Even the most traditional clubs are looking to break away from how-we’ve-always-done-it approaches, while others are making extra efforts to develop exclusive distinctions that only they can provide to members and guests.
Putting together our annual Ideas Issue is not only one of the most enjoyable things we do each year, it also affords a good opportunity to get a fresh read on the management and operating priorities that are now guiding the staffs at club and resort properties.
Based on the latest collection of innovative concepts that we present in the June 2015 issue—plus many more that we didn’t have room for in this issue, but will plan to feature on our regular “Idea Exchange” page in the future—these seem to be some of the most notable current influences on how management teams are planning and executing programs and activities for their memberships and guests:
• Embracing popular culture—Even the most established and traditional clubs, including The Country Club of Virginia, Baltusrol Golf Club, Town & Country Club and Congressional Country Club, are looking to break away from standard, how-we’ve-always-done-it approaches to events, to generating new excitement built around buzz from trending phenomena such as Mad Men, the Grateful Dead’s 50th anniversary and zombie mania, and “Tough Mudder”competitions.
• Developing true signature spins—Going well beyond just having a popular dish or drink, clubs are now making extra efforts to become known for having special, and exclusive, distinctions that only they can provide to their members and guests, including in-house microbreweries, full lines of healthy meals and flavorings, exercise programs, cosmetics and transportation services.
• Extending family outreach—It’s not enough anymore to just give lip service to being family-friendly. A real and ongoing commitment is required, and with that comes a need to understand what the full definition of “family”can be, as well as of all that it takes to properly accommodate what all members of a family need to have their clubs provide through “family” events. As this month’s highlighted discussion from C&RB’s LinkedIn group emphasizes, clubs are discovering, as they succeed in attracting new families to their memberships, that just trying to rely on old standbys like gingerbread house-making and clowns who make balloon animals won’t go nearly far enough to meet what today’s family units are looking to get from their club affiliations.
• Going well beyond attaboys and the suggestion box—Much of what we sifted through this year, when looking for potential content for this issue, reflected a significant raising of the bar in how clubs are looking to boost morale, build teamwork, reward exemplary performance and generate productive ideas that not only lead to real improvements in service and operations, but also tangible, positive effects on the bottom line. In future issues we’ll present examples such as The Country Club of Virginia’s employee pie-eating contest and its own internal version of an Idea Fair, through its “Evolution to Excellence” initiative, that even included the creation of a new life-size, lightbulb-shaped employee mascot, “Watts,” who was introduced as the club’s new “Creativity Coordinator.”
We’ll also highlight Town & Country Club’s “I’m Kind of a Big Deal” recognition program—notable not only for the inspiration it drew from Will Ferrell’s unctuous Ron Burgundy character in Anchorman, but also because it was designed specifically to reward seasonal employees, who can be critical to service and operational excellence during clubs’ busiest periods, but are often shortchanged when it comes to proper management attention and recognition.
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