern and Regional Manager at a later time. (For example, maybe the club that gets the most points will get a boss to dress in a chicken costume for a day and the member with the most NEW guests will win a buddy bag).
- Intern will create whiteboard signs to promote fitness sessions at Planet Fitness of Plover
- Intern will post frequently on the Planet Fitness social media site, Planet of Triumphs encouraging members to stick with their goals and make behavior change happen.
- Organizational Experiences:
- Intern will assist the Intern Supervisor with management tasks such as cross-checking insurance plans, taking inventory, running reports, and maintaining the purchasing budget.
- Intern will interview and job shadow employees in higher positions. These include but are not limited to Preston-Regional Manager, Cory-Franchise Manager, Tim-Franchise Owner, Jenna-Operations Manager, Brice-Marketing Manager, and Stephany-Regional Trainer.
- Intern will travel to each of the eight clubs in the North/Central Wisconsin Region throughout the summer to gain experience at different locations. These include Eau Claire, Rothschild, Plover, Beloit, Madison 1, Madison 2, Monona, and Janesville.
- Intern will travel to at least one club in the Milwaukee Region and at least one club in the Eastern Wisconsin Region to gain experience at locations with a different Regional Manager. These may include areas such as Appleton, Oshkosh, Sheboygan, or Green Bay.
Contact
Preston Sult
Regional Manager
1200 Commons Circle
Plover, WI 54467
preston.sult@blackduckpartners.com
(715) 544-1950 (Plover Planet Fitness
Hours
40 hours per week, at least 400 hours total
20 unpaid hours per week @ Planet Fitness of Plover
20 unpaid hours per week @ other clubs in North/Central Wisconsin Region
20 paid hours per week @ Planet Fitness of Plover outside of internship hours
Stipend
$9.25/hour during 20 paid hours per week @ Planet Fitness of Plover (does not count towards internship hours)
UW-Stevens Point Students Who Completed Internship