FEATURE
“I can tell if they’re smiling by their
eyes,” she said.
Clearly communicating with masks on
requires enunciating and speaking a bit
slower than usual. Also, the obvious skill of
listening may need to be enhanced.
In virtual interviews, sometimes
the connection is poor or if multiple
people speak at the same time, some
communication might be lost. It’s important
to advise those that you are meeting with
that if they miss something, it’s okay to
ask to repeat what was said and, of course,
“You’re on mute!”
Ingenuity
Barry Forth, general manager at Copetown
Woods Golf Club near Hamilton, Ont.,
developed a unique approach to recruitment:
video applications. Forth launched
a social media campaign to promote the
club and the medium. One of the posts
read, “No resumes. You’re a ‘fast learner’
and possess ‘superior communication
skills?’ Amazing…but everyone else
includes that on their resumes as well!
Send us a selfie video… or cinematic masterpiece.
Just tell us about yourself, how
you can take our guest experience to the
next level and enhance our team at CW!”
I asked Forth about how this idea
came about.
“We looked at what demographic
we were hiring and realized a) all of their
resumes are the same and b) they always
have their phones with them and are more
than capable of recording videos. What we
needed to determine was if they had a great
personality and could confidently interact
with guests all day.”
All of Forth’s seasonal hires came from
video applications, even from applicants
that the club wasn’t expecting, such as for
starter and marshall positions. Not only
that, returning staff got in on the fun, as
well, and made their own videos.
Develop partnerships
The Career Awareness Committee under
the Ontario Branch of the CSCM has
continued to engage with colleges and
universities to provide students with an
understanding of the private club world.
Clubs often aren’t part of the curriculum in
hospitality and culinary programs, but we
can help to change that.
This past winter, members of the
committee virtually presented career
opportunities in clubs to different
classrooms in four higher education
institutions. The partnerships with these
schools are effective on a number of levels:
• Students gain insights into career paths
they didn’t know existed
• Students and faculty understand
the important role clubs play in the
Canadian economy
• It can lead directly to hiring
It’s your competitive advantage to get
to know the program coordinators, co-op/
internship coordinators and professors at
your local college or university. They can
help you recruit the best students.
Diversity and inclusion
It’s no secret that clubs, especially in senior
roles, aren’t on the cutting edge when it
comes to diversity, and therefore we have
the opportunity to make a real impact.
Misunderstandings with diversity
hiring can occur because of the incorrect
perception that the goal is to have diversity
just for the sake of diversity. In order to be
successful, an organization as a whole must
identify and remove potential biases in
sourcing, screening, shortlisting and hiring
qualified, diverse candidates.
Once potential biases have been
reduced or eliminated, the benefits far
outweigh the challenges:
• Employee motivation – employees
maintain productivity when they are
treated with equality, dignity and respect
• Employee innovation – a work
environment open to diversity
remains flexible and favourable to
employee innovation
• Employee recruitment and retention –
a workplace that emphasizes interest
and concern for its employees as
people first is able to attract a higher
quality workforce
• Continuous quality improvement – an
environment where employee talents
are valued will help to continually
improve quality
There are many organizations, including
the Professional Golfers’ Association,
that have developed ways to take action.
Some key steps that have proven to work
well are:
• Improve accessibility – make sure a
diverse range of candidates have an
opportunity to apply
• Increase awareness – educate diverse
candidates on what options and career
paths there are
• Create a system of accountability
– understand who the key decisionmakers
are and secure buy-in for
diversity recruitment
Silver lining
Most clubs with outdoor facilities and
activities were fortunate to be able to
continue operations, some with an
increased amount of participation.
However, as we all know, over the past
year, many industries have been decimated
– restaurants and airlines are two that
were hit hardest. A silver lining for the
private club industry is that there is a very
qualified pool of talent in the job market.
At Donalda Club, we hired some
great people from the airline industry.
The agreement is mutually beneficial; we
understand that working in airlines is their
career, but while most planes are grounded,
they can bring a wealth of customer service
expertise to the club for the summer.
With these strategies, you’ll maximize
the “right fit” to have a productive, engaged
team that you can be proud of.
Eric Sargent, CCM is the food and beverage
director at Donalda Club in Toronto, Ont.
pitinan/123rf
30 § The Canadian Society of Club Managers § www.cscm.org
/www.cscm.org
