Page 18 - GBC Spring 2020 ENG

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Golf Business Canada
accountable. Like many businesses today, some clubs have signage at the front door that says, ‘Now Hiring’, since many of their customers have kids or grandkids who might be seeking their first job. Others use social media to market their club and if you know where your target market persona hangs out on-line, you can reach them there.
Also, great staff usually have many friends. Make sure that every one of your staff knows that if they ‘refer a friend’ who lasts beyond the probation period, that they will get a referral bonus.
No matter which method you choose, just like marketing to your customer, you will be marketing to your candidates, so use a multi- faceted approach. Here are five things you can do right now to increase your candidate pool: 1.Find out what your past
employees are saying about you and respond. Much like an online review, you can respond to the reviews about your club, and if the review is negative, you definitely should. If you’ve never looked this up before, now is the time.
2.Ask your happy and star employees if they would be willing to review you on one of these platforms.
3.Start a referral program. Talk to your current staff and find out what they would value as a reward then incorporate that into a bonus for bringing in candidates.
4.Simplify your application process – go through it as though you’re a candidate and make it better, easier and quicker.
5.Talk to your marketing person and have them help to create a target market persona for your candidates and reach out to them through digital means.
STEP 4: TRAINING MUST BE ENGAGING, FUN AND VISUAL You are committed to training, right? Like really committed? You actually have a line item in each department’s budget allocated to training and there is actually an amount listed? Or is training at your club when you throw them an apron and say catch... and then they hit the floor to take twelve tables on their first shift?
According to Dr. John Sullivan, an internationally renowned HR thought leader, a poorly performing employee operates at about 30% less efficiency than a good employee. So, it’s no secret that training is worthwhile, but the key is to have engaging content that they will both absorb and respond to. In general, companies have been slow to adapt their onboarding and training processes to align with howMillennialsprefertolearn,and since their most trusted learning resource is YouTube, it’s no wonder that the younger generation are largely visual learners.
Golf organizations such as Troon, Play Golf Calgary and others have long ago adopted videos, webinars, games and testing into theiremployeetraining.Today,with significant advancements in DIY website building, there is ample opportunity to ensure that your training tools are fun, visual and accessible on their phones. You can easily build these yourself or find online resources that will do it for you.
STEP 5: NEW WAYS OF MANAGING AND MOTIVATING For many operators, the challenge isn’t finding staff, it’s making sure they show up, work hard and stay for the season. Sadly, there is no silver bullet that will solve all of these challenges, however, if there was one word that you should plaster across your office wall as a reminder, it would be ‘relationship’.
A great leader creates a relationship with each and every employee, and in doing so, truly understands what makes each employee tick. Why do they work there? What would they like to learn? What challenges away from work do they have and how can you help them? Finally, what can you do to help them get the most out of their time there.
According to the CGK, mille- nnials want communication from the boss more frequently than any other generation in the workforce— up to 54% more – and millennials will turn down higher-paying jobs to stay with an employer and leader they believe in.
But asking what they want means we also must be prepared to do something if needed. Maybe that means a stand-up desk? Or a 4-day, ten hours a day, work week? Or job sharing? These are things you’ll have found out during your interviews – now that you’ll have asked. By having a greater connection, employees will be more loyal, and they will be less likely to talk trash about you behind your back, online, or blow off an early morning shift.
Today’s youth want to make a difference from their very first day on the job, and by giving them specific roles and training that shows them how to have that impact, you will see results. For example, make each shop employee responsible for a specific area of the golf shop. As ‘manager of the shoe department’ their responsibility is to track shoe inventory, order shoes when needed, change up the shoe display, keep it clean and mostly, sell shoes!
More than any other generation, millennials will challenge the status quo and they are more than comfortable to share their opinions on what is not working or what could be better. As a manager, it