Last May, we decided to extend the package even further by introducing Gladstone’s Learn2 course management tool, not only for swimming – which we knew other operators had had good success with – but also for a range of other coached activities. We launched Learn2 at Springs Leisure Centre and Ponds Forge International Sports Centre, across five activities: swimming, diving, trampolining, gymnastics and football.

After just 10 weeks we had already seen significant time- and cost-savings in terms of operations. Just looking at Ponds, where we offer swimming, diving and trampolining, we worked out that during a standard 10-week term, staff spent 52 hours doing payment reminders, following up late payments and rebooking courses. With Learn2’s Customer Contact feature, which emails customers automatically when payments are due, we no longer need to worry about chasing people up; as a result, that figure is now just five hours, as we only need to do the rebooks manually. Plus, we’re saving a lot of time on movements (letting customers know when their child is ready to move up a class) as this is also taken care of by Customer Contact, rather than by the old method of sending out letters or calling customers.

Once we launch the Home Portal feature – which allows customers to view their child’s progress and move them up a class online – we expect to see even greater time-savings. Our reason for delaying this was to allow all of our staff to familiarise themselves with the system and iron out teething troubles. It also gave us time to create a branded look for the portal that would complement our own website. Home Portal will go live at Springs in the next couple of weeks, and subject to its success there, we will roll it out across all sites with Learn2.

Although Learn2 is best known for swimming, we’ve found it to be equally effective across all courses where we’ve introduced it. We now have six sites using the system across the five sports mentioned, and we plan to launch it at a further three sites later this year with athletics, ice-skating and tennis, too. At that point, all of our coached activities will be managed through Learn2.”

Beverley Baker, Aquatics & Gymnastics Manager, Sheffield International Venues