Page 8 - GBC Spring 2020 ENG

Message From The CEO, NGCOA Canada • Jeff Calderwood
You could have the best golf course, best location and best business plan, but if you don’t have a high-performing staff team to bring that potential to life, success is unlikely.
Effective HR management has always been critical, but has probably never been more challenging than it is heading into your 2020 golf season.
For starters, the labour market is so tight, with close to full employment in many regions of Canada. That’s good for the economy overall, and should also lead to more golf being played, but it limits the labour pool that you have available to hire from. That supply/demand reality tips the balance significantly in the employees’ favour, requiring more innovative management solutions.
In addition, the golf industry relies heavily upon service jobs and entry- level positions that typically cater to the younger demographic. That subset of the overall labour pool can be particularly challenging for many golf
course operators. So, understanding and implementing leading edge HR strategies that may be unique to managing Millennials and Gen Zs is also critical. As the younger generation might say, is your HR on fleek? Or, in other words, are your HR policies on point.
Enter James Cronk and our cover story in this issue of Golf Business Canada. Cronk has authored a very insightful read that provides a series of HR strategies for your consideration. He focuses primarily on management solutions for those younger generations, although some of the strategies could also serve effectively for the rest of your team. From interview techniques and hiring practices to employee value propositions, staff engagement, technology tools and leadership style, I think you will find this article highly valuable.
For those who may have missed seeing him speak on similar topics at our Golf Business Canada Conference & Trade Show, Cronk is always one of our top-rated speakers and now brings that same combination of high expertise and entertaining delivery style to this magazine feature.
We have also tapped into some of the other highly rated Conference speakers from our recent and popular Niagara Falls event. Contributing writer David Hopkins, The Fifteen Group, provides a great article on Menu Engineering to maximize your F&B profitability. Quinn Magnuson, BDC Canada, presents a Strategic Planning piece that will enable you to address the core issues rather than just treating the obvious symptoms. Tracey Luel, from Her Golf Mentor and ClubLink, shares best practices on leveraging the $1.3 billion opportunity within the women’s golf market in Canada.
So, enjoy this issue, good luck with your HR strategies and on behalf of the NGCOA Canada and Golf Business Canada Magazine, all the best for a successful and very on fleek 2020 golf season!
Jeff Calderwood, CEO NGCOA Canada jcalderwood@ngcoa.ca
The First Tee
Is your HR on fleek?
8 Golf Business Canada