Page 6 - Winter 2018 english

The First Tee
Message From The Publisher • Jeff Calderwood
Golf is the #1 participation sport in Canada, and we achieved this despite having a reputation for a somewhat narrow appeal to that stereotypical upper class, white, male, older demographic.
Diversity and Inclusion is the Key to Growth
Just imagine how strong golf can be once we fully broaden our customer base to align with society’s actual multicultural mix, female representation, and all ages.
Diversity and inclusion is the focus of this issue’s feature story, and is a theme that is gaining considerable momentum in the golf industry throughout the world. Golf writer, Ian Hutchinson, researched this trend for Golf Business Canada and presents some great insights here for your consideration. It is a critical part of growing the game and your business in the future.
Canada leads most of the world when we are talking diversity, and I would suggest that this is one of the reasons why Canada’s golf participation rate is much higher than all other countries. But, there is still considerable untapped potential, and therein lies the big opportunity. As Jesse Jackson once said, “Inclusion is not a matter of political correctness, it is the key to growth.”
There are several components of this discussion, starting with your customers. Attracting more golfers is the obvious win from a business perspective, but that opportunity can be greatly in uenced by the perception of our staff teams, the con guration of our various boards of directors, and even the suppliers we work with.
It is however, a careful balancing act. Yes, hiring a representative mix of female or multicultural employees, for example, can create a more comfortable and welcoming experience for your potential golfers. However, most of us wouldn’t want to risk hiring a weaker candidate solely to ful ll the optics of that diversity. So, the recipe for success relies heavily on careful judgment calls by management, especially when the labour market is pretty tight.
On a related note, I’m proud of the hiring practices of the NGCOA Canada over the years. We have always had approximately half female staff. We have averaged 20% non-white employees. Age ranges have been very evenly
distributed from 20-somethings through to 60-somethings, and approximately 60% of our team is multilingual.
We have accomplished this without a speci c policy dictating our hiring practices and without compromising on the skill set, experience and attitude we are looking to hire. It’s just good business to have the most effective staff team possible, which therefore includes representative diversity. I also believe the internal dynamics between our staff has been enhanced, so there is a job satisfaction bene t as well.
Hopefully, Hutchinson’s article will stimulate some further discussion about diversity and inclusion strategies at your golf operation. Enjoy the rest of this issue of Golf Business Canada and all the best through the off-season from our diverse NGCOA Canada team from coast to coast!
Jeff Calderwood, CEO NGCOA Canada jcalderwood@ngcoa.ca
6 Golf Business Canada