Corporate Takeover Destroyed the Community - Manager, front desk, instructor Riser Fitness Employee Review

Riser Fitness (which acquires many locally owned Club Pilates studios) completely changed the culture of studios that were once community-driven spaces. Many staff members who had worked at these locations for close to a decade were effectively pushed out after the corporate transition. The people who helped build the studios and their communities were treated as replaceable once corporate systems and policies took over. Middle management is a major issue. Leadership roles often seem to go to people who simply follow directives rather than people with strong leadership skills or experience supporting staff. As a result, decisions are enforced from the top down with little regard for the impact on employees or studio culture. Staff compensation also worsened after the transition. In some cases, employees took pay cuts despite increased expectations and responsibilities. If you’re an instructor, compensation may be more reasonable, but for many other staff roles the pay does not reflect the workload or responsibilities. What’s most disappointing is the loss of the community aspect. These studios used to be built on relationships between staff and members. Under Riser Fitness, that human connection has largely been replaced with a corporate, compliance-heavy environment where the people who built the studios feel expendable.