THE DOME IS OPEN-THE SIMULATORS ARE OPEN. Because it’s still a bit chilly on the outside, and some rainy days are coming. The Mistwood Golf Dome on Rt. 53 inn Bolingbrook is open daily until 10 pm. Mistwoodgolfdome.com. The Schaumburg Golf’s three simulators are open daily. Book a tee time at Schuamburggolf.com. The start of outdoor season is right around the corner. Many courses are opening April 1st-No Joke.
THE GOG BLOG by RORY SPEARS, Director of Content and Creation for Golfers on Golf. Follow Rory on Twitter @GogBlogGuy or connect on LinkedIn and Facebook.
Does your course need help for the season ahead.
***EDITORS NOTE*** As someone who has checked out the golf course hiring process the last couple of years, there are some aspects of the “we need help” process that need to go.
Golfers on Golf has received plenty of emails from clubs that are hiring for the season ahead. But it’s amazing how some courses have so many open positions.
Year-after-year, after year, after year.
GRANTED THERE will always be some openings, when it comes to part-time seasonal jobs. Because this happens in all industries.
From the golf world it’s not uncommon to see need for bartenders, cart attendants, rangers, starters, bag stand, pro shop and course maintenance. But for some reasons, finding good help can be hard to do. Wonder Why ! Lets look at the reasons.
THE HIRING PROCESS: Do you tell perspective employees they can ONLY apply online at your website. MISTAKE. Do not take for-granted everyone has computer, and trying to do applications on a cell phone is impossible. If you can’t provide a simple paper application that can be filled out in person, close your doors and close the facility. Websites are not always the best way to get anything done.
Golf courses do hire a fair share of seniors, some of them are old school. They don’t use or have computers-don’t discriminate against them. Some of them could turn out to be your best workers, if given a chance. There is no reason to put people through a 45 minute online application process, unless the job is for the General Manager or Director of Golf/head golf professional, or Food and Beverage manager.
1 TO 3 pages is enough to gather the information you need. There is no need to ask about someone’s last six employers, why they left and can you contact their current or previous supervisor. Here’s a Hint-the people who leave those area’s blank-are the smart employees you should hire. No reason for background checks going back 20 years, your wasting your time and money.
DO NOT send a perspective employee 15-20-pages they need to download and print out on their home printer, before filling out. IT IS NOT their responsibility to provide the copy paper and ink for your mountain high pile of needless information pages.
ONCE A PERSPECTIVE EMPLOYEE has done the work online or paper application. DO NOT then do a follow up phone interview, to see if someone qualifies for a in-person interview. One interview should be enough, for a PT-seasonal job.
APPAREL FOR EMPLOYEES: do you provide enough FREE shirts-short and long sleeve- a warm enough jacket, and a hat. One shirt when somebody works 3-4 days a week is not enough. You can’t expect employees to wash the one staff shirt they have everyday they work.
FOOD AND BEVERAGE: A great discount is needed for employees while they work, or immediately before or after a shift. One Director of Golf told Golfers on Golf, we want our employees eating here. NOT standing in the pro-shop or the starters stand or bag stand with wrappers from the Jersey Mikes or McDonalds down the street that customers see. We don’t want our staff telling guests who ask about the food in the clubhouse to say, we don’t know if it’s any good. We can’t afford to eat here.
DO NOT TAKE THE SIMPLE PROCESS of punching in every day, and turning it into a train wreck with a brutal time management system like Paycom. The list of issues with systems like this read like war and peace. Because your staff will waste countless hours cleaning up the mess systems like Paycom create, while trying to keep track of their hours. A simple time-clock and punch card still work great.
WHEN YOU SAY-we are building a team here. REALLY-explain how you mean that. Do you offer more than just free golf on Monday’s or after 3 Pm, when there is not an outing. Do you actually limit your employees to the amount of range balls they can hit every week, or are employees only allowed to hit off mats, and not the natural grass area’s. BECAUSE ALL OF THE ABOVE are mistakes. Show your workers you want them back next year-from Day 1.
DO YOU offer raises to returning employees, it’s the smart idea. Don’t lose good workers to the Taco Bell down the street that’s paying two dollars an hour more than you are.
Do you cut employees hours that have carried the load since opening day, when the college kids come home for the summer-or when high school lets out. Then expect those people to work more hours from late August through November, when the kids go back to school. SAME goes for when the seniors roll-in from Florida on May 1st and expect their job back, then bail for the south or southwest in the fall once there is 2-3 days of temps in the low 50’s.
SOME COURSES do a great job of letting employees bring guests for golf, either free or for a greatly reduced rate. Either way keep up the good work here.
YOUR PART-TIME HELP might work at a golf course because they love golf. Do you have an employee shopping rate. A sale where the staff can buy apparel, shoes, golf balls, bags and clubs for a great rate. If your own staff won’t buy from you, why should anybody else.
BAD WEATHER DAYS are great days to catch up on projects you might not normally have time to do. Nothing worse than having people show up to work, only to get sent home an hour later. Because rain is on the way, and the cell phone weather App crowd panics and cancels because they can’t handle the possibility of getting hit by a few drops. That might or might not happen during their round.
There is more I could add. But from here-try using some common sense. It can lead to great working environment all season long, and employees who want to come back next year.-RS.