While many think that it costs more to provide Remarkable Service levels, this is not necessarily so. At the end of the day it’s more about organization and discipline than it is about higher costs.
It does, however, require commitment on the part of the owners or board, buy-in from the club’s membership, and a long-term, focused effort from the General Manager and management staff. The end result of Remarkable Service, of an organized and efficient operation, and a focused staff working in unison toward a common goal, comes from Jim Collins’ Flywheel effect. To quote from Good to Great,
“What do the right people want more than anything else? They want to be part of a winning team. They want to contribute to producing visible, tangible results. They want to feel the excitement of being involved in something that just flat-out works. When the right people see a simple plan born of confronting the brutal facts - a plan developed from understanding, not bravado - they are likely to say, ‘That’ll work. Count me in.’ When they see the monolithic unity of the executive team behind the simple plan and the selfless, dedicated qualities of Level 5 leadership, they’ll drop their cynicism. When people begin to feel the magic of momentum - when they begin to see tangible results, when they can feel the flywheel beginning to build speed - that’s when the bulk of people line up to throw their shoulders against the wheel and push.”
Realistically, the process may take three to five years . . . or longer. But the benefits to the club are as remarkable as the level of service achieved, including:
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Accountable, service-based leaders - Willing, committed, and empowered staff
- Lower staff turnover; improved morale and motivation
- Greater operational efficiencies
- Improved operating performance
- Less liability exposure
- Better planning and execution
- Less turmoil and chaos in the operation
- Improved member sales, member satisfaction and retention
The important thing for management, staff, and members to recognize is that they are working on a plan to revitalize their club. And as legendary Dallas Cowboy coach Tom Landry said,
“Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan.”
Click here to read the entire Quest for Remarkable Service white paper.
Thanks and have a great day!
Ed Rehkopf
This weekly blog comments on and discusses the club industry and its challenges. From time to time, we will feature guest bloggers - those managers and industry experts who have something of interest to say to all of us. We also welcome feedback and comment upon the blog, hoping that it will become a useful sounding board for what’s on the minds of hardworking club managers throughout the country and around the world.
Club Resources International - Management Resources for Clubs!
4. Legal Compliance Training for managers, supervisors, and employees - designed to provide all required training in matters with legal implications for the club such as Equal Employment Opportunity, Fair Labor Standards Act, Sexual Harassment, Family Medical Leave, etc.
Not all employees learn equally well or fast; and not all employees find the same teaching techniques conducive to learning. Therefore, you need to develop training formats that meet the needs of all learners. Such formats will include self-study manuals, checklists, handouts, quizzes, DVDs, Power Point presentations, “on-the-go” training material, scripting of key member interfaces, and ongoing discussions at staff meetings.
In many clubs the assumption is that if you hire good people as golf professionals, food and beverage managers, controllers, activity directors, golf course superintendents, membership directors, etc., they don’t need to be trained because they know what they’re doing. While this may be true of the job skills for their particular position, there is far more a manager must know and ignoring this fact can be dangerous to your operation.
With so much to teach each new employee, do you have a training strategy beyond osmosis? Have you ever fleshed out a curriculum for each service position? Is your training material written down for consistency and formatted for brevity and clarity? Do you test your employees on training materials? Do you offer follow-up or refresher training? Do you track the training that each employee gets to make sure everyone is trained to the same standard? Do you encourage feedback from employees regarding the adequacy of training? Do you periodically review and revise training materials?