Where Have All the Managers Gone?

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many managers left the hospitality industry, leaving a significant gap in the workforce. While some are returning from other sectors, the industry still needs over one million people in leisure and hospitality.?

With fewer employees and increasing customer demands, hospitality organizations have had to rethink their service delivery. However, many senior managers still use outdated tactics to fill positions rather than adopt a new approach.?

This presents an opportunity for private clubs, especially nonprofit member-owned clubs, to attract more managers by emphasizing the benefits of working in this sector. It’s time for the industry to shift its mindset and focus on creating and promoting the advantages of working in clubs.

Three-fold approach

1. Do whatever it takes to become the employer of choice in your area. Provide flexible schedules and a fair, equitable and transparent compensation plan. Change the way you schedule employees. Chick-fil-A made news recently by offering a three-day workweek. Are you scheduling and paying team members based on historically busy shifts? Most ride-sharing companies pay surge pricing. Clubs should change their pay structure to pay more when volume is high.
2. Provide a culture of learning and growing. Most managers need more education. Some managers have been overpromoted and overpaid since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. Complaining that these managers are not skilled and their pay is too high for their skill set doesn’t move the needle forward. The number one request from mid-level managers leaving an organization was more training, precise goals, clear objectives and a more attainable career path. You have to develop a training program for entry-level and mid-level employees that meets them where they are and teaches them in a way they learn.
3. Recognize that even if you are exceptional with No. 1 and No. 2, good people will leave your organization.?

I have the pleasure of speaking with students and student chapters of the Club Management Association of America (CMAA). The number one challenge students mention is how difficult the club job market is. Are you doing everything possible to leverage this fantastic talent base??

?The top challenge we hear from young managers looking to progress in the industry is the disparity in pay. They feel they are underpaid at their existing club. When I speak to club leaders, both paid and volunteer, they tell me they can’t afford to increase staff pay. Most mid-level managers feel they can only be fairly compensated by leaving their club for a higher-paying job.?

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Education and coaching

We are seeing a significant shift toward internal education and coaching. If your club has an internal education and coaching program, promote it. It shows a commitment that should place your club as an employer of choice in the region (if not nationally). If your club isn’t set up for internal education and coaching and you don’t have the time or resources to build an internal program, you must go outside the organization to gain these services.?

Trends in internal education – Microlearning, technology and gamification

1. Microlearning is presented in small bursts and is easily digestible. Microlearning classes can be bundled to provide depth and breadth of new information.
2. Technology allows education to happen anywhere anytime, allowing the club to meet employees where they are.
3. Gamification is popular with younger employees. Tying learning to a fun reward is easier with a consistent and automated rewards program.

The advantage of an internal education platform is the ability to customize the education to your brand and culture. The advantage of outsourcing education is quick deployment to your team.

The club industry has a lot to offer employees. Hard work and dedication can provide a stable work environment with exceptional benefits. We owe it to the next generation to improve our processes and build programs that ensure a steady pipeline of new employees while leveraging our skills to keep as many good employees as possible.