Introduction to Management: Analyzing Les Mills' Business Practices

This report provides an overview of Les Mills, a global fitness chain, and analyzes its management strategies. It examines the company's organizational culture, highlighting the importance of team building and effective communication in fostering a positive work environment. The report details how Les Mills prioritizes employee satisfaction through annual reviews, training, and leadership development. Furthermore, it explores the company's approach to customer satisfaction, emphasizing the role of motivated instructors, social workout experiences, and customer relationship management. The report concludes by illustrating the impact of these strategies on creating a contented customer base and achieving the company's mission of promoting a fit and healthy world.

Running head: INTRODUCTION TO MANAGEMENT
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Introduction to Management
Student’s Name:
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Introduction
Les Mills is a New Zealand based fitness chain. In 1968, Les Mills began its operations in
Auckland. Currently, the company is associated with 12 fitness gyms in New Zealand and has
approximately 17, 500 licensed partners in 100 nations (Andreasson & Johansson, 2016). Phillip
Mills, the founder of the organization, is recognized for his special role in developing an
effective approach to choreography, group workouts, instructor training, and using music to
achieve a motivational and safe workout experience for all customers. Les Mills creates
opportunities for both individual and group workout programs and also offers leasing space for
supporting businesses such as beauty stores and nutrition shops. Other sources of income for Les
Mills include offering licenses to non-associated gyms, as well as selling Les Mills products. The
prime mission of Les Mills is to create a fit and healthy world.
Organizational culture
Through team building and effective communication strategies, Les Mills has been able
to build a strong team and a positive organizational culture. Notably, each employee is given a
book which describes the organizational culture at Les Mills. This book acts as an effective
communication channel which enlightens the employees about what is expected from them. The
book further describes the mission, philosophy, and team environment of the organization. Les
Mills is determined to listen to employees’ grievances, feedbacks, and opinions. By doing so,
Les Mills is able to foster a collaborative working environment that supports the growth of the
staff and business.

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Evidently, the company is willing to work with risk takers and innovators who aim to
create a fit and healthy world. Through effective communication and team building, Les Mills’
employees are able to work as one tribe united by the core purpose of changing the planet. By
2020, the company intends to achieve a billion dollar status. In order to achieve this, the
company aims to keep all employees well informed (Macnamara & Zerfass, 2012). Les Mills
constantly informs its employees about online collaborations, staff meetings, conference calls,
training sessions, and e-newsletters.
Staff satisfaction
Effective communication and team building strategies ensure that the employees are
satisfied. Les Mills conducts annual reviews to determine the performance of each employee.
The annual review aims to create objectives and encourage constructive feedback. It should be
noted, however, that this review is not connected to the salary review. The Key Performance
Indicators (KPIs) explain more about individual performance. Therefore, the employees can
relate their performance to the business outcomes (Dyer & Dyer, 2013). KPIs create a platform
where employees can achieve their goals while reporting, standardizing, and measuring
performance (Sekaran & Bougie, 2016). Also, Les Mills seeks to build a contented team by re-
investing in them. A three percent of every employee’s salary is re-invested into their training.
At each level, the group fitness instructors undergo vigorous training. Les Mills also offers a
platform for leadership development. Potential leaders from all organizational areas and levels
are given tools and resources they need to meet the values and expectations of the company.
Customer satisfaction

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The company’s customers range from 18 to 35 years of age who acknowledge the
importance of group fitness. Most customers are confident, self-driven and live or work close to
the gym. The loyal, engaged, and motivated team of instructors at Les Mills ensures the
customers are always satisfied. The managers communicate to their team of instructors about the
company’s vision and goals. This helps to create energized and great teams capable of delivering
outstanding results (Van Vaerenbergh, Larivière & Vermeir, 2012). The impact of the good
communication and team building approaches is a contented customer base. Les Mills also
ensures that the customers are satisfied by providing a social workout experience. The social
experience is coupled with motivated instructors, music, and technology. The wall-screens and
innovative equipment at Les Mills provide a fun and positive mindset for its customers.
Les Mills adds flavor to its world class brand by seeking endorsement from celebrities.
The celebrities act as a communication channel through which customers are informed and
convinced to use the brand (Shockley-Zalabak, 2014). This definitely plays a special role in
improving customer satisfaction. The customers share the feeling and pride of being associated
with a world class brand. Moreover, Les Mills adopts Customer Relationship Management
(CRM) strategies to create and maintain a good relationship with its customers. Evidently, the
company compares and takes lessons from the best global companies, even if they are not related
to the industry. The management relays this information to the staff who in turn use it to provide
the best training to customers. This paper clearly illustrates the role communication and team
work strategies play towards achieving a positive culture and ensuring the customers and
employees are contented.

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References
Van Vaerenbergh, Y., Larivière, B., & Vermeir, I. (2012). The impact of process recovery
communication on customer satisfaction, repurchase intentions, and word-of-mouth
intentions. Journal of Service Research, 15(3), 262-279.
Sekaran, U., & Bougie, R. (2016). Research methods for business: A skill building approach.
John Wiley & Sons.
Andreasson, J., & Johansson, T. (2016). ‘Doing for group exercise what McDonald's did for
hamburgers’: Les Mills, and the fitness professional as global traveller. Sport, Education
and Society, 21(2), 148-165.
Dyer, W. G., & Dyer, J. H. (2013). Team building: Proven strategies for improving team
performance. John Wiley & Sons.
Shockley-Zalabak, P. (2014). Fundamentals of organizational communication. Pearson.
Macnamara, J., & Zerfass, A. (2012). Social media communication in organizations: The
challenges of balancing openness, strategy, and management. International Journal of
Strategic Communication, 6(4), 287-308.