Complaints about group exercise have become a thing of the past for the Reynolds Group thanks to its partnership with CoverMe, a digital platform that simplifies group exercise and PT management for clubs and instructors.

Running more than 200 group exercise classes across three sites every week presented challenges for the Reynolds Group, especially when its instructors fell ill or took a holiday.

Stephen Turner, director for the Reynolds Group, explains: “Finding cover was a daily issue; taking up a significant amount of admin time – approximately 24 hours a week across our three sites. A stretch class is never a great alternative for yoga and we would consistently receive complaints when our specialist freelance instructors had to be substituted by our employed instructors.

“Since introducing CoverMe in November 2023, we haven’t had a single complaint about group exercise. The technology has allowed us to restructure so individual clubs are responsible for finding their own cover, which has also saved valuable time and resources.

“We’ve made savings of around £28,000, which we’re reinvesting in member services, such as adding new classes.”

Ellie Morgan, head of fitness and group exercise, previously spent 40 hours each week managing group exercise across the group. With the introduction of the app, she now enjoys a more member-facing role, teaching an additional eight hours of classes on-shift, overseeing fitness and group exercise and helping to grow the business.

CoverMe revolutionises the way fitness professionals manage group exercise classes, providing the ability to source the best freelance exercise instructors in just three steps and less than 30 seconds.

Previously the Reynolds Group managed the process of finding cover manually using different WhatsApp groups for each site.

Turner adds: “CoverMe is the only thing we now use for finding cover instructors because it’s so great for organisation and compliance.

“Previously, I would have to read about 40 WhatsApp messages to work out who was covering a class. Now everything is in one place and easily accessible. I can cross reference class cover with the relevant invoices, streamlining our procedures and ensuring the accounts are correct, which is fantastic.”

The app’s unique QR code system enables instructors to scan in at the club, so managers can track who is in the building. It produces class cover reports and generates automatic, accurate invoices to save further time and administration. It can also be used to find new permanent instructors to take group exercise classes and, at the Reynolds Group, has encouraged employed staff to earn additional income.

Turner says: “Staff are more than happy to volunteer to take regular classes off-shift, knowing if they’re ill or something comes up, they can easily find class cover. We still have to make some last-minute cancellations, but since launching the app we’ve covered approximately 80 per cent more classes than normal, and haven’t had to deal with any escalated complaints.

“It has improved the work-life balance of management and instructors, both employed and self-employed, helping them as much as us, and instructors have referred the CoverMe app to other clubs they work with because it makes their lives so much easier, broadening our network of instructors.”