If you serve long enough as a golf course superintendent, you will eventually encounter the dreaded budget cutback request.
The reasons for a budget cutback could be any number of things ranging from economic downturn, weather-related event, or even potential property sale or a management change. The key to surviving this type of budget situation is to have several levels of contingency planning available for review and be ready to act on these plans if needed.
Here are a few points of consideration when creating and executing a contingency plan.
• Contingency plans are time sensitive and must be updated regularly to remain relevant. Items to be reviewed included labor costs, product costs, current inventories, cost of benefits etc…
• Contingency plans are highly confidential and should be kept secure and under the strictest of confidence. No need to panic the gossip grapevine.
•Successful contingency plans start with cuts that do not impact people/salaries and as a last resort include specific reductions in labor hours, benefits and total staff. Conservation programs that reduce costs for targeted expenses can also be utilized in contingency planning such as recycling, waste reduction and utility control measures all impact the bottom line.
• Develop three levels of contingency planning, generally these would be a 5 percent, 10 percent and 20 percent reduction in spending but could go much higher in extreme situations, remember 150 courses closed in 2015.
• When executing a contingency plan, be honest with staff, management and members about the expectations and repercussions.
• Use the best tools and reporting systems available to track your status. Be sure you meet or exceed the contingency goals whether they are expressed as a percentage of an existing budget or an actual dollar amount within the planning or tracking process. This also applies if the savings are bottom line focused or to be driven line by line throughout the profit and loss statement.
The key to a successful contingency plan is to recognize that beyond the numbers there are emotions that must also be managed. The old saying, “it is in not personal, it’s just business” was never uttered by a man who dropped an 80-hour week on 4-plus acres of bentgrass greens in 100-degree heat.
Lead by example and work the plan especially in difficult times.
The reasons for a budget cutback could be any number of things ranging from economic downturn, weather-related event, or even potential property sale or a management change. The key to surviving this type of budget situation is to have several levels of contingency planning available for review and be ready to act on these plans if needed.
Here are a few points of consideration when creating and executing a contingency plan.
• Contingency plans are time sensitive and must be updated regularly to remain relevant. Items to be reviewed included labor costs, product costs, current inventories, cost of benefits etc…
• Contingency plans are highly confidential and should be kept secure and under the strictest of confidence. No need to panic the gossip grapevine.
•Successful contingency plans start with cuts that do not impact people/salaries and as a last resort include specific reductions in labor hours, benefits and total staff. Conservation programs that reduce costs for targeted expenses can also be utilized in contingency planning such as recycling, waste reduction and utility control measures all impact the bottom line.
• Develop three levels of contingency planning, generally these would be a 5 percent, 10 percent and 20 percent reduction in spending but could go much higher in extreme situations, remember 150 courses closed in 2015.
• When executing a contingency plan, be honest with staff, management and members about the expectations and repercussions.
• Use the best tools and reporting systems available to track your status. Be sure you meet or exceed the contingency goals whether they are expressed as a percentage of an existing budget or an actual dollar amount within the planning or tracking process. This also applies if the savings are bottom line focused or to be driven line by line throughout the profit and loss statement.
The key to a successful contingency plan is to recognize that beyond the numbers there are emotions that must also be managed. The old saying, “it is in not personal, it’s just business” was never uttered by a man who dropped an 80-hour week on 4-plus acres of bentgrass greens in 100-degree heat.
Lead by example and work the plan especially in difficult times.
