Gym operators commonly report challenges getting teams to actually use the tech they’ve invested in. That doesn’t need to be the case. With the right approach, you can keep your staff happy and get them up to speed with new systems and solutions fast.
From gym management software and member apps to smart gym equipment and body composition scanners, tech is truly transforming how gym businesses operate.
Investing in tech can help you give your members a better experience. It can cut out time-consuming manual tasks. The right tech can even help you retain more members for longer. In short, there’s a lot that tech can do to help you grow your business.
Regardless of your goal in introducing new systems and solutions, real return on investment happens when staff feel confident using tools.
Almost all UK gym operators have tech of some kind in place. 82% face at least one tech-related challenge. 23% of these operators report that gym staff are slow to adopt new systems and solutions.
This is perfectly normal. Whenever businesses introduce new ways of working, teams need time, support, and confidence to make the most of them.
The good news? With the right approach, staff adoption can quickly become one of the biggest success stories of your tech investment.
Read on to see what you can do to quickly turn staff into confident tech advocates for any new systems and solutions you introduce.
Let’s get stuck in!
Why staff adoption sometimes takes time
When staff adoption of tech feels slow it can be frustrating. It’s rarely because staff don’t want change. More often, teams simply need clarity, support, and reassurance.
Common barriers and factors that slow adoption include:
1. Limited involvement in decisions
Front-line teams often have valuable insight into daily challenges and the realities of how everything works. However, for a variety of reasons, when introducing new tech, gym operators tend to make decisions from the top-down.
When the wider team are included early in decisions around new systems and solutions, adoption becomes easier. Consulting and informing staff during the decision-making process helps your team feel ownership over change.
2. Training that doesn’t reflect real life
If training focuses on system features rather than daily workflows or uses a test environment that isn’t configured quite the same as the real environment, staff may struggle to apply what they’ve learned.
3. Implementation challenges
If workflows aren’t fully thought through or adapted to suit specific business needs at launch, teams may feel unsure how to use the new system.
Ultimately, staff will avoid using the new tech. Or, at best, create workarounds that could be time consuming or negate the real benefits of the system.
4. Unclear benefits
Staff quickly embrace technology when they see how it reduces admin, improves member interactions, or simplifies tasks. In other words, when they know what’s in it for them and your business.
If the benefits are not explained or vague, desire to use the new system or solution can quickly dwindle.
5. Natural caution around change
Change always brings uncertainty. Recent research found that 31% of UK workers prefer not to embrace change. This is especially true for older workers.
By carefully managing change to provide reassurance and good communication, you’ll overcome fear of change and quickly build confidence.
6. Pressure during transition
Learning something new while managing busy shifts and full work schedules can feel challenging. The right support and making adequate allowances to free up your team for training will reduce this pressure.
The takeaway? Adoption improves when your team feels supported, involved, and confident.
Start adoption before launch day
Gym operators who have the most success in getting staff to embrace new systems and solutions know one thing. The actions you take before implementation even begins, massively determine the success of tech rollouts.
Consult teams early
Speak with those using current systems and who would use brand new systems most heavily. That might be your front desk teams, PTs, managers, sales staff or other team members.
Ask:
- Where do members experience friction?
- Which processes slow teams down?
- What admin tasks take too much time?
- Which tech would improve member support?
When staff help shape change, adoption becomes easier.
Frame why change is happening
In those early conversations with your staff, identify challenges and start to connect tech to real benefits. For example:
- Less admin work
- Faster member onboarding
- Easier booking and payments
- Better member progress tracking
- More time for coaching and service
When teams see how tools help them from the get-go, adoption accelerates.
Some team members may feel that tech is there to replace them – keep this in mind too. When explaining the benefits, also paint the picture of how that will help individuals succeed and evolve in their roles.
Strategically involve staff in decision making and implementation
Once you’ve engaged teams early, you should have a clear idea of the challenges a particular system or solution could solve for your business.
Next, as you come to assess specific vendors and technologies, consider how much you involve staff who’ll be using the new tech in the decision-making process:
- Top-down (centralised) decision-making – Leaders make the decision and pass down to employees. A fast and clear way to choose vendors and technologies
- Bottom-up (decentralised) decision-making – Decisions are informed by frontline staff. A more inclusive and practical approach to choosing vendors and technologies, but slower and harder to co-ordinate
The best approach will often depend on the size and structure of your gym business. You might decide to include one or two managers or other employees to advocate on behalf of their teams or colleagues.
Inviting them to demos may help uncover the pros or cons of different systems and technologies faster. Plus, it can help you identify process changes that would be required ahead of time.
It can be impactful to make sure those who will be using a new system or solution are included in the implementation process. Again, if you have a large team, strategically involve selected team members to represent the wider group.
By involving your staff in implementation, you’ll get them onboard and advocating for any new ways of working and processes. Plus, it’ll be easier to identify potential bottlenecks and concerns that may slow staff adoption.
It was imperative for our business to take a phased approach to onboarding and go live. This started with launching Resamania at a pilot site, before rolling out gradually across all 18 sites. We engaged key stakeholders from across our business in the project right from the start. This helped us build a solution that fits our unique needs.
By partnering with Resamania, we benefited from a strong project management team, regular meetings, and a highly collaborative, flexible approach to onboarding.
Resamania’s end-to-end approach to project management has been first class, from implementation to data management and everything in between. We now have a solution that’s best-in-class for both our team members and members alike.
Keith Pickard
Train before, during, and after go-live
As implementation progresses, it’s time to think about training. The best training reflects real-life scenarios.
For software, this often looks like making sure your partner supports your team with training that covers:
- The basics of your new software
- Managing members
- Handling scheduling and bookings
- Communicating with members at scale
- Understanding business performance
- And more!
If you’re buying technology (like smart equipment or body composition tools), this might look different:
- Showing members how equipment links to your app
- Explaining scan results confidently to members
- Using data to support PT upsells
- Helping members track progress over time
- Integrating data into coaching conversations
While most essential training is typically covered by your new tech partner, consider if you need to invest in extra training. Paying a little extra now will pay-off once the new tech is live.
For example, customised training for teams who’ll need different knowledge. Targeted training sessions help staff focus only on what matters to them, reducing overload and increasing confidence.
Learning doesn’t stop at launch – it should be continuous:
- During launch – Make sure your team have live support on hand to answer any questions straight away
- After launch – Run follow-up sessions once teams have hands-on experience, allowing learning to evolve naturally
Access to digital documentation and training platforms will help your team learn as they go. Plus, this can make onboarding new team members and getting them up to speed with your systems and solutions simpler.
I couldn’t say a bad thing about the whole process from onboarding onwards. Everything has been really transparent.
The plan for the onboarding process was clearly explained upfront. I knew exactly what was expected.
Throughout the whole process of switching, the support was phenomenal. Our Onboarding Engineer was never too busy to help. I just felt really comfortable.
Dean Ellis
Create internal tech champions
Internal tech champions are crucial, often non-managerial, employees who act as advocates, influences, and super-users for a new system or solution.
Most likely, your business has people who quickly grasp new tools and enjoy helping others. Identify staff who:
- Deeply understand current operations and pain points
- Pick up systems quickly
- Support colleagues naturally and are respected by their peers
- Show enthusiasm for change
Training these individuals first creates internal champions who help colleagues build confidence. Peer support is often the most effective training of all.
If championing is in addition to their regular duties, make sure you adequately acknowledge their effort.
Make new systems part of everyday operations
After the initial training is done and your new tech is live. Help teams build habits that support adoption and consistent use.
That might mean:
- Standardising workflows across sites
- Retiring legacy systems and workarounds
- Encouraging teams to use new tools daily
- Asking teams for feedback – both formally and informally
- Monitoring usage and support teams where needed
Over time, new processes simply become “how things are done”.
Share success stories with teams
Adoption accelerates when teams see positive impact. This can be crucial if you still have team members who are sceptical of newer systems and solutions.
Celebrate wins such as:
- Faster member sign-ups
- Reduced admin time
- Improved membership payment collection rates
- Higher class attendance
- Better member feedback
- Increased retention
Showing staff the real-world results of their efforts builds momentum and pride.
Continue supporting teams after launch
Technology evolves, just like your business will. Look for tech partners who will provide:
- Ongoing training opportunities and regular success masterclasses
- Responsive support
- Advice on improving workflows and how you’re using your system
- Guidance as your business grows
Long-term success comes from continuous improvement, not just successful launches.
After implementing recommendations from the success review, we saw real improvements. The average rate per paying member increased and is now more accurate – because we trimmed away all the fat by removing those with missing mandates from this number.
Our collection success rate now sits at 98%.
Mark Pearson
Tech success is about empowering people
From decision making to training, there’s lots you can do to support staff adoption of new technologies. Ultimately, tech is most widely adopted when staff realise that tech doesn’t replace people – it empowers them.
The right systems help teams:
- Spend less time on admin
- Deliver better member experiences
- Make smarter decisions
- Support business growth
- And more
When staff feel confident using tech, everyone benefits – teams, members, and the business.
I’d recommend Resamania to any operator who wants to keep up with the times and invest in software that’ll benefit both the business and members too. Resamania is for people by people and that shows in the support we get.
Lee Button
Planning your next tech investment?
If you’re reviewing your tech stack or planning upgrades, clarity on what your business really needs is the first step.
The Buyers Guide To Investing In The Right Technology As A Gym Operator will help you to:
- Diagnose operational challenges
- Define tech requirements
- Future-proof workflows
- Make confident buying decisions
- Drive staff and member adoption
- And more…
Download the Buyer’s Guide to make sure your next tech investment delivers real value.
Power up your business & stay in the know
The wrap up…
Introducing new tech into your gym business doesn’t need to be difficult. When teams feel involved, supported, and confident, adoption becomes far easier. And the benefits become visible much faster.
The most successful operators start early by consulting staff, clearly explaining why change is happening, and involving the right people in decisions and implementation.
These operators invest in practical training, create internal champions, and build new systems into everyday workflows. So, adoption becomes natural over time.
And importantly, these operators don’t stop supporting teams after launch. Continuous learning, feedback, and celebrating success help maintain momentum and make sure tech keeps delivering value as the business grows.
Tech works best when it empowers people. When your staff feel comfortable and confident using new tools, members get better experiences, teams spend less time on admin, and your business is better positioned to grow.
Get adoption right, and your next tech investment won’t just improve operations, it’ll help your whole business move forward faster.
With the right partner and platform behind you, introducing new tech can become one of the smartest growth decisions you’ll make for your business – and that’s where Resamania can help.
by James Barter Head of Partnerships at Resamania
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First published: 27 May 2026
Written by: James Barter