Club Management World Conference

Hottest topic at 2022’s Club Management World Conference

Consultant and creative thinker Chris Duffy CCM shares his experiences at the World Conference, where the global staffing crisis was the clear winner in terms of causes for concern.

One year ago, no-one would have believed thatTigerWoodswouldplaytheMasters. Two years ago, no-one would know the effect the Covid-19 pandemic would have taken on the club industry.

Seven years ago, I didn ’t know the influence the Club Management Association of Europe (CMAE) would have on my career. An influence that would lead to worldwide job opportunities, a renewed passionforlearningandauniquetribeofclubmanagers from around the world I can rely on for advice and guidance.

In March 2022 I travelled to my fourth Club Management Association of America (CMAA) World Conference and Business Expo in San Diego, California to continue my education journey and to fulfil a seven-year journey to collect my Certified Club Manager (CCM) designation becoming one of only 65 CCM’ s in Europe. In walking across the stageinfrontof1400+clubindustrypeersandbeing recognisedformyachievement,Ifoundadeepsense of pride and fulfilment.

Attending the World Conference offers not just high-quality club education but the opportunity to understandwhatishappeningonagloballevelwithin our industry, reaching out and networking with leading club managers from around the world to ascertain how they see the industry, what direction its heading and what we can do to support its development, or guide change where needed.

The conference in San Diego was the first major club management conference post Covid-19. The general feeling within the industry was of joy and relief at being able to share experiences together with members, guests and our teams, but the fundamentalundercurrentwasofnervousnessofwhatlies ahead in terms of recruitment and staffing.

It has been well documented that the hospitality and travel sectors are currently suffering a staffing crisis. The trust to work in the hospitality industry is at an all-time low, and many who worked in the sector prior to Covid-19 have opened their eyes to new opportunities.

Working from home became the new norm, the Internet became our favourite place to shop, home delivery became the standard and family and friends wanted to spend extended time together after so long apart.

Club employees who were furloughed came back to work and found everything had changed; some decided not to return. The club team was smaller, but our members and guests were still as expectant as pre-Covid. The club from the outside still looked the same, but internally clubs had lost multiple libraries of knowledge as long serving employees pursued other careers or stepped into retirement.

There are so many positives to working in the club industry, but losing an employee or friend from the industry hurts the most. The daily joy and happiness we bring to our members and guests, those special moments we share with our teams, the personal opportunities to travel the world and to work in very special environments are just a few reasons I love the club industry – so why are we are facing a staffing crisis?

During the conference the staffing crisis was recognised and discussed at length in both educational sessions and networking events.

The feedback crystalised in to five keys areas:

• Lack of relevant knowledge and experience of board members. • Lackofrecognised,relevantdataandinformation to support action. • Lack of support from recognised associations at the appropriate time. • Lack of understanding from members to increasing costs of operations. • Lack of competitive compensation and benefits for employees compared to other industries.

Unfortunately, the above covers many of the issues we face as leaders in the club industry and until we can receive the relevant tools, education and data to convince club boards to start putting employees first, then the club industry is naturally on a downhill spiral. >

In the past 12 months I’ ve seen multiple clubs investing in non-essential works, course renovations andclubhouseredevelopment.Membershipofclubs has never been stronger. The Covid-19 effect when people found solace in the outdoors, and especially golf clubs which were allowed to reopen earlier in manycountriescomparedtoothersectors,hasledto a boom in club memberships.

For many clubs there is cash in the bank and a waiting list for membership, but how many have recognised the club employees in their 2022 budgets? I know of very few that have approached employeesandsaidhereisa ‘ significant’ payrise and ‘ we appreciate everything you have done over the past two years to support our membership during the pandemic. We appreciate everything you do on a daily basis and we want you here at our club’ .

We often talk about membership retention, but very rarely does anyone discuss employee retention.

Club employees are the skeleton of the club, and the members are its blood, and both are needed to survive. We know it costs much more to hire and train new employees than retain those already in your club, so when was the last time your club board or committee reviewed its employees longevity and compensation compared to other similar industries and available data?

During the past three months I have seen various institutions issuing statements regarding supporting staff and the need for increased compensation packages to support employee recruitment. It is well known that club budgeting is generally reviewed and completed between OctoberDecember of the prior year and as such these statements, although welcomed, need to be brought to the attention of the boardroom earlier. As managers and leaders in the industry we also need to follow up these statements with the relevant data allowing time for the relevant discussions and actions to be agreed long before the subscription renewals are delivered to the members.

If clubs are to turn the tide of our employee exodus we need to find ways to pay ‘ above ’ market price. The hospitality, club and hotel industry are short of talent – this is a fact - and many industries are finding ways to fight off the competition to attract the best talent which is often paying more and rewarding the talent they employ. I call upon members, boards and committees to recognise the work our teams do on a regular basis, pay fairly and reward excellence.

Whether its our Greenkeeper ’ s, the Food & Beverage team, Golf Professional’ s or qualified and educated Club Managers, all are all in short supply and clubs are facing a staffing crisis. Many have foundnewemploymentopportunitiesandchosento leave our industry, but for those who chose to stay and to continue to serve at our clubs, I say ‘thank you ’ , and may our worldwide journey continue, in the club industry I love.

I call upon members, boards committees to recognise the work do on a regular basis, pay fairly a excellence. “ ” and our teams nd reward

The daily joy and happiness we bring to our members and guests, those special moments we share with our teams, the personal opportunities to travel the world and to work in very special environments are just a few reasons I love the club industry – so why are we are facing a staffing crisis? “ ”