Facilities - Supplies - People

The Art of Hiring and Firing

By Rod Heckelman

Finding the perfect employee for any position at your facility is one of a manager’s most interesting and challenging tasks. It’s a commitment that must be taken seriously, and to be successful, like most tasks, you need a game plan.

Start by understanding the position you are trying to fill by asking these few questions:

• What would be the optimum characteristics of that person who is about to fill that position?

• Is it a position that needs to maintain consistency with prior performance, or one that requires new energy and innovative ideas?

• Is it a position that will enable the employee to grow and evolve?

• How much of an impact does that position have on your business?

Normally, answering these questions first would provide you with a better roadmap for recognizing the type of person who will be best for the job. Still, there is one more question that is very important...will this individual have the unique social skills for working in our tennis industry, and do they have a background that understands and appreciates the emotional investment a member/customer will have when they join the club? That quality is what separates a facilities manager's task of hiring from most other businesses, so let’s get started on this process with that unique aspect in mind.

The method in which you advertise for this future employee can vary, but finding qualified people will require you to go beyond normal advertising methods. If the employment market is limited, the excellent ones are few and far between. Advertisements through the normal media will often result in getting responses from the last pickings. Because the tennis industry is currently experiencing growth in some areas and a slowdown in other areas, both factors will result in finding qualified people hard to come by. For this reason, it is important to always be on the lookout for future employees. Often, just from your day-to-day interaction in your community, you will come across people who make an impression on you. Get their name and stay in contact because these people may just be your best option.

When you start to hire, make sure you are making the decision based on the needs of your facility, not just your needs. Many people can interview very well and, as a consequence, be very impressive. At the end of that interview, you may be very taken by an individual's character and personality. This should not be the main criterion for hiring, but it is often a real trap that results in an eventual problem if they don’t fit in with your facility's needs. Ask them questions about how they would resolve issues with their co-workers. This type of question may show more of how they will work with others and not just how they will interact with you. Remember, it is crucial in our industry to hire those who will contribute to the environment you hope will enhance your facility, both in the efficiency and in the social atmosphere you want to create.

While interviewing, try to work toward having that person ask questions of you. You may find that you can learn a great deal more about someone from the questions they ask than you can from just the questions they answer. You may need to evaluate and speculate on the potential of an interviewee. In the long run, it can be beneficial to hire a person whom you feel you can mold into the employee you desire. This is a judgment call, but it can be very rewarding and longer-lasting. Hiring an extremely qualified person is great, but it can also be short-lived if the job is not challenging enough or does not have many growth and advancement opportunities.

Another mistake managers make is favoring hiring people who are too supportive and not challenging enough. Surrounding yourself with “yes” people can prove disastrous. Hire people who are comfortable questioning your decisions. The result will be that these new hires will give you a balance in your decision-making, as well as possibly coming up with new ideas that may be better than what you had planned. In addition, when they see that you are willing to accept their ideas and implement them, they become more confident in their role at your facility.

Lastly, you must ensure that the information you gather when you hire someone is as comprehensive as possible. You also must cover all the legal questions that may arise in the hiring process. Your employee application should cover everything.

Once hired, the training begins. Training is again as individual as there are facilities. You should have at least these three inputs: your manuals, your hands-on training, and your evaluations or reviews, all of which require a lot of paperwork. Keeping records and noting the progress of an employee is very important. You may know what you want accomplished, but do they? Never assume and never avoid. When issues arise, approach them directly and without apprehension. Try not to let your preparation for addressing any issue result in an unnecessary delay. It’s one thing to be prepared, but don’t let this preparation result in avoiding this task. Address the new employee straight up and without emotion. In the long run, they will come to appreciate that fact that you are honest and up front.

A good employee wants to perform well. Your job as a manager is to help them accomplish that goal. This is why you want to both document their progress and also provide yourself with notes and memos that reflect their achievements. Having this private information becomes more and more important if you have a large staff. It also helps in never forgetting the advances any employee has made over the years.

Another benefit of keeping records is that it gives you information about how to better train future employees for that position. Your records should evolve to keep your training procedure flexible and in tune with the times. A business that takes pride in evolving will need both history and a forward vision that is harmonious with the operations' mission statement.

How often you review your employees is up to you, and again largely determined by the nature of the facility. Employees look forward to reviews, which they often see as potential moments that may incur a raise. This is another reason to have bi-annual reviews; the more often the reviews, the more likely the conversation will be about performance. Once again, make sure you leave plenty of time for that employee to ask you questions. This will result in an exchange of helpful information and provide a time for them to express their opinions and goals. This exchange will often lead to them initiating actions, instead of you initiating new tasks for them. If they have concerns about how something is operating in the facility, this may be the perfect opportunity to have them address that very issue as part of their growth in their job. Keep an open mind; you’re a manager, not a despot. The employee will hopefully become a trusted person who shows real interest in bettering themselves and their performance. When that is not the case, reviews will become very important.

When you let a person go, you need the backup of proper and complete documentation. Make sure you know the state laws that govern termination. Proper notification and documentation can save you from ugly legal issues. Once again, when you have an employee who is not performing, review all of the issues carefully and then act on them directly. Don’t beat around the bush; get the job done efficiently to avoid any uncomfortable interaction. Dragging out the dismissal of an employee is harmful to everyone involved.

One of the issues of this industry that plays a role when releasing an employee is the relationship an employee has developed with the customers, which in this case is often the membership. Your staff will often become very close to your membership, and many personal relationships will naturally develop. It’s not easy letting an employee go who many of your members may have befriended. Facilities are like fish bowls; everything that takes place is very transparent and public. This is another example that makes our industry unique. This is all the more reason that you need to handle these decisions discreetly and quickly. The longer you drag out these decisions, the more the rumor mill goes into motion. Your decision may not be popular, but being a manager is not about being popular; it’s about being responsible for how the facility operates.

Finally, creating trust and honesty with your employees is both an act of performance and of communication. Let your employees know when they perform well, and don’t hesitate to express your appreciation of their input. False glorification is not helpful, and it lends to a dishonest relationship. Being consistent in your approach and your philosophy as a manager will make you much more approachable.

All of these interactions you have with your staff are not just about the relationship you have with them, but also will help produce a better and enjoyable working environment. At the end of the day, that is very important; it helps you transcend your facility from just being a business to being a club made of people, where both employees and members enjoy their time spent at the facility. That’s the magic that helps create an atmosphere that will foster a very successful business with a great reputation. Can you think of any other quality that would help retain staff and attract new members?