12 minute read
Recruitment crisis
Retaining talent
There is no denying that we are living in difficult times and that it is impacting all aspects of our lives. Prices are soaring, supply chains are stretched to beyond breaking point and staffing shortages are everywhere. Anyone wishing to forget it all and fly off on holiday, well…
In the amenity sports turf sector things are no better. Indeed, grass continues to grow and weeds continue to accumulate, if left unmanaged.
That puts added pressure on those tasked with maintaining high quality facilities and, for many, the prospect of a life away from the long hours, stress and unattractive pay, is too great.
Turf Matters has spoken to BIGGA, the GMA, some of those at the sharp end,trying to find ways to succeed in difficult circumstances, as well as one young ex-greenkeeper, who has left the industry.
While the current global crisis has brought everything to a head it is fair to say recruitment has been an issue in greenkeeping and grounds management for a number of years and both BIGGA and the GMA have worked hard to identify the root causes and explore solutions.
Jim Croxton, CEO of BIGGA, said that the issue had been there for a number of years but that the last couple of years had exacerbated it.
“The profession has to an extent created the problem itself because golfers now expect standards to be amazing all the time and that puts pressure on the greenkeepers. The expectation is that standards will be high in February and November, when years ago golf was only played six months of the year.”
Salaries have not kept pace at the bottom end of the scale and are not where they should be, although the independent recommendations are above the living wage. Progression isn’t good enough at the smaller to medium sized clubs.
“Those who come into the profession love it for the first two years and then in years three and four begin to think that it’s not for them because there is little potential progression until Deputy or Course Manager level,” said Jim, adding that the pandemic gave people time to pause and reflect.
“I’ve spoken to people who have taken time out or left the
professional totally and they are doing lawncare, landscaping, driving – using the practical skills that they’ve got in other areas. If they wanted to train to be a lorry driver they could be earning £60,000 a year.”
The problem is twofold. Recruiting to the industry and retaining those who are already working within it.
“The number of people leaving the industry is more than it has been, so you have to recruit even more in a difficult market to offset those who are leaving.”
Such is the nature the problem, and the huge consequences to the game as a whole of not to being able to maintain courses successfully, BIGGA has been in discussions with the R&A, the Home Unions and the other concerned bodies within the game.
So potential solutions…
“I’ve already spoken to a number of golf clubs who have recognised that they have good teams which they want to retain, and have given 10%-15% pay rises – focusing on the bottom end of the team.
“I’ve been really pleased with the willingness of the key bodies, like the Golf Club Managers Association, to work with us, and the results of a recent survey we carried out are going to describe a major problem which, when articulated correctly, will spur these bodies into further action.
“What we want is stronger messaging to golf clubs on how they need to value their staff, and that’s not just through pay, we want our staff to be more insulated from the grief that they get from golfers.
“The structure of our industry puts the Course Manager, or turf professional, too close to the consumer, without adequate buffers. You develop a thick skin, but it still hurts. For many greenkeepers their course is like another child to them, so if the course is criticised it is akin to calling their kids ugly!” said Jim.
A better recognition of the difficulties involved in maintaining golf courses in the current climate – with supply chain issues; cost of fuel; the cost of fertiliser; delivery times on new machinery; irrigation part shortages, not to mention the staffing, would be welcomed by those working within the profession.
“At least a recognition that,
Jim Croxton Geoff Webb
what greenkeepers are dealing with, is similar to that which golfers, in their professional lives, are dealing with, would help.”
Finding new staff is going to require some “outside of the box” thinking, but it looks as though there are some “outside of the box” thinkers out there.
BIGGA been working closely with the GCSAA, with a view to bringing a version of their First Green programme over here. It sees golf clubs opening their doors to
schools to showcase all the various jobs that running a golf club can entail – from the golf professional, golf club management, catering and hospitality and greenkeeping itself.
“We are also working more closely with the Armed Forces, and those in the Public Sector, so that when guys retire they can look to jobs working on golf courses.
“We’d have to make the jobs flexible, as these guys wouldn’t necessarily want to get up for a 6am start or work weekends, but they could be very valuable assets to a golf club,” said Jim.
Over at the GMA, Geoff Webb
and his team have been pushing hard on all the long-term projects that are already in place.
“We’ve just conducted a workplace survey, something which we will continue to do, which will enable us to monitor trends,” revealed Geoff.
The headlines of the latest survey showed that more than a third of professionals in the industry were over 55; 10% were over 65 and only 3% were in the 16- 24 age group; 96% were male and 3% were nonwhite. Professional sports clubs and independent schools were the biggest employers, employing more than half of professional grounds people.
“Our survey showed that 3,220 people are expected to retire in the next three years. We picked that up in 2019 as well, so it is
following the same trend. We called it the profession’s ticking time bomb,” said Geoff, but adding that, positively, job satisfaction rates are high at around 86%
Having gathered those stark predictions the GMA’s role is to forewarn the bodies governing the various sports of the impact to their sport, whether that be to the voluntary or professional sector.
“The job we face is to ensure that grounds people are valued and remunerated fairly with the ultimate goal of raising the bar for everyone,” said Geoff.
Valuing the job of groundsmen and women is an on-going struggle,
“I call it the Grass Ceiling, and we need to get the Chairmen and Owners of football clubs to point out the value of their staff.
“And it’s not just football, When the decision makers in cricket agreed to expand the formats of the game, now to include the 100, did they consider the impact on resources and budgets? Did they expect groundsmen to work seven days a week without a break to make it all work?”
The GMA, together with all governing bodies, are developing career structures through their Grounds Management Framework and working with colleges to provide appropriate courses. ”We want management-led training, appropriate for this day and age and appropriate for the level of facility, to enable a career to be developed. That way career pathways can be mapped out”
At entry level the Schools in Stadiums initiative – similar to the GCSAA’s First Green programme – and brought in by the GMA’s Young Board, sees school children exposed to all aspects to stadium life. Mothballed during the pandemic these days will be reinstated shortly.
“We did these at Liverpool, Southampton and Leicester, and I can remember John Ledwidge talking to some 14 year olds on the pitch and some asking if they could volunteer. The look on their faces when he said yes was unbelievable.”
Steve Lloyd is Course Manager at The Worcestershire Golf Club,
and current BIGGA Chairman.
“I haven’t really had an issue getting posts filled, because I do take a different approach, something which works for us as we do have a bigger team. A lot of adverts look for the same person – someone with three years’ experience, Level 2 and spraying certificates. I’d rather go for someone with a good attitude and a work ethic and train them from scratch,” said Steve, who got 38 applications and ended up employing two, from a simple local ad.
Steve Lloyd David Cole
Steve is also an advocate of being flexible and looking to bring in people slightly older, who have had other jobs and who are looking for a change.
“I have a guy who was a postman for 30 years, was a member of the club and it was a life-style change for him. It’s a great environment for people. They are left to their own devices, and out in the fresh air..
“These people are out there, but we need to let them know that it is an option for them – everyone would be a winner!”
Steve is also currently trialling another project which could in the longer term.
“I’ve got a Husqvarna robot mower cutting two of my fairways. Fairways are cut at 5.30am, so there is no interruption to golf, cheap to run, and it frees staff up to do other tasks,” said Steve.
“The golf business and greenkeeping roles like all businesses is going through a cycle of labour challenges.”
Recruitment and retention challenges in greenkeeping was bubbling away before the pandemic but the pandemic and Brexit has to some degree magnified the problem. It has made people refocus their lives and most are looking for better work life balance, according to David
Cole at Loch Lomond Golf Club.
As we started this conversation David was on a tractor brushing in topdressing sand as he and his team are trying to deal with their own recruitment challenges and shift changes made to his team to improve work life balance.
It’s hard to put your finger on it as it’s not just one thing, but to David there are a few significant factors: 1. Brexit has reduced the workforce pool and there are fewer recruits coming into the industry than ever. 2. We work unsociable hours with very early starts to carry out all the multiple golf course set up work, mowing and spraying schedules, and course conditioning activities before a busy day of golf. Weekend and bank holiday working is regular. 3. Most greenkeeping roles require you to work in all
elements and when the weather is not favourable, everyone must work even harder. 4. Without sounding too old school, social media society puts peer pressure on people especially the young, and instant gratification and higher competitive wages and flexible working patterns from the outset are expected. 5. The increase in the cost of living, the rise of the minimum wage and salary competition is offering more opportunities to earn more than ever. 6. There is still a perception that greenkeepers are just grass cutters, but there is so much more that goes towards becoming a proper greenkeeper.
“We need to do better at promoting the job and not be so humble and modest about to what it takes to manage golf courses and their grounds,” said David.
“We are keen to educate and encourage golfers to engage and assist. Since the pandemic, golf has had a surge in popularity, which means more rounds and more traffic and golfers need to take more responsibility when it comes to course etiquette and repairing ball marks, raking bunkers, replacing divots, something which appears to have slipped since the pandemic,” said David, who is part of a BIGGA group tasked with ways of promoting the industry.
“They also must appreciate that staff shortages, climate change and tighter chemical regulations have meant certain detailed tasks are not carried out as often as they should be, and turf conditioning will always take priority. A little help and gratitude go a long way.”
“When I started I could never have imagined all the places in the world I have now visited. The world is your oyster, and you can make a good living if you work hard, find a good mentor, constantly network, and attend education events. It won’t be handed to you.”
Angus Roberts was Toro Young Student Greenkeeper of the Year
in 2015 and, at 22, was Deputy Course Manager at The Roxburghe in the Scottish Borders. He gave it up to run his own landscaping and turf maintenance business.
“There were a number of factors to it. The obvious thing to say is that the pay is terrible, but you are also tied to working every hour when the weather is great and then sent home on a miserable, wet day when you can’t do anything,” he explained.
“I didn’t mind working weekends, but coming in for two or three hours scuppers any plans that you might have for a weekend, and you had to get to your bed early,” said Angus, who was running his own business in conjunction with his full-time job before deciding to drop greenkeeping.
“I got into greenkeeping as I played golf and needed summer work. I worked at The Roxburghe for three summers and loved it. I was learning all the time and moving up the mowers, always excited to see what was next.”
But ultimately, despite winning the Toro award and being promoted from First Assistant to Deputy, he found he wasn’t enjoying it.
“I just got bored and fell out of love with it. What I’m loving now is that I’ve got so many different jobs and new challenges all the time. I’m working on improving people’s lawns while I maintain six bowling greens, cricket squares and rugby pitches,” said Angus, who cuts the Kelso Rugby Club pitch, the same one he plays on as a winger for the first team.
“I don’t regret what I’ve done one bit. When you are running your own business, you create your own opportunities and your future is down to how hard you work.” n Turf Matters would love to talk with anyone, from any side of the industry, with views on how to resolve the recruitment issue. Email: scott@turfmatters.co.uk
Angus Roberts
