Building the Staff Operations to Sustain the Next 14 Years at Mega Barre Youngstown
Mega Barre Youngstown brought fairness, accountability, and structure to staff operations—giving its founders a better system to support the business for years to come.
10/10
Confidence every class will be covered
60%
Higher instructor accountability across the team
4+ Hours
Saved on staff coordination every week
Studio Overview
- Business Type: Independent Studio
- Modalities: Barre, Lagree / Megaformer, Pilates, Strength, Yoga, Cardio / Dance + more
- Location: Youngstown, Ohio
- Instructors: 25+
- Years in Business: 14 years
- Scheduling System: Mariana Tek
When a Good Coverage Problem Became a Fairness Problem
Mega Barre didn’t have an instructor team unwilling to help. In fact, the opposite helped expose the area of opportunity: instructors were stepping up, but the informal systems the studio had relied on made it difficult to distribute those opportunities fairly and give leadership the visibility it needed.
First-Come, First-Served Wasn’t Always Fair:
Sub requests lived in Slack, where the fastest response often won. When some instructors consistently picked up more opportunities, others began feeling frustrated and left wanting to contribute.
No Data Behind Staff Expectations:
Mega Barre expects instructors to contribute to coverage, but Laura had no easy way to measure who was requesting subs, stepping up, or meeting expectations.
Too Many Manual Steps:
Slack handled last-minute requests while Google Docs managed longer-term coverage, leaving instructors responsible for claiming classes, updating schedules, and remembering each next step.
Important Communication Got Lost:
Studio announcements also lived in Slack, where messages could easily be missed and leadership had little visibility into who had actually read them.
After 14 years, the question wasn’t whether these systems could technically keep working. It was whether Mega Barre wanted to keep relying on them for the next 14.
NetGym provides a systemized strategy and software to handle sub requests that are visible to staff and therefore, undeniably fair. The data speaks for itself, and I like knowing confidently that I can use that data during staff evals.
Laura Zavadil
Founder, Mega Barre Youngstown
Turning Good Intentions Into a Better System with NetGym
Mega Barre already had responsible instructors, clear expectations, and leaders who cared about treating their team fairly. What was missing was a system that could make those expectations easier to manage and give leadership objective data to support its decisions.
NetGym gave Laura that structure and data —while bringing more of the team’s day-to-day operations into one place.
01 Fairer Sub Management
Multiple instructors can volunteer for a class before management selects the best fit, helping Mega Barre distribute opportunities more intentionally instead of relying on response speed.
02 Data-Backed Accountability
Leadership can see who requests coverage, who steps up, and how often—turning staff expectations and evaluations into conversations backed by real data.
03 Posts That Close the Communication Loop
Posts let Laura see who has viewed important updates and collect RSVPs for meetings and trainings, giving her confidence that communication actually reached the team.
04 Certifications Without the Chasing
Instructors can upload CPR certifications and other documentation directly into NetGym, giving Laura one organized place to keep important staff records.
04 Resources in One Place
Onboarding manuals, policies, class materials, and other staff resources are centralized so instructors know exactly where to find what they need.
Just as importantly, adding structure didn’t mean adding complexity. Laura rated Mega Barre’s NetGym onboarding experience 10/10 and said the platform has been easy for instructors to learn.
Results That Matter
10/10 Coverage Confidence
Confidence every class will be covered.
10× Communication Clarity
From 1/10 to 10/10 across the team.
60% Higher Accountability
Instructor accountability increased from 5/10 to 8/10.
4+ Hours Saved Weekly
Less time spent managing staff operations.
Fairness Backed by Data
Objective subbing data supports fairer decisions and evaluations.
Built to Last, Not Just to Grow
For Mega Barre, success doesn’t have to mean increasing physical locations.
After 14 years, the studio has long built something worth protecting that keeps growing every day within its existing walls: a loyal community, a diverse instructor team, and a sustainable independent business with deep roots in Youngstown.
NetGym helped Laura strengthen the infrastructure underneath it.
What once depended on Slack threads, Google Docs, memory, and good intentions now has a clearer system behind it. Coverage can be distributed more intentionally. Expectations can be supported by real data. Important communication can be tracked. And leadership can spend less time personally holding all the pieces together.
As Laura puts it, “It’s been a whole lot of work taken out of my hands. I like seeing the data and seeing who has viewed things, and I like being able to push out reminders. It’s very easy for instructors to learn.”
That’s what professionalization looks like for an established independent studio: building better systems so the people, culture, and community that made the business successful can keep thriving for the next 14 years.
I love NetGym. Having CPR certifications, onboarding manuals, and everything else in one place is super helpful. And I love the Posts feature—it helps me keep track of who’s seeing things and get RSVPs to meetings and trainings. It’s really well done.
Laura Zavadil
Founder, Mega Barre Youngstown
