HENRY DELOZIER Henry DeLozier is a partner at GGA Partners. He can be reached via email: henry.delozier@ggapartners.com
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES
Difficulty in Finding Staff to Fill Positions Forcing Clubs to Adapt Right now, it’s a workers’ market. That was the headline stretched across the top of the Sept. 5-6 edition of the Austin American-Statesman. Of course, golf and club managers didn’t need a newspaper or anything else to tell them what they already know: They’re living through what many say are the most challenging labor conditions they’ve ever encountered. More troubling – they know they’re outnumbered. “This is the toughest labor market for hourly staff I have seen. When we run an ad that would usually attract 20 to 30 candidates, we’re lucky if we get two applications – and if one (candidate) shows up for the interview,” said Loraine Ellis Vienne, the general manager and chief operating officer of the Hampton Hall Club in Bluffton, SC. Whitney Crouse, a founding partner of Bobby Jones Links, an Atlanta-based golf and club management company, shares the frustration. “Across the board, in all departments, it’s harder to find and retain good staff, but in the hourly (non-exempt) area, particularly F&B and maintenance, it’s really tough,” he said. Crouse said the situation became so critical at one point earlier this year that the company was forced to limit the number of diners on certain days, as some restaurants have done. And it’s not just at lower-level positions. “On the managerial front, it’s also hyper competitive for good people, even at some very prestigious clubs,” Crouse added. Labor shortages across the board Of course, golf and private clubs are not unique when it comes to the hardships brought on by current labor shortages. Across the US, and in a wide range of industries, employers are hard-pressed to find workers to fill open positions. Especially hard hit are state and local governments, education, transportation/ warehousing/utilities, manufacturing and arts/ entertainment/recreation. 92
BOARDROOM | NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2021
A surge in labor demand saw available positions at businesses, state and local governments, and the federal government spike from 7.1 million in January to 9.3 million at the end of April, according to the latest job openings and labor turnover survey. Barron’s reports that the speed and magnitude of the increase are “unprecedented” and that the number of posted openings has now shattered the previous record set in November 2018. The Bureau of Labor Statistics did have some slightly encouraging news in its latest report, which showed the unemployment rate declined by a 0.2 percentage point, to 5.2 percent, in August. The number of unemployed persons edged down to 8.4 million, following a large decrease in July. Both measures are down considerably from their highs at the end of the February-April 2020 recession. However, they remain above their levels before the coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, myriad factors are keeping people out of the labor force and those will take longer to resolve, experts say. They include the large share of workers who decided to switch careers during the pandemic or who opted to retire early after layoffs. COVID-19 fears and federal unemployment checks also made it easier for many to delay their return to the workforce. David Autor, a professor at the MIT department of economics and co-director of the MIT Task Force on the Work of the Future, suggests another theory, one that is potentially more far-reaching. “People’s valuation of their own time has changed. Americans are less eager to do low-paid, often dead-end service and hospitality work, deciding instead that more time on family, education and leisure makes for a higher standard of living, even if it means less consumption,” he wrote. Damon DiOrio, CEO of Desert Mountain Club in Scottsdale, AZ, doesn’t believe pandemic-related concerns have played a significant role in creating openings in his 780-person workforce. He says unemployment benefits, which ended in August, were far more influential. “The hesitancy in coming back had nothing to do with the virus. Lucrative federal unemployment benefits had a lot of people thinking they would take the summer off and spend some time with their kids and worry about starting to find a job in September,” DiOrio said. Elephant in the room Then there is the obstacle that seems insurmountable for the club industry, the veritable elephant in the room, which DiOrio was reminded of recently. After addressing a group of hospitality students enrolled in Club Management Association of America programs at various universities, many of whom were seniors eager to enter the hospitality field, DiOrio opened the online discussion for questions. “Mr. DiOrio, what are the opportunities for kids like us who want to get into the club business but who want to work from home?” His answer:
