Page 8 - GBC English summer 2022

Message From The CEO, NGCOA Canada • Jeff Calderwood
The game of golf is full of challenges. Hazards to the left, trees on the right, and just when you feel good about reaching the green, the next hole presents even more challenges.
Well, the business of golf is no different. We got through the rough of all the pandemic implications, and many course operators even scored birdies with their increased demand. But sure enough, the “next hole” now requires exceptional efforts to avoid running up the score due to labour shortages.
So, this issue of Golf Business Canada offers you some great caddie advice to help overcome those short- staff hazards. Our cover story features research compiled by the National Golf Course Owners Association Canada and some potential HR solutions for your consideration. For context, Statistics Canada has just released Canada’s unemployment rate for March, at 5.3%. That rate has now been consistently dropping for the past 12 months. Furthermore, this is the lowest rate since they began tracking unemployment back in 1976.
On the surface, such a low unemploy- ment rate means that Canadians are indeed heading back to work and filling more jobs every month than the month before. That should be good news for businesses. But if we scratch below the surface, that good news can be misleading.
The First Tee
Playing Through The Hazards of Your Labour Shortages
The expanding economy automati- cally requires a growing labour pool, which isn’t keeping up right now. The “great resignation” has significantly limited that needed growth. The “youth” unemployment rate, which matters a lot to golf courses, is considerably weaker at 9.8%. And, the overall unemployment rate when including those who say they do want a job but aren’t actually looking right now, is 7.2%.
In our cover story, you will read about the NGCOA Canada survey of recruitment best practices, and various HR consulting resources from both Canada and the USA. Strategies such as improving the culture within your team, more flex time options, new technologies, better hiring processes, higher compensation, enhanced benefits,
and foreign workers should provide good thought starters as you customize your new HR solutions.
Some of these staffing solutions do come at a cost of course. But approaching them as critical investments, rather than as pure expenses, has become a prudent strategy for many successful businesses. The cost of avoiding such investments may be much greater.
On a related note, the NGCOA Canada is also working on several additional labour solutions to offer its 1400+ golf course members. Watch for further details shortly.
All the best for a successful 2022 golf season!
Jeff Calderwood, CEO NGCOA Canada jcalderwood@ngcoa.ca
8 Golf Business Canada