How do you relate to your employees, the starters, your pro shop staff, the course marshals etc.?
If they’re younger, when was the last time you sat down with them to discuss their career goals?
Brian Camfield says the last couple of years he’s found himself thinking more and more about how to be a better professional.
“I think it was a natural evolution as a leader. As you grow you start thinking of others more,” says Camfield who is the head professional at the Country Club of Virginia in Richmond, where they have 54 holes on two campuses and more than 7,000 members.
The two campuses, which are about a half hour drive apart, and the enormity of the facility, make the club one of the largest in the United States.
Camfield is based at the club’s Westhampton campus which has a Donald Ross course, with a large practice facility, swimming pools, a fitness complex, and multiple restaurants. He oversees as many as 32 employees during peak season.
He’s been a golf professional for 10 years, the last five as the head pro at the CCV.
Camfield says the Covid-19 pandemic really got him thinking about his staff.
“Because of Covid the demand for golf is so high and we’ve been running hot for like two straight years,” he explains. “You start thinking that your front-line employees are doing so much for us, and for two years there hasn’t been a slow time, especially since here in the mid-Atlantic our season is pretty much year-round.”
He says he started to worry that his employees might be burning out, so, he’s started implementing new programs, and earlier this year, on Twitter he listed four of them.
Here are four things he’s doing at the Country Club of Virginia and his thoughts in his own words on how they work and why he does them.
(1) Intentional conversations with your staff, before, during work, and prior to their leaving, to talk about their goals and to have a personal connection
“A lot of times the only conversation you have with the employee, and it’s an important one, is when they come in and you say ‘Hello’ and then what’s happening at the course and what we want to accomplish. But there’s no personal touch there.
“We need to avoid having our employees feel that they are just another cog in the system. There needs to be a ‘hey, what have you been up to?’ And ‘how’s school going?’ Or ‘how’s that project you’ve been working on?’ And ‘how’s your family doing?’ conversation.
“You’re going to work with these people on your team for many hours and long seasons. I know it sounds simple, but you need to have some intentional conversations that are connected with their life. They’re human and they have feelings and you’re never going to know how they’re doing, or if someone is having a tough time, unless you ask.
“You may come to realize that you need to give someone some time off, that they need a break. The work conversations can still happen, but this is a way to touch base and see how they’re doing. I’m finding I’m now budgeting time to do this.”
(2) Encourage the staff to play, which plays into their love of the game. And include in that, free clinics for them
“At our course, the front-line staff are encouraged to play. We have to remember that almost all staff got into this profession because we do enjoy playing.
“If we stray away from this, we run the risk of morale going down. Playing golf is the ultimate reset and reminds us why we do what we do.
“So, not only are we going to allow staff to play, we’re going to set aside a couple of tee times that are guaranteed and will always be there, and if a staff member wants to use it, it’s there.
“The basic rules are that they can’t play on a weekend, and they can’t play on a day when two of the courses are closed.
“We ran this by our board, and they understand it and they said they’re willing to give up a couple of tee times to help make sure the staff is happy. It has been well received and the staff really appreciates it.
“We have a director of instruction at our club but all of our pros, including myself, teach as well. Once a month we set aside a time where we take 12 employees at a time and do a clinic and give some lessons.
“It’s been really neat. We have one retired lady who works in our pro shop and she loves to talk about her lessons.”
(3) Find career and personal growth opportunities. Listen to the staff’s goals and aspirations.
“My staff would be 10-20 per cent retired types and the rest would be in the college or high school realm.
“I find that about 80 per cent of my college and high school aged staff are looking for something outside of golf as a future profession. If I can develop that understanding, I can introduce them to members of the club who are in that field. For example, if I have a staff member who is studying accounting, I can connect them with a member who is in the accounting business. If I have someone who wants to become an entrepreneur, I’m happy to teach them how to do budgets.
“And you can also use this interest to identify young people who want to get into the golf business as a profession in the future.
“I’ve had two young men who had been cart attendants for me that ended up getting into professional golf management programs in university. When I found out this is what they wanted to study, I realized I had found some guys who had bought in and were committed, so I had the opportunity to show them behind the scenes and explain even more why we do certain things.
“And this industry is in a tough spot finding professionals so if I can find a future professional that’s great.”
(4) Prioritize feedback opportunities. Intentionally budget time to provide positive feedback.
“This is a little different than just having a chat with an employee. This will be less conversational. Too often the only feedback you get is during your annual review and that’s just not enough.
“You should work through your roster and try and do this monthly, or at least quarterly, giving feedback on performance and reviewing what they’ve done well and what they can improve upon. Then, there’s no real surprises at the end of the year and their performance maintains a constant level throughout the year because of good communication lines.
“Any pro can do this, and most do, but we can probably do it more often. At the end of the day this builds trust in our staff and the camaraderie and culture that we want to achieve.”
Camfield says these principles can apply to any club, whether it’s a large private facility or a small mom and pop operation.
“We’re lucky to have three courses and a large practice facility where we can do some things, but even if you have just one course, find a time slot at your facility and dedicate it to the team. If you need to close early on a Thursday night to do an employee event, it might really be worth it.
“It would be a good recruiting tool and really, you’re only as good as your team. If you think you’re swamped and you don’t have time for it, then consider making time.”
You can follow Camfield on Twitter at @CamfieldGolf
Editor’s note: If you are doing some things at your club to create a good and productive working environment for your employees, send them along in an email to Pro Shop and we’ll pick a few of the best and publish them in a future issue.
Send them to Randy@linksmarketing.ca
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