31 Years | 31 Lessons – Lesson 1

 

Managing a private club is  not an easy task. It requires knowledge, stamina, fortitude, patience and a sense of humor. With each new year comes new challenges, opportunities and lessons to learn.

When GGA Director Colin Burns, CCM, joined the firm, he shared the lessons he learned over a lifetime in the hospitality industry, as an advocate for club management and his three decades as the general manager of Winged Foot Golf Club with our team. In hearing those lessons, we were reminded how success comes from doing the right thing every day.

We asked Colin to record his common sense and professional advise for us to share with you. Today we present the first of Colin’s 31 Years | 31 Lessons videos. We will be releasing all 31 on our LinkedIn page over the next several months in the hope you find these lessons helpful as you navigate your own path to success as a leader in our industry.

Watch Lesson 1

 

How to Use Performance Evaluation Effectively to Retain Best Talent

Amidst a global pandemic last year, businesses across the country began to face a new, unfamiliar challenge. 2021 saw the emergence of a global economic trend recognized as “The Great Resignation”, where employees voluntarily left their jobs en masse. Organizations in COVID-sensitive sectors like leisure and hospitality were hit especially hard. According to research from Business Insider, employees within these industries left their jobs at a rate double to the national average (6.4% vs. national rate of 3.0% in September 2021). More recently, the trend has shifted from employees resigning from their roles to increased demand and expectations for the right roles.

Unsurprisingly, human resources has become a major focus. In GGA Partner’s A Club Leader’s Perspective: Emerging Trends & Challenges survey, 67% of club leaders indicated employee retention being a key financial risk to their club and 77% of clubs see employee recruitment and retention being key issues facing the industry moving forward.

The big question facing those charged with governance is, what can we do to retain employees? The immediate solution is to raise compensation, which was indicated in the Club Leaders Survey as the most successful tactic in retaining employees. Clubs seem to be reacting accordingly, indicating planned raises to payroll by an average of 7.8% across all departments. Although increased wages are an important consideration, there’s more to the story.

McKinsey notes the strong connection between employee satisfaction and relational attributes (feeling valued, relationships with management, potential advancement) compared to more transactional attributes (compensation, prestige, role/company). Today, employees are thinking about what they want out of their job now more than ever.

Returning to the original question, how can organizations prioritize relational attributes to increase employee satisfaction?

Understanding the Problem

Surveys are a powerful tool to assess member feedback and provide a quantitative component to member feedback received on a day-to-day basis. The same attitude should be considered with employee relationships. Although results from a full employee survey will mostly be leveraged at the management level, this information is important for all at the club to understand how satisfied employees are through establishment of both an overall and department specific Employee Net Promoter Score, as well as how retention programs are performing.

Start at the Top

Employee satisfaction and retention are key concerns throughout all areas of the business; however, it is important to ensure those charged with governance do not bridge the gap between governance and management. While the board is directly charged with evaluating the General Manager (often its only direct employee report), it can also support establishing the structure and measurement method for evaluating other key management positions, as well as the structure for a comprehensive 360-degree review program for all employees. Boards should aim to establish a policy requiring a quantitative element of performance evaluation to key management figures within the club. This type of formalized, quantitative performance evaluation structure should be “pushed down” from the top level as an example to use throughout the club. This form of evaluation ensures employees are aware they will be provided the opportunity for advancement as well as providing SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-Based) goals. The board can then monitor the club’s performance evaluation structure and process through the GM with a requirement for periodic reports at specified intervals.

Determining Quantitative Goals

In developing this performance evaluation technique, identifying which quantitative goals on which to evaluate an employee is an important determination. If the metric does not meet the SMART criteria, the employee may feel as if they are tasked with an impossible goal and satisfaction (as well as ambition) may decrease. Evaluation criteria should relate to key performance indicators established for the entire club that align with organizational goals. For example, if your club is attempting to grow the membership, raising the Net Promoter Score of the membership measured through an annual survey may be a performance evaluator established for the GM/COO of the club. For clubs at capacity, perhaps overall satisfaction score and/or ‘value for dues’ is a more aligned KPI for performance.

Take the below general example of a quantitative approach to evaluation (every club should determine the categories and weightings based on specific KPIs and goals established for their individual club). This score may be used to determine discretionary compensation, such as performance bonuses, raises or be used for evaluating candidates for internal promotions.

Employee retention is a key area of concern for clubs across the country and the world, and those charged with governance can take steps to help improve employee satisfaction throughout their business. These techniques will assist boards in understanding, setting, and maintaining performance standards that flow through the entire club, creating a transparent workplace with clear paths for goal attainment and advancement.

This article was authored by Ben Hopkinson, Director, Evan Van Eerd, Manager, and Adrian Mazzarolo, Senior Associate  for Boardroom Magazine. 

The Three Keys to Effective Governance

Governance in private clubs can too often resemble what is seen on the evening news: factions, resentment, distrust, skepticism, cynicism. In troubled times, sound governance is essential.

In our continuing Whitepaper Series, Senior Partner Henry DeLozier highlights the three keys to effective governance and proactive steps leaders can take to address and improve it at their club.

 

 

Read our Governance Whitepaper

In Pursuit of Innovation

GGA Partners Releases Innovation Whitepaper as Part of Thought Leadership Series

‘In Pursuit of Innovation’ aims to provide managers with guidance to unlock creativity

TORONTO, Ontario – GGA Partners, a global consulting firm, has released In Pursuit of Innovation, the fourth in its series of thought leadership whitepapers. This authoritative guide explores how surviving in today’s competitive landscape depends on the ability of clubs and organizations to unlock their creative potential and offers up several guidelines to allow freedom of thought and imagination.

In Pursuit of Innovation highlights the way companies must continuously transform in order to survive and how a constant pursuit of innovation will guard against failure, whether gradual or sudden.  The paper clarifies exactly what constitutes innovation, where it comes from, and how club leaders can practice innovative thinking to unlock a culture of creativity.

“Our experience with thousands of private clubs over nearly three decades shows us that without innovation clubs become stale, membership falls until it eventually flatlines, competitive advantages diminish, members become dissatisfied, and talented staff look elsewhere,” explained GGA Partner Henry DeLozier, one of several authors of the piece.  “Innovation can come from anywhere inside an organization, and we think it should be encouraged from all corners, from the folks raking bunkers to the person answering phones to the accountant balancing the books.”

Innovation happens at the intersection of problems, opportunities, and fervent minds but must be deliberately sought, practiced, and encouraged at all levels. “It’s normal in any business to want to maintain the status quo. It’s comfortable, it’s safe, and it’s easier than making changes,” said DeLozier. “In reality, the status quo only works for so long. If you’re going to grow, you must innovate.”

In Pursuit of Innovation illuminates four common roadblocks to an innovative culture and identifies the steps necessary to unlock a culture of creativity.

In addition to innovation, GGA Partners has published new whitepapers on strategic planning, branding, and governance which are accessible via the firm’s website.

Click here to download the In Pursuit of Innovation whitepaper

 

About GGA Partners

GGA Partners™ is an international consulting firm and trusted advisor to many of the world’s most successful golf courses, private clubs, resorts, and residential communities. We are dedicated to helping owners, asset managers, club and community leaders, investors and real estate developers tackle challenges, achieve objectives, and maximize asset performance.

Established in 1992 as the KPMG Golf Industry Practice, our global team of experienced professionals leverage in-depth business intelligence and proprietary global data to deliver impactful strategic solutions and lasting success. For more information, please visit ggapartners.com.

Media Contact:

Bennett DeLozier
GGA Partners
602-614-2100
bennett.delozier@ggapartners.com

Leveraging Differences in the Boardroom

GGA Partners Releases New Whitepaper on Private Club Governance as Part of Thought Leadership Series

‘Leveraging Differences in the Boardroom’ Now Available for Download

TORONTO, Ontario – International consulting firm GGA Partners has released Leveraging Differences in the Boardroom, the third in its new series of thought leadership whitepapers. This authoritative guide explores the benefits of clubs with diverse boards and suggests several steps to take when recruiting with diversity in mind.

Leveraging Differences in the Boardroom evaluates the consequences of unintentionally insular board composition and challenges the idea of “sameness” in the boardroom, which limits the ability of a board to effectively perform its duties and threatens a club’s health and longevity. The paper illustrates how multiple perspectives contribute to greater success in governance and argues for adjusting the profile of a club’s leadership to better serve members and prospects.

“We often see board members with similar professional, cultural, and ideological backgrounds and perspectives,” explained GGA Partner Henry DeLozier, one of several authors of the piece. “Boards that are neither representative of the membership nor reflective of their surrounding community risk losing the opportunity both to serve their current members and to attract new members.”

In addition, the whitepaper encourages that clubs intent on increasing diversity among their board take a holistic, multi-dimensional approach to its creation. “Forward-thinking boards understand that it is the breadth of perspective, not the mere inclusion of various diverse traits, that benefits the organization,” said DeLozier. “In addition to social diversity, professional and experiential diversity are also important in increasing the range of perspectives represented on the board.”

Board diversification is likely to be met with resistance from the status quo, which the paper aims to help club leaders overcome by providing tactics for building a diverse board, developing new board member criteria, and making a commitment to diversity.

In addition to governance, GGA Partners recently published new whitepapers on strategic planning and branding. The firm has announced that another in the series focused on innovation will be published through the third quarter of 2020.

Click here to download the whitepaper

 

About GGA Partners

GGA Partners™ is an international consulting firm and trusted advisor to many of the world’s most successful golf courses, private clubs, resorts, and residential communities. We are dedicated to helping owners, asset managers, club and community leaders, investors and real estate developers tackle challenges, achieve objectives, and maximize asset performance.

Established in 1992 as the KPMG Golf Industry Practice, our global team of experienced professionals leverage in-depth business intelligence and proprietary global data to deliver impactful strategic solutions and lasting success. For more information, please visit ggapartners.com.

Media Contact:

Bennett DeLozier
GGA Partners
602-614-2100
bennett.delozier@ggapartners.com

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