At Career Lab, one thread ran through every main session: finding great people is much more challenging than it should be. The resumes might still be rolling in, but the right ones (the ones that stick, build, and lead) are few and far between.

Brands like Life Time, Training Mate, and Fitstop are no longer just looking for coaches. These brands also target people with owner-like mindsets. 

What started as a hiring problem is turning into a deeper talent strategy reset, and the thoughtful conversations at Career Lab made that pain point obvious.

The Hiring Filter Got Tighter

During Session 3, four leaders—Brittany Agulto (Orangetheory), Nicole Petitto (Pvolve), Efonda Sproles (Life Time), and Khaled Elmasri (Excel Fitness)—broke down what’s happening on the ground. It’s not that candidates are underqualified. The bigger issue is that most aren’t a long-term match.

Efonda put it plainly: “You very seldom hire who you interview.” What stands out, he said, are the soft skills that match the brand. “When I meet individuals and I look at the people skills they have, it’s those little things that make you kind of go ‘wow, this guy’s got it.’” That gut-check moment matters more than another certification.

Khaled zeroed in on the story. “We know you want to change lives, but what is your story?” The pressure to hit KPIs and keep members happy is real, but storytelling is the bridge. “How do you turn that story into something relatable to that client?” His point: numbers matter, but they follow a connection.

Brittany brought warmth and clarity. She’s not just looking for trainers who move well. “What really stands out is what they are bringing to the table that shows me inclusivity is important to them,” she said. “If it’s somebody who can be kind and passionate about people (not just fitness), I think that’s the big piece of it.”

Nicole echoed that shift. She supports franchise owners, but sees the same red flags across markets. “We want to find people who are here for the right reasons,” she said. That includes part-time staff and corporate team alike. “We’re always constantly giving and receiving feedback no matter what level of the organisation we find ourselves in.” 

And in that culture, ego burns out fast.

Connection Still Wins

Session 1, featuring Luke Milton, offered the keynote angle: People don’t leave relationships, they leave transactions. That insight guided much of the event’s tone.

Luke’s background gives his words weight. He played professional rugby, launched Training Mate in Sydney, and expanded the brand across Los Angeles. His model doesn’t work without emotional buy-in. You walk in for the workout, but stay for the energy.

He put it this way: “My greatest asset was not really understanding the problems I was going to face, but understanding that I have the ability to deal with these problems as they came up.” 

Luke is reminding coaches that adaptability is the edge. You don’t need every answer in advance; just be the type who keeps showing up, asks the right people, and applies the lesson.

“There are other people in my network who have faced and fixed those problems,” he added, “and can give me the cheat code of how to get through the difficult days.” That’s the difference between isolation and acceleration: building a support system that doesn’t let you stall.

Ownership as the Next Step

Session 8 shifted the conversation from hiring to development. If great coaches are hard to find, can brands grow their own? That’s where the ownership track becomes a serious option.

Franchise systems like Fitstop, Pvolve, and Training Mate are now offering something beyond paychecks: equity. But that move isn’t for everyone.

Rebecca Hull clarified the expectations: “The biggest question you really need to understand if you’re a fitness professional is, are you willing to do the work?” 

The work she’s referring to goes beyond coaching and encompasses payroll, hiring, conflict management, and cash flow. She added, “People come for the product, but that’s not what’s going to make you successful. What’s going to make you successful is obviously the backend of the business.”

Rebecca pointed out that some of the top performers didn’t even come from fitness; they came from corporate, bringing systems, discipline, and clarity on what they didn’t know. “You need to be able to take that step up,” she said, “and know where your gaps are… where you can seek mentorship to really level up.”

For those aiming outside franchise paths, Jack Thomas brought a different lens. He built BASE in Bangkok as an independent studio, with no franchise roadmap. “I really threw myself into a journey of learning and development on the sales and marketing side,” he shared. “I love making a sales call now. I didn’t nine years ago.” 

That kind of growth mindset isn’t optional when you’re building without a brand behind you. “You have to get feedback from people you trust,” he added. “Once you see that something has a negative effect, you should change your behavior accordingly.”

Eloiza Tecson helped round out the picture. “If you’re preparing to step into the world of ownership, one of the external factors you need to consider is a financial runway.” 

She didn’t sugarcoat it: comfort with discomfort is part of the deal. “It’s a matter of being honest about how comfortable you can get being very uncomfortable in a potential financial situation.” She also flagged a mindset shift many first-time owners miss. “There’s this shift of it becoming, ‘these are my clients,’ to actually, ‘this is our team’s client and this is our community.’”

What Hiring Managers Are Looking For

Here’s what came up again and again:

• Emotional intelligence – The ability to read the room, calm a nervous client, and keep energy high without being overbearing.
• Story ownership – Not trauma-dumping, but clarity on what shaped you as a coach. And how you’ve used that to help others.
• Business curiosity – Not everyone wants to own a franchise, but the best hires ask about CAC, retention, and margin impact.
• Brand alignment – If you don’t believe in the product, you won’t last. Recruiters can spot that disconnect in seconds.
• Consistency – Anyone can bring the heat for one class. But can you do it five days a week, through staff changes and studio drama?

Some brands also add DISC assessments and structured interviews to avoid bias and guesswork. 

Final Thoughts

There’s no quick fix here. Brands aren’t going to solve staffing gaps overnight, but they are getting clearer. The next phase of hiring is about depth: deeper conversations, deeper alignment, deeper investment in the right people.

About Robert James Rivera
Robert is a full-time freelance writer and editor specializing in the health niche and its ever-expanding sub-niches. As a food and nutrition scientist, he knows where to find the resources necessary to verify health claims.