Got a Personal Training Business? Add Value with a DBS check

Personal trainers have made a massive impact in the lifestyle market, creating a new sector in the last two decades and helping the people that they train to develop their fitness and improve their health and wellbeing. The number of people owning a personal training business continues to grow.

What this means for a personal training business is that there’s an appetite for 1-to-1 fitness, but that  it is a very competitive market. Standing out for all the right reasons can secure you a steady roster of clients, but just how do you set yourself apart from the crowd?

Personal Training Business – Put Safety First

As a personal training business, you will need to work in close physical proximity with your clients. This could include clients of two different genders, which means you have to be able to demonstrate more than just your fitness levels. Often, personal trainers offer early and late sessions that work around the 9-5 working day which can leave you seeing clients without other people nearby.

Setting out your safety credentials by proactively undertaking a DBS Check as a personal training business sets you aside from other trainers that rely solely on the services that they offer. A DBS Check is a check undertaken by the Disclosure and Barring Service that sets out spent and unspent convictions, with a clean DBS Check showcasing your PT experience as different from your competitors.

Let’s explore how a DBS check could work for your potential clients and help you to stand out from other personal trainers for all the right reasons.

What Is a DBS Check and Why Does It Matter?
A DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) Check looks at an individual’s criminal history. There are three levels of Check –

• Basic DBS Check
• Standard DBS Check
• Enhanced DBS Check

The level of check depends on the amount of information that will be accessed on police intelligence records and the DBS barred list information. All levels of DBS checks help employers and organisations to recruit for roles more safely. A DBS check highlights your suitability to work with vulnerable groups, including children and adults at risk. With a valid DBS certificate, personal trainers show that they have undertaken a thorough background check, which includes criminal record information. Important for creating trust and credibility with potential clients, it is a DBS Check that offers the reassurance that you can be trusted and shows you value your clients’ wellbeing.

A personal training business that’s owner operated can undertake a Basic DBS check on themselves.

Putting Wellbeing First
With health and wellbeing at the core of your service, it makes sense that your care and attention doesn’t stop when the press ups or planks do. Making sure you look after the overall wellbeing of your clients will contribute to their positive experience when they work out with you.

A Basic DBS check offers your personal training business an additional layer of protection, as it would identify any previous criminal convictions that could pose a risk to your clients’ safety. While it is highly unlikely that anyone who knows they would not get a clean DBS check would opt to get one voluntarily, simply not having one doesn’t show that you’re conviction-free.

A clean DBS certificate offers peace of mind for your clients and shows that there’s nothing to hide or to be concerned about.

In It To Win It
If you are a personal training business that works out of larger gyms or clinics, having your own DBS check can open doors to a wider range of professional opportunities. If you want to link up with fitness organisations, you might find that they only consider applicants that have already got a DBS check under their belt.

When you volunteer your valid DBS Check on your application or CV, you’re showing them that you mean business, you’re ready to be hired and you’ve taken on board that you might have to work with or near children or vulnerable adults.

A valid DBS Certificate means that you’ve thought through the process of working within a bigger organisation – which is something that some personal trainers prefer to avoid. It demonstrates your flexibility, which is always a great way to show that you’re a team player.

Be Compliant
For some types of personal training business, a DBS check isn’t an option. It’s a condition of employment or contract. In schools and across certain types of health facilities, it is stipulated that you must undergo a DBS check. These roles may work with or near children or vulnerable adults and a DBS may be required to ensure compliance with regulations and legislation and allowing you to work in environments like these.

When it comes to personal training, there are few certificates outside of physical training that show your professionalism and intent to look after the wellbeing of your clients. With word of mouth and social media content driving a lot of traffic in the personal training market, talking about health and wellbeing – and being able to back it up with a DBS Check – speaks volumes.