You may not know this but Les Mills takes all feedback very seriously. The team stays well-informed of Instructors’ views across the globe by collecting feedback through detailed quarterly surveys, social media, and through our teams in every market. We use these important insights to make fixes where necessary and explore new ways to keep you rocking your classes. So here’s what we’ve been working on lately…
Choreography Notes
We know some choreography notes from recent releases have had errors in them, which means they can be difficult to learn from.
We realise this isn’t up to the standard you’re used to, and we’re sorry. When COVID landed we made some cuts to our production processes which impacted the quality of what we were delivering. The good news is we have put a new Quality Assurance process back in place and added more experts to the proofing team. You will see this reflected from the Q421 release.
Work Opportunities
We understand some Instructors are having trouble finding work due to clubs closing down, or cancelling their LES MILLS licenses and no longer offering the programs.
To help ease any struggles we’ve just launched Les Mills Connect, a brand new platform which has been designed to help you find work faster. It connects Instructors seeking work with those facilities who are looking for teachers, and makes the experience of finding classes much easier and quicker. Les Mills Connect is already available in the UK and Germany; it will land in the Netherlands and the Middle East in October, the US in November and then other markets from 2022.
We’re also working closely with clubs. While we have sadly lost some partners due to closure or economic difficulties, the teams in every country are working incredibly hard to relaunch live group fitness over the coming months with continued support, tools and new solutions for clubs, their members and Instructors.
Releases
Many Instructors have strong feelings about the essence of their programs and some of you want to be able to share your feedback on the new releases.
We’ve been working behind the scenes on a new Releases Survey which is coming soon. Similar to the survey formerly known as BLAH, this new Releases Survey will be easily accessible in the ‘More’ section under ‘Quarterly Release Feedback’ within the Releases App, so you can quickly and easily share your share your thoughts.
Live Trainings
We know you want the option of Live Trainings again – we all do!
Trust us, our Trainers can’t wait to get back to Live Trainings. This is a situation that is very much dependent on the conditions of the pandemic in different countries. Once it is safe and viable to do so, countries will once again offer the option of Live Training.
Until that time, the online option is a fantastic solution which allows you to learn from the comfort of your own surroundings, and is often a more cost-effective way to upskill. Learn more about the benefits of online training.
Diversity
We often hear that you’d like to see more diversity in Masterclass and in Marketing imagery, particularly more older presenters.
You’ll be pleased to know we now have a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion team who make sure we are always working to improve in all areas of diversity and inclusion. The request for older presenters is one that often surprises us. Some of our most popular presenters are in their 40s, 50s and beyond. Perhaps this is just evidence that regular exercise keeps you looking and feeling young – much younger than people think!
Instructor Licensing
We know an Instructor licensing program that allows you to teach anywhere is also on your wishlist.
This is something we explored extensively last year in various permutations and countries. There is absolutely nothing to stop an Instructor or group of Instructors from setting up a studio and taking a standard club license, the cost of which is actually very low. We did see some Instructors take advantage of a UK offer last year to establish their own club, with great success.
Les Mills ran a global Instructor survey and the feedback was clear that the overwhelming majority of Instructors wanted to continue to teach through clubs, as opposed to incurring costs in setting up classes in halls or paying for their own licenses at club rates.
For their part, clubs have quite reasonably pushed back against allowing Instructors to teach wherever they choose. This is based on the investment they have made in providing facilities in which Instructors have gained their followings – and in many cases whose training and development they have invested in – to compete for their members.
However the fact remains that should they wish, anyone is able to set up a studio and take a license.
Here To Help
We’re always listening to the feedback from the community and Instructors like you. If you have specific feedback, please reach out directly at Instructor@lesmills.com and we’ll get back to you as soon as we’re back from our workout.
Thanks
The Instructor Experience Team
