People are the key drivers of success in all facets of private club operations. Without a staff that works together as a team, it is nearly impossible to achieve success. With the constant changing of the workforce, it is imperative that a club has a strong human resources function, not only to help attract the right individuals to the club but to serve as a major player in the retention of employees.
A rule of thumb is that every private club should have a human resource professional either on staff or available to assist the club as a consultant. Ideally, clubs with over 100 employees should have a full-time HR professional on staff. Smaller clubs could perform this multifaceted function by using a consultant, or at the very least, a part-time HR professional. In any event, human resources should not be relegated to the accounting/finance department as it is today in a lot of cases and has been in the past.
In today’s progressive companies and organizations, human resources has a seat at the table and reports to the CEO. In private club environments, this would equate to reporting to the General Manager. There are so many roles an HR Director and deepartment can play:
If you’re running a private club, or you sit on the board and oversee operations, ask yourself if your club possesses a capable person or persons who can perform these functions in a fair and equitable manner.
As human resources continues to grow in complexity and importance in all organizations – including the private club and hospitality industry – selecting a leader to manage this department is increasingly important.
The Society for Human Resource Management, (SHRM) has continued to grow and provide continuing education and certification for HR professionals. More and more HR managers in hospitality have become active members of SHRM and provide more professional skills and training for their roles in clubs and resorts.
Jay Salem, Chief Operating Officer, and Scott McNett, Senior Principal, co-authored this blog.
In addition to his role with GSI Executive Search, Jay is a Partner and Human Capital Leader with Ethos Club and Leisure. He has over 40 years of experience running large human resource organizations as well as consulting in profit and nonprofit companies. If you have any questions or need assistance in fine-tuning your HR function, email Jay or call him at 214-533-5165.
