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360 Assessments at Country Clubs
Many people do not think of country clubs like businesses. They are simply a place for the wealthy to spend frivolous money without a care in the world. This is a common misconception. The truth is county clubs are very much a business and should be treated as such. In fact, now more than ever country clubs need to treat themselves like a business and treat their people like their most important assets. A recent study shows a 20% drop in memberships at country clubs since the 1990’s. Yes, the pandemic has increased memberships due to golf and other country club activities being some of the few things allowed during the lockdowns, but the long-term challenges remain. The number one way to improve performance at any company or country club is through developing your most important asset, your people.
Common challenges country clubs face:
- Membership attrition
- Membership satisfaction
- Attracting new members
- Turnover of existing staff
- Hiring the right staff
- Perceived service challenges from membership
The truth is that working at a country club is not easy. Whether you are the General Manager or on the wait staff, members can be challenging at times. Just like in business, there are always the select few customers or members that are difficult to please. The skills necessary to accommodate the challenging members are unique and an absolute must for a successful country club. And making sure that your country club follows the standards that you expect starts with your leaders. Leaders within the club will have the biggest impact on each employee. So how do you ensure that your leaders have the skills and abilities to drive the behaviors and culture you want?
Every little detail matters.
Country clubs serve members who have a lot of experience with exceptional service. They also have experience with a lot of other clubs through member guest tournaments and the like which means it is easy to compare their own club against their friends. In addition to the golf courses, Oakmont is known for its incredible pro shop service along with its showers in the men’s locker room which have enough water pressure to put you on the ground, The Grove XXIII (Michael Jordan’s golf course) is known for serving drinks via Drones, Murfield Village is known for the milkshakes and well you get the idea. It could be a famous bartender who never forgets your name and order, or it could be a sandwich that cannot be bought anywhere else, clubs must have the service and edge that they will be remembered by. The very last thing any country club wants is for a member or a guest to remember a bad service experience.
How can 360 Assessments help Country Clubs build better performing leadership teams?
The answer here really is a simple one – Country Clubs are only as good as their people. By using 360 assessments, country clubs can build leadership skills in their people. 360-degree feedback is a terrific way to start the development process for General Managers, Associate General Managers, Membership Directors as well as many other front-line leaders.
Benefits 360 Assessments bring to Country Club’s when implemented correctly:
1. The best depiction of overall performance.
360-degree feedback looks at a leader from all perspectives. In the case of a country club this could include the leader themselves, their manager, their direct reports and even the membership. The result is a true look at the focal participants overall performance.
2. A Benchmark or “starting point” for individual development.
360 feedback is a great way to benchmark a leader beginning of an overall development plan. This allows the country club to measure the impact of any development work that the leader is completing. In other words, if you do not know where you are at the start of the development process how can you figure out if the development efforts were successful.
3. Hidden strengths are unhidden.
One of the great benefits of 360 assessments is uncovering hidden strengths that leaders may have. A good example of this could be when a front-line leader at the halfway house scores exceptionally high in customer service. This would be helpful for the General Manager to know when thinking about other areas of the club that might be struggling with perceived service issues – perhaps moving this person to that area of the club could make a significant difference.
4. Behavior changes needs.
Ultimately, 360 assessments report on areas of needed improvement when it comes to the person behavior who is being reviewed. A quality feedback report also allows each participant to understand why certain results exist and helps supply a road map for going forward.
360 Assessments supply country club is a systematic way of developing their leaders. When the 360 reviews are combined with true development processes such as coaches/mentors, the results can be extraordinary. The true growth begins once the 360-feedback report has been discussed and the development plan is put in place. Be sure to implement a system of development along with 360 assessment that allows for those behavior changes to take place. We have seen several clubs use 360 assessments twice a year simply to see how they are doing against their original goals.
For Country Club’s, 360 Assessment can truly be a game changer!
Related Resource: 360 Feedback – Your Complete Guide
Related Blog Post: 360 Feedback – How Coaching can Improve the Process Exponentially
