Tag: crisis

In Times of Crisis, Customized Communication Is Key

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This week GGA Partners continues its series of communications to help leaders of private clubs address challenges confronting their businesses and their employees with three perspectives from the front lines of club management.

Today: Trevor Noonan, COO, Toronto Club, Toronto, Ontario and president of the Canadian Society of Club Managers.

It’s easy to say and it’s been said so often that it should be hard for any leader to forget: In times of crisis, communication is key.

Three weeks ago, when it was apparent the coronavirus was headed to Canada, I drafted the first of many memos to our members and our team of employees.

Based on what we knew (or thought we knew) at the time, I did my best to answer the most obvious questions: What is coronavirus/COVID-19? How is it contracted? What are its symptoms? What should you do if you think you’re infected? What personal protection measures should you take?

Then I tackled the personal side of the issue: How the club was responding to the threat, and how it was preparing for the possibility of a confirmed case amongst members or employees.

Not being an infectious disease specialist, I looked to outside resources for guidance, starting with WHO, the CDC and the Public Health Agency of Canada. I was also alert to information from other sources. The general manager of the Hong Kong Club was especially helpful in providing real-life experiences I could relate to. I even found relevant information from the property management company that manages my condominium building. Crediting these sources in my memos added credibility, trust and a level of comfort for our team members.

Since those first memos, I’ve written eight more, each customized to a specific group: members, employees and our management committee, plus two more as president of the Canadian Society of Club Managers. At the end of each memo, I said when each group could expect my next communication. This establishes a schedule and lets recipients know that I am going to continue to keep them informed.

I’ve also enlisted members of my management team as content contributors. Their participation promotes buy-in from all aspects of club management and helps them feel part of the solution. In addition, it was important to assure employees that wholesale layoffs were not imminent and that the club would be taking care of them. Early on we had meetings with employees where we asked for their suggestions on how the club should be responding. Some of their ideas were immediately implemented, making employees part of the solution and increasing pride in their club.

In meetings with employees, I do my best to be prepared with answers to the questions I can anticipate. But I quickly learned I cannot anticipate all of their questions, nor will I have all the answers. One phrase I’ve used a few times that’s helped with trust and credibility: “I don’t know all the answers; I’m still learning all the questions.” When you admit that you’re learning, and that you’ll do your best to find the best answers to their questions, it shows your commitment to informed decision-making and adds to their trust in you as a leader.

Of course, we should not overlook another important group in the communications process – family. Your family is going through this too. They’re worried about the virus and how it might affect family members. They’re also worried about club members, employees and their families. Now that I’m working from home (our club is closed), my family sees firsthand the challenges with which my fellow club managers and I are dealing.

You need to communicate openly about the coronavirus, but be sure to focus your discussions on other topics too. Don’t let the virus and its effects consume your entire time while home or your stress will be passed on to others around you.  Finally, don’t forget about taking care of yourself; in other words: practice what you preach.  Those who follow me on social media will have witnessed numerous #selfcare posts, and now with a community challenge to my colleagues and friends. The reaction to this challenge is heartwarming to say the least.

When it comes to guiding our clubs and our people through these challenging times, we’re all learning on the job. The first lesson, as I’ve been reminded, is to promote open, honest and clear communications.

Need something to lighten up your day? What could be better than a good, old-fashioned sitcom? How about 15 of them? Here’s a summary of some of your favorites and maybe a few you never got around to watching. Happy viewing.  

Leading in Challenging Times

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The first in a series of communications to help leaders of private clubs address challenges confronting their businesses and their employees.  

For many club leaders, the coronavirus pandemic is a crisis unlike any other in recent times. When governing and managing through a crisis, speed, collaboration, and communication are key to responding effectively. 

In times of crisis, leaders confront issues and decisions whose urgency is matched only by their complexity. Although this pandemic puts us in uncharted waters, there are lessons we can draw from previous crises. Underpinning each of these lessons is the importance of trust among our stakeholders: members, guests, staff and communities.

Leaders’ success in building and maintaining trust, while guiding their clubs through difficult times, is directly related to three key areas: speed, collaboration and communication.

3 Keys for Leading Through Crisis

1. Speed. We’ve seen the speed with which this virus is spreading across the globe and its impact on lives and businesses. Leaders must do their best to keep pace with their decision-making or risk the consequences of health and safety issues as well as a perceived lack of urgency.

Leaders who act quickly and decisively to frame for their stakeholders how these dynamic circumstances affect their club – and the club’s plans to address each challenge – will build trust and distinguish themselves.

2. Collaboration. In a crisis, leaders’ most valuable allies are those who share their goals and have a vested interest in the same positive outcomes. Collaboration among directors, managers, staff, members and community leaders that leads to efficient decision-making is critical.

These diverse perspectives will help to ensure that key segments and their interests are informing a stable and representative decision-making process.

3. Communication. Effective communications – consistent, honest and transparent – help members, guests and staff remain calm and retain the sense of community that members hold dear. Clear, concise and compassionate communications help quell fears and foster positive contributions from all stakeholders. Just as the airlines have learned to keep passengers informed during long and frustrating delays, leaders should do the same in times of crisis.

Visualizing the Future to Guide the Present

We realize that how you perform and how people perceive your performance may seem a distant priority amidst more pressing needs. But visualizing the ultimate outcome – in this case, how and when you see the club returning to more normal conditions – will help you triage less urgent matters and frame your immediate approach to critical priorities.

Having a vision for what you want the outcome to be, even when it feels like you can’t see beyond today, let alone to the end of a crisis, is a proven strategy among the most successful leaders.

Leaders Distinguishing Themselves

We are currently witnessing incredibly swift, intelligent and impactful leadership across our industry:

  • Leaders are working with local, regional and national authorities to adjust or close their operations in line with specific recommendations or requirements.
  • Leaders are closing their indoor amenities and keeping outdoor activities available in ways that adhere to the social distancing recommendations or requirements, including to-go orders, walking-only golf access, and exaggerated tee time and court booking time intervals.
  • Leaders are adjusting their clubs’ rules and restrictions to compensate for the loss of indoor operations, especially for disadvantaged membership groups.
  • Leaders are closing their doors entirely and taking the member experience – the sense of community and culture – virtual by hosting online chat forums and conducting webinars to keep members and staff informed about ways the pandemic is affecting their club and its operations.
  • Leaders are assembling resource libraries for their stakeholders that provide factual, balanced and rationale perspective. In times like these, it is incredibly reassuring to know that as an industry, we are all working together to support one another.

We are incredibly proud of our professional association partners who are helping to lead the way as valuable sources of information. We encourage you to take advantage of these resources and lean on your friends, colleagues and industry partners. Like us, they want to help.

As an industry, we are fortunate to have such an incredible support network. Below are links to various Covid-19 resource centers:

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resource Centers

United States

Canada

Europe

And because we can’t (and shouldn’t) worry about this crisis all the time, here’s one way to get away from it all: catch up on the 25 Netflix series that TechRadar says we all “need to watch right now.”

Stay safe and healthy and watch for another crisis leadership update next week.

GGA Partners

Focus on Planning, Not Plans

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Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, who served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe and planned the successful invasions of North Africa, France and Germany during World War II, didn’t put much stock in plans.

“Plans are nothing,” Ike once said. Planning, however, was an entirely different matter for the man who would become our nation’s 34th president. He believed “planning is everything.” In other words, the value really derives from the disciplined process that produces the plan. Furthermore, a plan that has not been preceded by sufficient planning may not get you where you want to go.

Are you planning for the future of your facility or club in ways that produce the right plans to guide your actions? Before you try to jump to the final product (the plan), consider a few basic but critical planning steps.

Agronomic Planning. Many states in the U.S. and most Canadian provinces have begun the progressive reduction of pesticides on golf courses and sports fields. Is your course anticipating the almost certain changes that are coming? Your planning process also should address water and water-taking, fertility, pesticides and chemical use and storage, tree replacement and removal, mechanical care and upkeep of maintenance equipment, and employee training and development.

Capital Improvement and Investment Planning. Golf courses and private clubs have insatiable appetites for capital. As a result, clubs must maintain a robust and thorough roster of capital assets, ranging from community infrastructure and buildings to rolling stock and maintenance equipment to furniture, fixtures and equipment.

Typically, capital and investment plans are the work of the controller and the finance committee. But expansive-thinking clubs also include in the process management, staff and the people who actually use and operate the capital assets. The more inputs provided to the capital asset roster, the better the eventual capital plan. The controller should issue clear and unequivocal guidance concerning the active definition of capital assets to ensure board-based understanding and compliance.

When planning for future capital needs, take into account: capital items owned by the club; standard useful life estimates (available through the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants); life-cycle projections for golf course assets, including greens, tees, sand bunkers, irrigation systems and drainage (available through the American Society of Certified Golf Architects); and actual standard unit counts of assets to ensure alignment with utilization needs and patterns.

Crisis Planning. What happens in the event of a disastrous or tragic event at your club? What specific actions should employees take, and in which priority order? Which staff members are authorized to contact and deal with police, emergency responders and fire departments? Who contacts the insurer? Who drafts responses to media questions and acts as a spokesperson for the club? Who manages the subsequent media cycles? All of these questions should be anticipated and answered during a detailed planning process and obviously before any crisis.

Resources in answering these questions include your insurance carrier and agent, local public services of fire, health and public safety, and experts available through major professional associations such as CMAA, GCSAA and PGA.

Marketing Planning. One of the regrettable truths revealed by the Great Recession is that most golf courses and private clubs do not understand their markets well enough to inform their most critical decision making. Few conduct a business-like market analysis of existing customers and prospective market segments outside of the front gate.

Lacking a thorough and current understanding of their markets, most clubs execute misdirected, ineffective and potentially costly marketing efforts. Top-performing clubs have studied and measured their market areas. Among other benefits, this research helps them understand feeder markets (which may be out of state and beyond) that can sustain growth and reliable financial performance.

Armed with the information uncovered during the planning process, you now have the ingredients of a comprehensive business plan which supports your overall strategic plan. While he may not salute your plan, Ike would surely be impressed with the hard work and critical thinking that produced it.

This article was authored by GGA Partner Henry DeLozier for Golf Course Industry.

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