Return on investment: How to motivate your maintenance staff

One of the most challenging parts of a golf course superintendent’s job has nothing to do with turfgrass management. It’s building a strong team of employees that you trust and that wants to stay with you for extended periods of time. Maintaining a consistent, trained staff is crucial to your success as a superintendent because you and your operation are only as good as your weakest link.

It’s well known in our business that the positions on our maintenance crews are not the highest paid positions, and it is extremely difficult to support a family on these wages regardless of what part of the country you live in.

So for the sake of this column, let’s assume you have finally secured an awesome staff of employees, and for all intents and purposes your maintenance operation is clicking along on all cylinders. The key now is how to motivate them to stay with you and continue to be productive, particularly during a hot growing season that drags on and ultimately zaps their energy and production.

Depending on where you’re located, this can be difficult, and it takes some serious thought and dedication on the part of management at any golf course.

Most important is to give your employees, who are working hard for you, the necessary resources to succeed, survive and thrive while they’re working outdoors in trying weather conditions. They need the proper uniforms and equipment to protect them from the sun and/or cold, as well as proper protection as they work around high-powered equipment that can be dangerous if not taken seriously. They need hats, gloves, sunscreen and protective footwear, depending on their specific job.

We all know these employees get up early in the morning and run high-powered hydraulic equipment in adverse conditions, sometimes six or seven days a week. It’s not an easy job.

Just as important as giving them the resources they need to succeed is giving them the respect and appreciation that is many times more important to employees than their hourly wage. These maintenance employees truly are the lifeblood of your team. So how do you do this?

Some of the following have been successful for me:

• Regular company-paid-for lunches.
• Holiday gift certificates.
• Golf hats/shirts with the golf course logo so they can wear them with pride.
• End-of-the-year golf outing for employees only.
• Additional training for employees who show a penchant for promotion.
• Promote-from-within opportunities.
• Hand-written thank you notes.
• The old fashioned pat-on-the-back for a job well done.
• Public recognition in front of other team members or in the course newsletter.

We too often get caught up in our own worlds, specific jobs, board of directors, etc., and we forget to thank and recognize these members of our team. It doesn’t matter if you operate maintenance year-round in the southern portion of the United States or if you’re in the northern region and use seasonal staff during the summer, it is critical to keep staff motivated. The fact is, almost all courses operate on some kind of year-round basis, albeit in some cases with a limited staff.

Neglecting to show appreciation for your staff most likely will result in excessive turnover and reduced production. It also makes it extremely difficult to manage your staff to its full potential.

There are many things you can do to constantly motivate your employees that don’t cost a great deal of money. Include these as budgeted line items. It’s that important, and it can provide a huge return on investment with relatively minimal expense.