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Golf Business Canada
“Keep looking forward knowing that your course,
its employees and customers rely upon your good judgement.”
2. Keep in contact
Laurie Martin, founder of Life Interrupted in Toronto, is an acclaimed expert in crisis planning and responsiveness. Laurie says, “For golf course owners and operators, it’s important that they continue communications to their employees, members and Boards. It is one thing to effectively commu- nicate in everyday business, but to effectively communicate when someone is in distress is another challenge entirely – a communication seldom taught to leaders.”
Martin continued, “When leaders are in charge of risk management, BRP, H&S, crisis management, or any other type of business recovery planning, no matter what the magnitude, they are communicating with victims (I preferthewordsurvivors). Emotions are high and sometimes, the sensitivity to semantics is very important. Crisis communication is something that should be learned by leaders and not by just anyone that throws up a shingle saying they teach crisis communication.”
3. Look after the financial sustainability of the business “Don’t overspend or over-commit,” McLellan advises. “Keep looking forward knowing that your course, its employees and customers rely upon your good judgement.”
4. Update your financial projections
Johnston advises that golf course owners and operators must prepare alternative operational scenarios that forecast the impacts to operations from different opening dates and possible capacity limitations that may be imposed. “Different tee time intervals, access to the tee, and costs related to protecting employees will evolve,” he adds.
5. Question everything
As golf course owners and operators, McCorriston and McLellan observed that one of the toughest steps to take as a result of epidemic was to question everything that they have done in the past and many previous decisions.
LESSONS LEARNED FROM CRISES
Who could have foreseen a worldwide health crisis of such scale, speed, and impact? Who would have imagined someone flying a commercial airliner into a skyscraper? Among the many hard-learned lessons from crises across the globe, certain best practices stand out:
1. Develop a Crisis Communications Plan (and keep it current)
Who speaks for your course? You, as the owner? The golf professional? The golf course superintendent? Whomever answers incoming calls?
Coordinate with a communications expert to develop your crisis communications process. Address key needs such as:
• Authorized spokespeople.
• Specific guidance for those unauthorized to speak for the course.
(Example: I’m sorry that I am not authorized to speak on behalf of the golf course. You may contact (designated spokesperson’s name) at (telephone or email address).
• Answers to probable questions such as: Who owns the course? How many members belong here? How many rounds are played here? Does the course have insurance?
• Brief historical summary of the course which tells when the course was built; by whom; important events; and key points of market differentiation.