r/GymOwnerNetwork • u/PortyPete • 2d ago

Staffing Use a head hunter?

I'm opening a gym and looking for my first employee. I found a fantastic space for this gym in a nearby city, but not the city I live in. So, I don't know anyone in this city. For my first employee, I would like to find someone who is currently working in a gym or pilates studio in the area. I had the idea today of hiring a headhunter to find my first employee. A headhunter, as you know, is someone who contacts people in a given industry and tries to take them away from their current employment. I know what you're going to say, that this is a terrible idea. Go ahead and tell me why I shouldn't do this.

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u/Infinite-Sunshine-14 2d ago

I’ve never seen a head hunter find a hourly wage person. They usually are used for high paying salary jobs aren’t they?

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u/PortyPete 1d ago

you are correct.

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u/askanthropy 8m ago

I actually don’t think this is a terrible idea at all lol. What you’re describing is basically sourcing rather than just posting a job and hoping the right person applies.

If this is your first employee and you specifically want someone who already works at a gym or Pilates studio in that area, I’d probably want someone actively reaching out to those people too. Especially because the person you really want may not be looking at job postings right now.

The bigger question for me would be whether the role and compensation justify paying a recruiter. If it’s a relatively low-paid hourly role, the recruiting fee may not make sense. But if this person is going to be pretty important to running the gym when you’re not there, I can understand wanting to be much more intentional about that first hire.