Page 11 - GBC English summer 2022

Finding New Ways to Make Lemonade Out of Lemons
What one word would you use to describe your past two seasons in the golf industry? Would it be: busy, profitable, or perhaps rewarding, and maybe even exhausting? In addition to all of the other craziness, what about trying to find and keep a good team throughout the pandemic and moving forward?
Labour shortage now appears to be what is keeping many golf course owners/operators up late at night. Do you have the best team in place? Do you have holes to fill for key roles as the season gets underway? Or, are you struggling to simply fill your positions before the season starts? Let’s roll up our sleeves, grab some lemons and squeeze out some satisfying solutions to the staffing issues currently facing the Canadian golf industry.
TIPS FOR HIRING IN A TIGHT LABOUR MARKET
Currently, there is a nationwide talent crunch, and that is in addition to the so-called Great Resignation, which is evident in the unusually high quit rates reported in numerous industries over the past year.
In March 2022, Tourism HR Canada reported that despite jobs being added, unemployment rates continue to fall, but a significant labour shortage remains. That data shows the stark, ongoing impact of the pandemic on overall tourism employment. In 2019, tourism employed almost 2.1 million workers. In 2020, this fell to 1.62 million workers, and only rose 2.2% in 2021. There were 1.66 million tourism employees in 2021—that’s 413,500 fewer than in 2019.
For many hiring managers, recruiting and retention have never been so challenging. If you’re trying to bring in or hold on to skilled talent, here are a few suggestions for how to make sense of this chaotic hiring market — and gain a competitive advantage in the process:
1. Be Flexible!
What does flexible mean in our industry? Sure, it could mean working remotely from home vs the office, but it also means simply embracing a more flexible work schedule with regards to length of shift, days off, start/end hours, etc. However, there may be some elements of the job that your employees could do away from the club, for instance, working on the next social marketing campaign, or developing the new dining menu, or doing the weekly staffing schedules for the team. A little flexibility can go a long way to increase employee morale. Have you considered implementing flextime, windowed work or a compressed workweek? Employees still work the same number of scheduled hours as they would under a traditional schedule. These are flexible work options for positions that do not easily support remote work and may help give your employees the flexibility they desire.
2. Show Me The Money!
Don’t kid yourself, competitive pay is KEY to hiring new employees and holding onto skilled talent in a competitive recruiting market. That said, many workers today are dissatisfied with their level of compensation. Specific groups in particular, feel they are being exploited and not receiving
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