By no means would I consider myself a human resources dynamo. But the fact is I like where my turf team is today in comparison to my first year as Superintendent five years ago. So what has changed in that timeframe? In my opinion the biggest change was nothing done by myself or ownership. The economy and the tight job market has helped me build a great turf team. Pheasant Run is a rural property located outside a large drawing area of close to a half million people. The Town of Newmarket (our closest drawing area for staff) has faced a lot of adversity within their manufacturing industry. And that has really helped me because jobs have become hard to come by, and that in turn is making my retention numbers close to perfect.
This coming season I will have essentially the full team from 2011 returning again. My university students will all be returning again. As much as the lack of high paying jobs has dried up, I would like to think that the workplace they are provided helps make their decision to return easier. All of my senior staff will be returning, including two long-term staff who have been at the club for 20+ years. And a full complement of returning “retirees” keeps the students in check and the wheels turning.
So what philosophies do I employ when building the team? First you must have a few women on the crew, they keep the conversations and language in good taste. Plus I have found in my close to 20 years in golf that the women tend to quite simply do a better job at finicky detailed jobs (which is almost everything in golf). Second make sure that you have greater than 50% of your staff non-students. A funny thing has happened in the last few years, September’s have gotten extremely busy. It is very difficult to maintain turf that still grows at mid-summer rate with no staff. Not to mention the fact that September has become one of our busiest months for golf events. Lastly, because you have very little turnover it allows you to be picky at whom you select to replace the departed. For this coming season I have only two positions to fill so I am in no rush nor will I make a quick decision to fill those spots.
I like many others who hire staff have made my fair share of “bad hires”. It’s funny that after all these years in golf I remember the bad ones just as much as the great ones I’ve hired. And my long-term guys don’t ever let me forget the bad ones either. The stories of “remember that guy” or “what were you thinking hiring her?” still haunt me season after season. Thank goodness for the current state of my staffing situation and the strong retention numbers we have maintained. It’s a huge source of pride for me that the staff I’ve lost have moved onto their chosen careers or decided to fully retire. Watching the students essentially grow-up each year and writing letters of recommendation for them is a great feeling. It’s also a great feeling to have staff wanting to come back year after year. I take more pride out of that then I do fast greens.
There is no “I” in team is one of the most overused clichés in anything. And as much as that phase is overused it speaks volumes for golf course maintenance as well. I like my staff and I respect my staff. I have no issues paying for pizza, a barbeque, or popsicle’s on a hot day out of my pocket. These fine folks make me (and the club) look good and a small thing can go a long way in earning their trust and respect. Share the wealth and deflect some of the praise was one of the first things I was taught by my mentor close to 20 years ago.
Looking forward to assembling the troops soon and having another great year.
