Club Fit Gets Its Document Management System in Shape & Improves Day-to-Day Operations
Case Study at a Glance
Challenge
- Unnecessary amount of manual document management tasks
- Too much time spent searching for and managing paper documents
- Sensitive member information at risk
Solution
- Document scanning services
- Document management software
- Workflow automation technology
Impact
- Reduced manual tasks with a streamlined system for storing and retrieving files
- Fast and easy access to documents from anywhere, at any time
- Enhanced member information security
Executive Summary
Club Fit, a health and fitness club with two locations in upstate New York, is something of a second home for many of its members – a place where they can enjoy a glass of wine after a yoga class, play a friendly game of mahjong, and choose between a wide variety of workout options that run from A (ab blast) to Z (Zumba).
It’s an approach to fitness and customer service that has kept Club Fit in business for 50 years with an ever-growing membership roster.
But not long ago, the organization found that decades of helping its members stay healthy and trim had left its record-keeping processes with a few extra pounds…
So, they went looking for a leaner method of document management that would keep their records in reach without all the paper.
“We needed a solution – our memberships were organized by number, not alphabetically, and it required manual indexing. We had thousands and thousands of accounts to manage.”
The Challenges: An Unhealthy Document Management System, Manual Work & Wasted Time
As James Stropoli, Executive Director of Business Systems at Club Fit, explained, for decades, the business kept its membership information in big red binders that grew fatter with every membership addition, renewal, or upgrade.
“We didn’t throw out anything,” Stropoli said. “We had binders and binders. We had walls of binders.”
The wall of binders at each club eventually grew to dimensions that Stropoli estimated at 9 feet high and 12 feet long.
Every time something had to be added to a binder, someone had to find the right one, locate the hole punch, and try to squeeze another stack of pages between the bulging red covers. And with more and more memberships coming in, the red binder system proved to be more and more problematic.
“We needed a solution – our memberships were organized by number, not alphabetically, and it required manual indexing,” said Stropoli. “We had thousands and thousands of accounts to manage.”
Uncountable hours went into the cumbersome task of managing these contracts, which were often multiple pages long and had to be punched and sorted into the appropriate location. And on top of all this, Club Fit longed for a better system for securing sensitive member information.
Finally, around 2008, the company decided the binder walls had to go and they began a search for a digital solution that ultimately led them to MetaSource.
“We feel very strongly [MetaSource’s MetaStor] was the right move. My accounts payable team loves the ability to work in batches.”
The Solution: Scanning, Document Management & Workflow Automation
MetaSource provided a solution that was a combination of document scanning services, document management software, and workflow automation technology. It enabled Club Fit to transition to a digital database of memberships, along with other business documents, and retire the big red binders once and for all.
“It was a huge homerun for us,” Stropoli said. “Hiring the shredder truck was a big day.”
In the years since, MetaSource has helped Club Fit expand the solution, migrating accounts payable and construction management to the platform, along with some human resource functions. In the summer of 2022, Club Fit elevated its digital solution once again, migrating to MetaSource’s cloud-based enterprise content management system, MetaStor®, which combines document management and workflow automation.
The MetaStor upgrade was “dramatic on a different scale,” Stropoli said. “We feel very strongly it was the right move. My accounts payable team loves the ability to work in batches.”
And that’s not all Club Fit loves about MetaStor. They also love its:
- Seamless navigation
- Word search intelligence, including optical character recognition (OCR)
- Security features that give members peace of mind knowing their records are safe
- Ability to search a wide range of document types, including construction plans, insurance claims, and audits
- Indexing functionality and customization
MetaStor further streamlined Club Fit’s operations, freeing up more time for interaction with members and eliminating the headaches of manually searching for information in physical storage.
“We highly recommend it,” Stropoli said.
“The team was great about allowing us to be a part of that development. They truly listen and hear what our concerns are. Their immediacy of service stands out.”
The Benefits: Overcoming Challenges During the Pandemic & Beyond
The pandemic provided Club Fit with another dramatic demonstration of the advantages of digital document management. The organization’s ability to remotely access membership documents and other critical business files allowed a core management team to keep the business running during an unpredictable time.
“It has been an amazing tool,” Stropoli said. “During the pandemic … I was able to work from home only because I had access to all documents and memberships in the cloud. It was priceless from that perspective.”
It also enabled the company to evolve and think creatively about how to serve its members, establishing some temporary memberships and providing modified membership options, so people could take advantage of some activities, such as tennis and swimming.
From an organizational standpoint, MetaStor has proven to be a vital tool for Club Fit’s accounting, membership, maintenance, executive and management, and auditing teams. The platform has also been useful for records requests.
The ease with which employees can manage and retrieve records with MetaStor has transformed operations and has been a game-changer for both Club Fit and its members, according to Stropoli.
Despite only having migrated to MetaStor in 2022, in February of 2023, Stropoli estimated that they have already scanned thousands of new pages into the system, saving both time and money.
MetaStor has proven itself over and over, he said, from being able to immediately access building plans for insurance claims to the ease of retrieving contracts and agreements for workers’ compensation claims or potential litigation.
He also had high praise for the MetaSource team and the collaborative approach that ensured Club Fit got the features and functions it needed, including customized indexing.
“The team was great about allowing us to be a part of that development,” he said. “They truly listen and hear what our concerns are. Their immediacy of service stands out.”
With a continually evolving suite of document management offerings, MetaSource helped Club Fit get their system in shape so they could overcome their paper-based challenges and streamline day-to-day operations.
About Club Fit
Founded in 1973, Club Fit is a health and fitness club based in New York that offers state-of-the-art facilities and programs to help individuals and families achieve their fitness goals. Club Fit provides personalized coaching, nutrition guidance, exercise classes and programs, and mental health resources to ensure overall wellness of the community. With experienced and certified trainers, the Club Fit teams offer individualized attention and support for members of all fitness levels.
About MetaSource
MetaSource delivers intelligent document management, workflow automation, and business process management solutions to help organizations streamline processes, ensure compliance, and improve efficiency. With over 30 years of experience, MetaSource successfully meets enterprise needs with secure, reliable software and managed services.