Tag: governors

Executive Search: Clubhouse Manager for Governors Club

Date:

Clubhouse Manager
Governors Club
Chapel Hill, NC

Governors Club
The Club
Governors Club is a nationally recognized private club community located in Chapel Hill built around an award-winning 27-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course and member-owned country club. A Platinum Club of America and Distinguished Club, Governors Club is the Triangle’s only gated golf community.

The Clubhouse serves as the social center of the community and provides members with world-class dining and events, while the Wellness Center is a separate facility dedicated to members’ health and fitness. Governors Club is committed to continually improving facilities – nearly all amenities have been renovated over the past 5 years, including a full reconstruction of the Clubhouse kitchen, casual and formal dining rooms, and bar area; expansions and enhancements to the Wellness Center gym, group fitness studios, indoor and outdoor pools; and the addition of a Pickleball facility to the tennis complex.

Governors Club members hail from across the U.S. (from almost every state) and many have lived in various countries around the world. The Club hosts more than 400 events and activities year-round—there is something for everyone.

Governors Club is governed by a Board of Directors and supported by various committees, which are responsible for setting policy. A professional management team manages daily operations and oversees a staff of more than 100 employees. The Club operates independently from the Governors Club Property Owners Association, which handles the affairs of the gated community, such as roads, signs and gate house.

Club facilities include:

Dining: The Club Room, The Nicklaus Room, The Outdoor Terrace, The Grab N Go, Summer Pool Grill (seasonal)

Golf: 27-hole Jack Nicklaus Course divided into 3 9-hole courses: The Lakes, The Foothills, and The Mountain course, Golf Practice Areas, Private Lessons

Wellness: Wellness Center, Fitness Classes, Personal Training, Indoor & Outdoor Pools

Tennis: 8 Tennis Courts (6 Har-Tru Clay courts & 2 MondoTen hard courts), Pickleball courts

Youth: KidCare, Social Events, Summer Camps, Tennis & Golf Instructional Programming

Governors Club Overview
667 memberships – (Golf: 459; Sports: 179, Social: 29
Initiation fee – Full: $45,000; Other: $20,000
Annual Dues – Full golf:  $9,840
Gross Volume – $10.37M
Annual dues – $6.62M
F&B Volume – $2.37M
Gross payroll – $4.19M
Employees – 150 in-season; 110 off-season
Board members – 9
Average member age – 64

The Clubhouse Manager Position
The Clubhouse Manager is ultimately responsible on a daily basis for all clubhouse and food/ beverage operations, including the general housekeeping over these areas. In the absence of the Assistant General Manager (AGM), the Clubhouse Manager is also responsible for all aspects of the operation and performs specific tasks as requested.

This managerial position requires working closely with, and reporting directly to the AGM, providing quality leadership and contributing to the positive atmosphere of the Club and associated operations. The Clubhouse Manager will also prepare annual department budgets in concert with the AGM.

The Clubhouse Manager will enhance the club culture and is responsible for the dissemination of hospitality, friendliness and goodwill among members, guests and staff. His/her goal is always to help members and guests enjoy the facilities and events of the Club. In addition to building relationships with Club members, guests, and employees, he/she also provides support to the respective committees and advisory groups. As the public face of these operations, a hands-on approach, and understanding that full member and staff engagement is critical, is required to succeed in this position.

The Clubhouse Manager consistently provides anticipated and enhanced hospitality along with superb dining and other food and beverage experiences for the Club’s membership and their guests. Alignment with the Executive Chef and Food & Beverage Manager is very important in this position to ensure collaborative, innovative, harmonious relationships between front- and back-of-house operations.

Primary Responsibilities

Member Services

  • Consistent, highly-visible, sincere and significant engagement with members and staff in the dining areas of the club is of the utmost importance. It is the ultimate responsibility of the Clubhouse Manager to ensure all member dining, amenities and club events are well-conceived and executed.
  • Provide quality leadership in a positive and upbeat manner for the members, guests
    and staff.
  • Create and maintain a first-class service culture throughout the club campus and its amenities.
  • Address and resolve all member and guest complaints and suggestions, general service, employee attitude, maintenance, and presentation of the clubhouse operations.

Employee Relations

  • Oversee the recruiting, hiring and development of clubhouse and various food service venue personnel.
  • Oversee ongoing training programs complete with up-to-date training manuals to ensure exceptional service in all parts of the club’s operation.
  • Provide for training and future development of all subordinate managers and supervisors subject to budget approval by the Assistant General Manager. Instill a “team player” concept in all employees. Continue to coach, counsel, and evaluate departmental staff.
  • Ensure a positive spirit and healthy work environment exists throughout all club operations, one that is free of safety risks and all forms of employee harassment.
  • Maintain an effective two-way communications program with employees to ensure they are treated in a fair, structured and consistent manner.
  • Serve as an administrative and communication link between departments in the club.
  • Guarantee that all clubhouse employees are regularly trained and certified in areas that help guard the safety and well-being of our members, guests and other employees including, but not limited to responsible alcohol service, safe food handling, etc.
  • Help to facilitate a team environment with morale, high ethical standards and efficient use of resources to position the Governors Club to be a preferred employer of choice in the community.

Financial Management

  • Work jointly with the Controller and Assistant General Manager to prepare the annual operating and capital budgets for all clubhouse and service operations; assist in the management and control of operations to attain the desired results.
  • Monitor the budget each week/month and direct any corrective action, as necessary, to assure budgeted goals are attained.
  • Provide input to all clubhouse and service personnel regarding annual budgets, capital spending plans, fiscal controls and operational guidelines.
  • Manage all labor cost payouts and maintain them within the constraints of the budget, and through close coordination and approval from the Assistant General Manager and Controller.
  • Monitor payroll records to control overtime and maintain labor costs within budgetary guidelines.
  • Supervise the purchase, receipt, safekeeping and disbursement of operating supplies and equipment to maximize quality and profitability.

Personnel Management

  • Display a strong hands-on approach and lead the staff by example. Must be approachable to staff, members and guests.
  • Assist the Assistant General Manager in developing and implementing long-range (strategic) and annual (business) plans, operating reports, forecasts and budgets.
  • Work with Human Resources to develop long-term staffing needs for each area of responsibility.
  • Responsible for hiring, discipline, termination and documentation of all clubhouse and service staff.
  • Review all accidents and work with HR and Safety Committee to complete accident reports and implement improved procedures to prevent the situation from reoccurring.
  • Attend senior management meetings and carry out directives agreed upon during the meetings along with any other requests of the Assistant General Manager. All actions must be carried out in a timely manner.
  • Serve as an ad-hoc member of appropriate club committees and advisory groups.
  • Possess a warm personality, a sense of humor and the ability to work effectively with all levels of the internal staff and members.
  • Work with the Executive Chef, Food & Beverage Manager and others to develop P&L statements prior to each event. Produce an event recap along with all appropriate documentation/history, keeping it on file for future use.
  • Work with Executive Chef on menu development.
  • Work with the F&B team to organize and market special club events.
  • Further his/her own continued development as a club management professional as a member of CMAA. With the assistance and approval of the Assistant General Manager participate in appropriate seminars/training programs, thereby enhancing his/her value and quality of services to Governors Club.

Operational Responsibilities

  • Understand and abide by Governors Club policies and departmental procedures. Suggest changes, and when appropriate, direct the implementation of change.
  • Provide content for and manage communications and marketing information for departments.
  • Assure Clubhouse operations and campus venues are run in accordance with all applicable local, state and federal laws.
  • Disseminate information effectively and coordinate activities between departments
    in a timely manner.
  • Keep the Assistant General Manager informed of all potential problems and activities related to the smooth operation of the clubhouse and other food service venues.
  • Oversee inventory management throughout departments and complete a periodic china, glass and silver inventory to maintain par levels.
  • Coordinate and approve all entertainment in consultation with Assistant General Manager and others.
  • Possess a sharp eye for detail in the overall management of the operation.
  • Report performance and financial data, e.g., weekly report to Assistant General Manager in a timely and regular manner.

Candidate Qualifications

  • Minimum 3-5 years of progressive leadership and management experience in a private club environment.
  • Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college or university, preferably in Hospitality Management or Business.

Note: A pre-employment drug screen and background check will be required. The position is available immediately.

Salary & Benefits
Salary is open and commensurate with qualifications and experience. The Club offers an excellent bonus and benefit package.

Inquiries
IMPORTANT: Interested candidates should submit résumés along with a detailed cover letter which addresses the qualifications and describes your alignment/experience with the prescribed position by Friday, February 25, 2022.

These documents must be saved and emailed in Word or PDF format (save as “Last Name, First Name, Governors Clubhouse Cover Letter” and “Last Name, First Name, Governors Clubhouse Résumé”) respectively to: execsearchus@ggapartners.com.

All requested information, along with references, should be emailed to the address above.

 

For more information about Governors Club, please visit www.governorsclubnc.com

Four HR Questions Club Boards Should Be Asking

Date:

When was the last time your club audited its human resources? Alignment between a club’s strategy and its employee offering is essential in order to enhance the overall club lifestyle, culture, and experience for members and staff.

To determine whether it’s time to reexamine culture, Partner Derek Johnston lays out 4 questions private club boards should be asking. 

Among the most reverberant takeaways from the coronavirus pandemic is the importance of people to businesses. Global business leaders and executives at leading corporations have indicated that the shift toward talent as the most important source of corporate value has continued. The pandemic also seems to be leading an increasing number of talent-forward companies to take an “employees first” approach.

But this is nothing new for large-scale global businesses. Indeed, the third week of August marked the one-year anniversary of the influential Business Roundtable’s statement on corporate purpose – which puts employees, customers, their communities, and the environment on a par with shareholders.

“Human resources” is trending

It’s also nothing new for club businesses. Our continuous research on club industry trends has shown human resource management and labor challenges to be a persisting trend, one which club managers have reported to be rising in importance – before the coronavirus.

In 2019, human resources was ranked the 6th most-impactful private club trend (out of 27) in a global survey of club managers. And, in a separate Canadian club industry survey, it was identified as both a key risk and primary hurdle to modernizing club management while topping the list of areas which managers say are under-supported from an education standpoint.

The early-pandemic question as to whether COVID-19 impacts would accelerate the business community’s move to stakeholder capitalism, or slow it down as companies focus on short-term financial pressures, seems to have answered itself.

For clubs, the people-related challenges previously reported by managers have exacerbated, with topics like employee willingness to work, labor anxiety, staff recruitment and turnover emerging as key strategic questions which club leaders are currently wrestling.

Widespread COVID-19 impacts like club closures, layoffs, and furloughs certainly haven’t helped ease concerns. With significant changes afoot in staffing, retention, human resource availability, and operational adaptations, clubs are presented with a unique opportunity right now – the chance to reevaluate and perhaps reset their culture.

Got culture?

In clubs, culture IS governance. Sound governance is a strategic imperative primarily because it enables, supports, and nurtures effective strategy. And, as the Peter Drucker saying goes, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”

This is extremely important for club leaders.

It’s important because it means that no matter how strong a club’s strategic plan is, its efficacy will be held back by team members, staff, and employees if they don’t share the proper culture.

When the breaks are going against the business, as they are for some right now, the people implementing the club’s plan are the ones that make all the difference. While strategy defines direction and focus, culture is the habitat in which strategy lives or dies.

Now is the perfect time to reexamine your club’s culture to ensure staff square rightly with the club’s strategy. In other words, to ensure that your people are the best fit for accomplishing the club’s goals and objectives. Someone who was right for a specific role pre-pandemic may not be right for the same role now. Your business has changed, and some people may need to change too, either themselves or their roles.

How can club leaders reexamine culture?

The first place to start is by understanding what you’re currently doing for employees. Club leaders require a comprehensive understanding of the club’s current approach to human resource management so that they can determine the alignment of people and culture with the club’s goals.

When was the last time the club audited its human resources approach, policies, procedures, and performance? Ensuring alignment between the club’s strategy and its employee offering is essential in order to enhance the overall club lifestyle, culture, and experience for members and staff.

To help you get started, here are four HR questions private club boards should be asking:

1. How does our current organizational structure sit relative to best practice and what recent COVID-related changes should we make permanent or revisit?

Review your club’s current organizational structure, including both employees and contract workers, against best practice structures at comparable clubs locally, nationally, and globally. This review should focus special attention on the roles and responsibilities of human resources within the organizational structure with the goal of highlighting key gaps or divergences from best practice. Often times in clubs, an overly flat organizational structure tends to create ‘siloes’ that breed inefficiencies and bloat staffing levels.

2. Are we both efficient and competitive in the compensation and benefits afforded to employees?

Complete a comprehensive benchmarking exercise which compares compensation and benefit levels of all key staff and for the club as a whole to comparable clubs and other businesses with whom you compete for talent. The focus of this exercise should go beyond salary and hourly wages, factoring in relevant club financial and operating data, benefits packages, member and employee feedback scores, and other market-related information.

The goal is to identify current and accurate reference points for evaluating current compensation and benefits against best practice. There is a high degree of likelihood that there are opportunities in your current compensation and benefits structure to better align incentives and shift compensation to top talent, which tends to support increased productivity and reduced head count.

3. Are our personnel positioned to help us achieve the club’s goals and objectives? Are we helping them achieve theirs?

Assess your club’s performance tracking and review processes. The goal here is to analyze current performance evaluation processes and procedures to ensure alignment with the club’s overarching goals. This requires the board and executive committee to have a focused, clear, and comprehensive understanding of the club’s mission, vision, core values, and objectives.

For maximum benefit, to both member and employee satisfaction, it is incredibly important that performance is measurable and incentivized. The trick is determining the right way to track and measure performance and tie it to the right incentive.

4. Are our staff equipped with the tools they need to succeed? Are they empowered to do so?

Evaluate your club’s current recruiting, onboarding, training, and ongoing relational efforts. This will likely require management meetings and staff interviews to learn about the current approach and unearth any ideas or recommendations your team may have to suggest.

The success of every private club is dependent on the quality of their staff. Recruiting the best talent, integrating them into the envisioned culture, training them for success, ensuring their satisfaction, and ultimately retaining them is an important goal. The outcome from which tends to have a positive financial impact on the club and on the member experience.

After all, an investment in people is an investment in culture and clubs will benefit from this investment.

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