Tag: Research & Analytics

Breaking Down Key Financial & Operating Data in Club Management

Date:
Derek Johnston of GGA Partners serves as expert resource in new podcast series exploring the CMAA 2020 Finance & Operations Report

The Club Management Association of America (CMAA) is the leading professional association for managers of membership clubs. With nearly 6,800 members across all classifications, CMAA manager members run more than 2,500 country, golf, city, athletic, faculty, yacht, town and military clubs. The objectives of CMAA are to promote and advance friendly relations among persons connected with club management; to encourage the education and advancement of its members; and to assist club officers and members, through their managers, to secure the utmost in efficient and successful operations.

CMAA’s research efforts have grown exponentially over the past several years, increasing the depth and breadth of information available to CMAA members and the broader club industry. In the Summer of 2020, CMAA released its updated competencies for the club management profession which featured the addition of data analytics as a core competency. Today “the numbers” are more important than ever and understanding what they mean, identifying trends, and deploying them for informed management decision-making is no easy task.

As a long-time CMAA Business Partner, GGA Partners has been called upon to assist members of the Association in exploring the recently released 2020 Finance and Operations Report – a detailed report of key financial and operating data from the club management industry which is based upon confidential surveys completed by 357 clubs in 2020 and includes a compilation and analysis of club finance and operations data.

In January 2021, CMAA launched a new micro-podcast series to help to bring the numbers to life, make them understandable, and give them context. In each of installment of the five-part series, Derek Johnston, CIA (Partner, GGA Partners) and Phil Newman, CPA, CIA (Partner, RSM) feature as expert resources to elucidate the significance of the research findings, expound the implications on club management, and translate the best practice application of these insights to club operations.

Johnston and Newman sat down with CMAA’s Melissa Low, CAE (Senior Director, Communications and Government Relations) and Kyle Jennings (Manager, Communications) to conduct the first in the series, a full-length podcast to introduce the series and provide an overview of club finance and operations.

Listen to the first podcast, below, for an overview of the series and dive deeper into the research in future episodes which will become available here and on the CMAA Soundcloud page. Subsequent episodes feature shorter “micro-pods”, 15-minute episodes focused on one of four key areas highlighted by CMAA in their Executive Summary.

 

Part 1: Introduction & Overview

Full-length podcast, 45 minutes

Using a methodical approach, the series begins with a high-level discussion about the Executive Summary of the report, the value of the research findings, and possible ways managers can use the financial and operational data in their roles.

 

Part 2: Capital

Micro-podcast, 16 minutes

“Take a look at your audited financial statements. What’s the first page? It’s the balance sheet…This is the most important financial statement,” explained Phil Newman. Listen to the second episode in the series to find out why understanding capital is so important in club management.

 

Part 3: Operations

Micro-podcast, 11 minutes

It has been said that golf facilities have been one of the unintended and lucky beneficiaries of situational and environmental changes brought on the coronavirus pandemic. But what does it mean for club operations and what changes should be expected in the new normal? Tune into the third episode in the series to find out.

 

Part 4: Membership

Micro-podcast, 14 minutes

The fourth installment in the series hones in on that which all clubs have – members. That is, until they don’t. Hear from the experts on membership attrition and why membership numbers are such a key driver on financial outcomes for club businesses.

 

Part 5: Personnel

Micro-podcast, 26 minutes

The last installment in the series dives into the Personnel section, exploring how the interrelated components of dues, operations, and membership impact personnel considerations, staffing philosophy, and levels of service. “It’s really important to make sure you’re tracking all the different lenses through which you can look at your labor force,” said Derek Johnston. Listen in for more insights.

 

We want to hear from you, get in touch with us for additional information on how best to look at your club’s financial and operational performance data:

Connect with Derek Johnston (Partner, GGA Partners) on LinkedIn

Connect with Phil Newman (Partner, RSM) on LinkedIn

 

GGA Partners Expands Research & Survey Capabilities with the Addition of Experienced Hospitality Research Professor

Date:
Dr. Eric Brey, PhD, joins GGA Partners as a Director to bolster consumer research capabilities

TORONTO, Ontario – GGA Partners has expanded its portfolio of services for private clubs, public golf courses, residential communities, resorts, municipalities and hospitality clients with the addition of an experienced research mind and acting hospitality educator.

Dr. Eric Brey, PhD, a researcher and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, School of Hospitality Leadership, has joined GGA Partners as its newest director to expand the firm’s research efforts.

Dr. Brey’s research expertise will strengthen GGA’s capabilities in customer feedback and market research, both of which are core services for GGA. One of the many expanded offerings the addition of Dr. Brey supports is 3-Factor Theory Analysis designed to provide a deeper and more meaningful understanding of the touchpoints that have the greatest potential to impact customer and member satisfaction.

professional headshot of Dr. Eric Brey, PhD
Dr. Eric Brey, PhD

Recently, Medinah Country Club engaged Dr. Brey to conduct 3-Factor Theory Analysis using the raw survey data collected by GGA. “Identifying the touchpoints important to our members provided tremendous insight across our entire operation” stated Medinah Country Club General Manager Robert Sereci. “Clubs will benefit greatly by using this methodology to pinpoint opportunities on which to focus enhancement efforts to achieve the highest level of enjoyment for their members.”

In addition to enhanced customer satisfaction analysis, Dr. Brey’s vast experience in consumer research will provide expanded opportunities for survey interpretation, managed customer feedback, third party performance monitoring and analysis of existing client data to support GGA’s strategic planning and business intelligence services.

“The synergies created by combining GGA’s expertise in research and strategic planning with the knowledge and experience I bring to consumer research are exponential,” commented Dr. Brey. “Together we will be able to assist golf, club, resort and municipal operators with more detailed and comprehensive data analysis that will enhance their ability to make strategic decisions and improve their operational efficiency and customer experience.”

“Research is a cornerstone of our firm and consumer satisfaction is just one component of GGA’s capabilities in this space. Dr. Brey will play a key role in elevating GGA’s industry leading research, and will apply research best practices and new methods to develop even stronger insights for our clients,” commented GGA Partner Michel Gregory. “As a firm we are working to develop an all-encompassing approach to measuring real time, periodic, and long-term consumer feedback that will benefit a wide range of clients in the private club, resort and hospitality industries as well as municipalities who own golf and leisure assets”.

 

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.

About Dr. Eric Brey, PhD

Dr. Brey earned his B.S. and M.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Stout School of Hospitality Leadership. In 2006, he earned his PhD from Purdue University School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. Dr. Brey spent six years at the University of Memphis, Fogelman College of Business and Economics, Kemmons Wilson School of Hospitality Management before joining the University of Wisconsin-Stout, School of Hospitality Leadership in 2012. In his current role, he serves as professor and chair of the school, teaching marketing, strategy and customer analytics courses, and conducting research on consumer-centric strategy.

Dr. Brey has published numerous peer and refereed journal papers, written industry white papers and book chapters, received many recognitions and honors and has conducted applied research for the United States Golf Association. Recently, Dr. Brey completed a research study for the USGA identifying more than 1,000 touchpoints golfers can have throughout their experience that impact satisfaction and dissatisfaction. The results of the research will provide insights to help operators gain a firm understanding of what customers need and how to meet and exceed those expectations.

 

Media Contacts:

Michael Gregory, Partner
GGA Partners
416-524-0083
michael.gregory@ggapartners.com

 

Running Toward Change

Date:

This article continues a series of communications from GGA Partners to help private club leaders address challenges confronting their businesses and their employees because of the global health crisis. Today, Henry DeLozier suggests that change on a massive scale is no longer something that should surprise us.

Technology’s tools give clubs a way to prepare for the new normal.

We’re hearing a lot these days about the “new normal” and how the coronavirus has forever changed the ways we work, shop, travel and interact.

But wasn’t it not long ago that we were talking about another new normal? Remember the new normal that followed the financial crisis of 2007-2008, which led to a global recession? That pivot from the previously abnormal to a new normal ushered in more stringent guidelines for financial institutions and in a much larger sense ushered out the sense of trust we had in many other institutions and the people who ran them.

And although the term was not yet in vogue, didn’t the seismic shift from analog to digital – the tipping point came in 2002, when the world began storing more information in digital than in analog format – qualify as a new normal?

All of which led some creative soul to design a bumper sticker that said it all: Change Happens. (You may remember it with a synonym for change.) The most adaptable among us learn to deal with change; the most successful turn it into a competitive advantage. How do they do it?

Don’t be surprised – be prepared.

When he first heard Bob Dylan’s 1965 anthem “Like a Rolling Stone,” Bruce Springsteen said, “[It] sounded like somebody’d kicked open the door to your mind.” With that song, Dylan changed how artists thought about making music. Major change often seems to arrive suddenly – with the speed of a stone rolling down a steep hill – and without warning. Its capriciousness makes us anxious. But if we know it’s coming, we shouldn’t be surprised. We should be prepared.

An embrace of the tools that technology now affords us is an important key to our preparation.

Derek Johnston, a partner in our firm, says although club leaders could not have anticipated the pandemic, they could have been better prepared.

“Many clubs were ill-prepared to quickly analyze the potential impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, to run initial scenarios, to easily gather more information, to test their hypotheses with their membership and, ultimately, set a course of action,” he says.

That is not to say that clubs have responded poorly. On the contrary, club leaders have performed in truly admirable fashion. Many clubs just had to work much harder than those that had already implemented data analytics processes and plug-and-play dashboarding tools, like MetricsFirst or continuous member feedback tools like MemberInsight.

“Some club leaders still question the need to bother with data analytics tools and programs. This misunderstanding is simply misguided,” Johnston says, adding that the term “analytics” seems to intimidate some and conjure visions of data overload and complexity. Another fallacy, Johnston says. “Data analytics, when executed properly, is intended to actually simplify information and present insights in very crisp, clean, and easy to understand ways.”

Ginni Rometty, executive chair of IBM, told Fortune magazine editor Alan Murray, “There is no doubt this [coronavirus] will speed up everyone’s transition to be a digital business.” She identified four areas of impending change: 1) the movement to the cloud; 2) the move toward automation; 3) the overhaul of supply chains, and 4) the movement toward new ways of doing work. Each force will happen in accelerated fashion, she predicts.

Rometty is not alone in her assessment. Almost two out of three respondents to a recent Fortune survey of Fortune 500 CEOs expect technological transformation to accelerate. Doug Merritt, CEO at Splunk, a big-data platform, pointed out two important observations: 1) a rapid digital transformation and 2) the elevated importance of gathering and interrogating data.

Top-performing clubs will similarly leverage the pandemic to implement advanced methods for executing work and providing services. Retooling such routine practices as monthly billings, guest policy tracking, and point-of-sale transactions will happen quickly. Likewise, separating work from jobs will trend even more in the wake of the pandemic.

“Clubs that are actively maintaining both real-time operating dashboards and strategic dashboards, combined with a proper financial model, are taking preemptive steps toward dealing with change,” Johnston says. “When it happens – and we know it will – they will experience far less conflict amongst their management team and their board. Ultimately, their preparation will enable better decisions, faster.”

Menu