A Numbers Game

Sometimes we need to look beneath the surface

by Jak Carroll, Strategic Sport Solutions

Many sporting organisations are obsessed with increasing registration numbers and, while this is an important measure, it can sometimes hide other problems. It’s a bit like a giant iceberg: sometimes what is below the surface is more significant than what is above.

Just how satisfied are the members with the service provided and how long do they stay as members? For example, I am a member of a local gym franchise and am always amazed to see how much energy the manager spends on signing up new members, whilst totally ignoring the existing members on the gym floor.

A recent study (Eime, Harvey, Charity and Westerbeek, 2020) looked at “patterns of club sport participation, retention and drop-out of women and girls over a 7 year period in a popular team sport in Australia”. The study emphasised the importance of retention strategies (rather the continual member churn seen in many sports) and suggested that sports think about different product offerings for different market segments.

It even went so far as to suggest the introduction of non-competitive sport products for some groups! While none of this is earth-shattering from a business perspective, I wonder how many sports are doing these things effectively.

It makes me think of the balanced scorecard approach espoused by Kaplan and Norton, whereby an organisation looks not just at how well it is doing now but how well it is positioned for the future.

And to do this you need to look at more than simple top-line measures such as customer numbers and financial performance. You also need to look at two other measures. Firstly, the organisation’s internal efficiencies or how well it is doing its core activities. Are its systems robust, its processes streamlined and its wastage minimal? And secondly, the organisation’s learning and growth activities: how well it is training its staff, how much knowledge it has of its current industry environment, and how effective it is in introducing relevant innovations.

While registration numbers will always be important for sporting organisations, other numbers can be equally important for long-term success.

Study details: Eime R, Harvey J, Charity M and Westerbeek H (2020) Longitudinal Trends in Sport Participation and Retention of Women and Girls. Front. Sports Act. Living 2:39. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2020.00039

Does your organisation need some help with planning or governance? Jak Carroll has extensive experience in the sport industry including consulting to organisations and conducting training sessions. If you are interested in some quick advice or having Jak work with you on your next project, please click here.