So, how do you do this? You can start by treating your part-time and seasonal staff like you would treat customers with memberships in your facilities. Those of us managing facilities have often extolled the importance of membership retention. As Sandy Coffman, president of Programming for Profit was quoted as saying in Club Industry magazine (February 1994), "It's generally considered to be six times more expensive to get a new member than to keep one." Money is not the only factor in the quest for membership retention. A sense of family and ownership in the facility are both important in developing a successful membership base. Members enjoy exercising when they feel comfortable around other members. The facility will be better maintained when the members feel a sense of ownership of the equipment and facility. All of this leads to a strong argument for membership retention. Build your base by retaining long-term members and you will reap the benefits. We can learn a lesson from membership retention practices. Many strategies for retaining staff are the same for retaining members, including monetary savings, camaraderie and a sense of ownership in the agency. We have all experienced the importance of retaining quality staff, yet little has been documented in this area. We pour countless hours of training into new staff only to see them accept a position where they can make more money to save for college. In times of strict budgets we are often prevented from paying higher wages to compete with the job market. So what is the trick to retaining staff? We posed this question to many recreation agencies and the results are interesting. This article summarizes a few tried and true practices used for membership retention as well as some of the responses from the recreation agencies to our informal poll. Read on and perhaps you will find something you can incorporate at your agency.
The Personal Touch
Camaraderie
Staff Development Illinois Parks & Recreation * November/December 1996 * 19 Incentive Programs Don't just let the staff leave at the end of the season. Throw a party and end the season with a sha-bang! Give the staff incentives for returning the next year. Knowing in advance that they will receive a raise the next year is a great hook! Additional agency incentives might be use of facilities or programs for a reduced rate or free-of-charge. Turn these incentives into tangibles by illustrating the savings the staff will enjoy should they take advantage of such an offer.
Show Concern Allow staff the opportunity to feel important by including them on the decision-making process for the programs or facilities in which they are involved. Let them know they will not have that type of authority working in many other situations. A fun, caring place to work can often attract employees willing to work for less money. Make certain your staff know how important they are to you and the rewards will be a long- lived relationship!
Sell Your Agency What are other recreation agencies doing in Illinois? In addition to offering a fun place to work—with the best administrative staff in the country—most agencies try to incorporate some type of an incentive program. Following are creative ideas for staff retention from agencies around the state. • Homewood Flossmoor Park District gives a $.25 raise for additional certification beyond the regular pay rate for the pool staff. Pool staff also receive an outdoor pool pass. The district also collects free items from various stores (videos, ice cream, etc.) and passes them out as rewards for good work. • Tinley Park Park District focuses on the personal touch by regularly recognizing good work through memos to the staff. Full-time staff here realize that part-time and seasonal staff tend to be overlooked. To combat that, the full-time staff reinforces the part-time staff's importance to the district. • Joliet Park District offers a starting wage that is usually higher than minimum wage. The staff has free use of the facility where they are employed. • Elmhurst Park District allows use of the Courts Plus Facility to the part-time employees working at that facility. • Schaumburg Park District provides its part-time staff with a pool pass for $1. "Part-timers" also get a pool party and one complimentary class. 20 * Illinois Parks & Recreation * November/December 1996 • The Lockport Park District has developed a salary schedule based on education and experience that includes a raise for each year the part-time staff returns. The park district makes every effort to work around the schedules of the staff, providing more flexibility than what staff may experience in another work setting. The district has developed a staff newsletter to keep everyone informed and in touch. The summer staff enjoy a picnic in one of the district's beautiful parks. • Part-time staff at the Arlington Heights Park District's pool facilities may find themselves "employee of the month," receiving gift certificates and recognition as the incentive. Part-time staff here also receive extra pay during critical times. Those working at revenue-producing facilities have some restricted opportunities for free play. Additional perks include parties, cookouts, shirts and food. • In addition to having the latitude to pay its staff well, the Lemont Park District also outfits its staff in sweatshirts once a year and provides facility usage at a 50 percent discount. • Belvidere Park District gives a raise to its part-time staff each year in the amount of $.25 to $.50 per hour. Staff also can participate in programs at a 50 percent discount. The staff are given a feeling of ownership of the facilities and programs by being a part of the decision-making process. • The Channahon Park District gives a yearly $.25 raise to part-time and temporary staff. Staff receive a complimentary Fitness Centre membership, free use of the racquetball courts, and complimentary admission to the Aquatic Center and Roller Rink. Food discounts are given during working hours while on break. Discounts to the pro shops are given. Restricted complimentary green fees are given along with free range balls and a discounted power cart fee. In addition, part-time and temporary staff are paid time-and-one-half when they work a holiday. A staff appreciation party is thrown in February. • The Wheaton Park District has developed a "Part Time Employees Incentive Program." It is based on the numbers of hours staff work, with different categories ranging from 1 hour to 1000+ hours. Staff receive anywhere from 4 to 10 passes based on the specific hour category they have attained. The passes include the choice of a pool pass, a fitness pass or a bucket of balls at the 1 to 100 hours worked. Those working 1000+ hours receive the above and additionally the choice of an individual pool pass and 50 percent individual Parks Plus membership. The most requested additional incentive that recreation agencies would like to offer is time off with pay for those doing exceptional work. Maybe some day one park district will forge that trail. The biggest frustration mentioned in the poll deals with the decline in the work ethic of young staff these days. Job performance levels that were once expected from all staff are now hailed as an outstanding display of dedication from staff members. Hopefully you can find some ideas from this article that will help your agency in keeping those valuable part-time and seasonal staff members happy employees of your agency. Sue A. Micklevitz, CLP, is the superintendent of recreation for the Channahon Park District.
Illinois Parks & Recreation * November/December 1996 * 21 |
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