Baltimore Country Club, Baltimore Md

OPENING THE DOOR TO

By M. Kent Johnson, CCM • General Manager/COO Baltimore Country Club • Baltimore, Md.

AS CLUB ACTIVITY NOT only resumed but accelerated after the initial shock of the pandemic eased, Kent Johnson realized, like many of his colleagues throughout the country, that new and different approaches were needed to maintain proper staffing and service levels.

“So many of us are experiencing a significant shortage of labor in the hospitality industry that doesn’t seem to have an identifiable end in sight,” Johnson said in a message he posted on LinkedIn near the end of October 2021. “As the challenges mount to find and select the quality of people we want and need, we have had to get creative and try new things.”

A new approach that has proved effective for Baltimore CC, Johnson added, was to “source the help of a Maryland-based public relations firm, Maroon PR, to help make sure we were highly visible and appropriately positioned for jobseekers in our local market. One part of their overall strategy was to help us tell the story of why people should consider private clubs, and specifically BCC, for employment.”

As 2021 came to a close, we asked Johnson for some insights into how this strategy was conceived and implemented, and for an update on how it has helped Baltimore CC address its hiring and staffing needs.

handle areas like staffing in-house, or through services that are tailored to the club industry. What led you to think of trying this different approach?

Johnson: We first engaged Maroon PR to help us with communicating about a sale of 20 acres of land that had been a tumultuous issue in the past. Maroon was extremely helpful in their guidance and proactive approach in addressing this issue and coordinating contacts with the media.

When it was clear that our traditional means of attracting staff were no longer as effective, we reached out to them again for help in that area.

C+RB: Once the decision was made to engage outside help, how did you go about identifying a firm that would have a proper understanding of the special nature of private clubs and how your story and needs should be conveyed?

Johnson: Maroon PR was a local firm that we had already worked with and trusted. They shared their approach to help us achieve our goal and were familiar with clubs and very understanding of our concerns.

Maroon’s approach was to review our “owned” media first, meaning all of our social-media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and the BCC website. They helped ensure we were conveying the right messages and posting the right things, including carousel ads and video, while also leveraging sponsored ads.

We also used some “paid” advertisements in our local Baltimore Business Journal, and Maroon was instrumental in utilizing their relationships with local TV stations to arrange “earned” spots.

C+RB: Once you selected Maroon PR, what key messages were identified as part of the strategy for raising BCC’s visibility and highlighting the benefits of working in a private-club environment? And what did you feel you had to address in terms of common misconceptions or barriers to attracting good candidates?

Johnson: The most important thing for us was to demonstrate the culture at BCC, what “Great People Make Favorite Places” really means, and why job seekers should choose to work with us.

We have been voted a “Best Place to Work” three years in a row for large employers in our market, but we still weren’t attracting the number and quality of candidates we should have been. In talking to a local restaurant group that indicated they were fully staffed at the height of the shortage, it really struck me that we needed to do a better job telling our story.

I don’t believe that job seekers think about private clubs for opportunities in restaurants, landscaping, caddying, golf, etc., but that is a large part of what we do. Our pay is competitive and our environment is

OPENING THE DOOR TO CLUB JOB OPPORTUNITIES

bett er, and for some there’s the opportunity to earn an Evans Scholarship. Why wouldn’t they choose to work with us?

C+RB: Your LinkedIn post said that one key step in getti ng your message out was a video spot on “Midday Maryland,” a local television program. What are the details about how this came about, and what was the content of what aired?

Johnson: This was all Maroon PR, as a followup to our needing to do a bett er job of telling our story. Maroon was able to leverage their relati onships with two local TV stati ons. WBFF Fox 45 showcased BCC as the “Job of the Day,” and WMAR showcased us twice on their “Midday Maryland” program.

We were certainly nervous about being on TV, because as many in our industry know, the press isn’t always kind to clubs. I spoke to WMAR about our culture and two other people from our staff spoke about what working at BCC means to them and the opportuniti es it has provided to them. There was no script, and one take only. I think our two staff members who were featured, Cynthia (Raebiger) and Shaneeka (Moonesar), did a great job in highlighti ng why jobseekers should work here. (Editor’s Note: To view the “Midday Maryland” program featuring BCC and examples of the club’s Facebook and Instagram postings, see the online version of this arti cle at www.clubandresortbusiness.com)

C+RB: What sort of reacti on did you receive to that spot specifi cally, and to other initi ati ves that Maroon PR has helped you with?

Johnson: The spot did very well the fi rst ti me, which led to it airing a second ti me. It was also picked up by two local Facebook groups, so it defi nitely made its way around.

We are now looking at other creati ve ways of att racti ng staff , including sponsoring ads during local universiti es’ sporti ng events and buying ad ti me on the screens you see

On “Midday Maryland,” GM Kent Johnson and staff members including Shaneeka Moonesar (below right) highlighted Baltimore CC’s special culture and work opportunities.

while fi lling up your car with gas.

There is no one approach that solves everything. Maroon PR has been so helpful to us in identi fying ways and providing opportuniti es I’m not sure we would have found on our own.

C+RB: Has all of this helped you fi nd and hire people you don’t think would have ever found their way to BCC otherwise? Can you cite any specifi c examples?

Johnson: Defi nitely! We noti ced a meaningful upti ck in applicati ons and were able to make a number of selecti ons to join our team. We were able to bring in all of the staff we needed for 2021, and it’s going to be more important for us to fi nd and select great people to be part of our team for 2022, because BCC is a two-campus club, and our Five Farms clubhouse is undergoing a major renovati on that will add signifi cant square footage, including additi onal dining and bar spaces.

C+RB: Do you envision conti nuing these eff orts going forward, or was this just conceived primarily as something to try to help fi ll an especially large and immediate gap? And if the approach will conti nue, what other forms or avenues might it take?

Johnson: We have defi nitely learned a lot from engaging Maroon PR, parti cularly as we get bett er at leveraging our “owned” opportuniti es. This has really helped us bridge a signifi cant gap, but we need to make sure we are out in the marketplace telling folks why they and/or their children should consider working in clubs.

We employ over 400 people between both campuses, so our work is far from fi nished. We have discussed other opportuniti es, including radio ads and TV commercials, in additi on to the things we’ve done that have already been menti oned.

C+RB: What would you advise other club managers about the “dos and don’ts” for making an approach like this work most eff ecti vely?

Johnson: Talk to your Board fi rst. Adverti sing in non-traditi onal ways can cause concern, as clubs are largely conservati ve.

Once you have the approval, start small, but be creati ve and don’t be afraid to try new things. Take advantage of things that are only in your market. Make sure you look closely at the fi rm you will use to help you with these eff orts, and ask about their ideas and contacts in your market and how they can help you. If you have in-house communicati ons and HR teams, make sure you include them in the process.