As part of plans to boost activity levels in the local community, Oldham Community Leisure (OCL) has brought its sales and membership teams in-house for the first time, and recruited a new Membership Manager.

OCL's new Membership Manager, Andy Bryan, previously worked for Impact Sales, the external sales company used by OCL. In his new role he will be responsible for overseeing the management of employees and resources within the sales team, to ensure the OCL meets and exceeds the specific needs of its customers.

"I've been sub-contracted to OCL for almost three years now and have always felt part of the 'family'," says Bryan. "Seeing the transformations some people go through after they've joined always puts a smile on my face and I'm looking forward to helping facilitate the changes that are planned over the next few years and to help Oldham Community Leisure reach its goals."

The rest of the four-strong sales team starts this month. As well as the core business of selling memberships, the new internal team will promote the huge range of non-gym activities on offer across OCL's portfolio, including the football skills programme, Striker 9, and other outdoor-based activities such as kayaking and cycling.

"Outsourcing sales does have its benefits, but bringing the whole team in-house and recruiting Andy Bryan as a dedicated Membership Manager means we can react quickly and effectively to every new opportunity and broaden our remit to focus on much more than simply selling memberships," says Peter Howson, Head of Customer Relations for OCL.

OCL, which recently won the management contract to run Oldham's leisure services for a further 10 years, runs 14 sports centres, plus swimming pools and synthetic pitches throughout Oldham.