With more and more courses fighting to keep ahead of a tightening budget, the current golf course labor model needs to change, says Jeff Spangler, senior vice president of science and agronomy for Troon Golf. And making that shift takes the kind of leader who isn’t afraid to talk to his crew like real people – even when the message isn’t an easy one.
“We’ve really re-evaluated how we’re doing our payroll,” he said. “Payroll and benefits are about 60 to 70 percent of your golf course maintenance budget. With the changing financial realities we’re all facing, that’s a logical spot to look at getting creative.”
Performing benchmarking studies of Troon properties left him with a tough truth: Some older facilities with longterm employees had continued small merit-based raises every year, eventually creating an hourly pay rate that was far more than a competitive marketplace rate. Even among courses with about the same staff size, the pay range varied widely, sometimes 50 percent more than what they would pay a trained crewmember normally.
A few steps were put into place, including splitting the maintenance crew into three skill categories with different responsibilities, each with its own pay range and available merit increases. Employees can build their wages over time, and once the cap is reached, try to reach the next skill category. Superintendents are restricted to a certain number of crew members per category to keep a level field. Along with that is a heavier focus on part-time employees, with more tackling the course in the morning and a much smaller crew working on hand-watering and other jobs during play in the afternoon.
But developing the plan was one thing. Being able to get the crew behind it relied on the superintendents’ leadership and sensitivity to their teams.
“We’ve really been able to make it work there. If you communicate it professionally and effectively with the staff, they get it. They understand it,” said Spangler. “It comes down to, ‘Guys, do you want jobs, or do you want us to have to reduce the crew size?’ And they understand the dynamics when it’s presented to them the right way.”
Here are a few key ways to get the crew behind new rules, whether it means a bonus or fewer hours:
- Be proactive. Get the right information and get out in front of a changed plan long before the rumors start. “Don’t let them get surprised by changing policies,” said Spangler. “Effectively communicate ahead of time, and really explain why.”
- Be honest. Don’t underestimate how in tune to the health of the course the crew will be, or how much they understand about its fiscal viability. “Some of it involves conversations relating to what the golf course finances look like. A lot of owners continue to finance facilities where there’s not necessarily cash flowing, so we try to give them a little bit of economics 101 and show them the challenges we’re dealing with.
-Be reasonable. Show understanding to the crew by explaining how things would change if the policy stayed the same, and how the change specifically affects them directly. “When we have this conversation and treat them reasonably, with some consideration, they always understand it.”
-Be connected. Take the time to do course work with the crew sometimes, so any change affects you just as much as them. “When they’re sharing the workload, the crew realizes, ‘This guy isn’t asking me to do anything he’s not willing to do himself,’ and that really builds a sense of teamwork. When they’re having a heart-to-heart conversation, the superintendent is right alongside them, he’s out there working and leading together.”
