The latest research of The R&A and Sports Marketing Surveys (SMS) found that the total number of golfers has increased to 66.6 million from 61 million over the last five years, surpassing the previous high mark of 61.6 million set in 2012.
The 2021 European Golf Participation Report found more than 10.6 million golfers playing full-length courses on the continent, an increase from 7.9 million in 2016.
So, it is clear from what I heard at the 2021 GCMA National Conference (UK) that several golf clubs had to re-introduce the waiting list to manage the increased demand for golf club membership.
The big question now is how we can help our employees deal effectively with the new situation and how we can create an attractive technological environment for our employees that makes their jobs easier.
This is an even more relevant question in today’s war for talent, where employees are more selective in choosing to join or stay with an employer.
I know from my personal experience how frustrated we can be if we as employees have to work with tools that are cumbersome to use and that slow you down in your job.
Talent Management & Technology
Technology is what we use to communicate, collaborate, and actually get our jobs done.
Technology is what helps enable much of the future of work and employee experience. Jacob Morgan – in The Employee Experience Advantage book – recommends creating a great technological environment for employees; organizations (e.g. golf clubs) need to focus on the following major characteristics:
- Availability for everyone,
- Consumer grade technology,
- Employee needs versus business requirements.
By making the technological tool available for everyone, you are demonstrating a commitment to driving innovation, collaboration, and communication across your organization.
I would advise to be as transparent as you can with the new technology decisions and deployments.
I would implement and use such a tool(s) that can help employees be more engaged and informed on a mobile, user-friendly platform.
Why on a mobile platform?
Here are some interesting findings of the App Annie State of Mobile 2021 study:
- Daily time spent on mobile applications: 4,2 hours per user (=20% YoY growth);
- Mobile ad spend is $240B (=26% YoY growth);
- New app downloads: $218B (=7% YoY growth);
- Americans spend 8% more on their mobiles than watching live TV (3,7 hours/day)!
- Even Baby Boomers & Generation X spend more time on their mobiles: Baby Boomers spent 30% more time YoY, respectively, in their most-used apps.
- 30% YoY increase – time spent on shopping apps
Above I recommended using consumer-grade technology. This means offering technology solutions your employees are already familiar with. E.g., using smartphones for various purposes (e.g. chatting, shopping, connecting, etc.).
As a result of the familiarity with the tool, they will be more likely to adopt it. In addition, most of golf club employees don’t sit in front of their computer during their shift or working hours.
This is why I recommend using Beekeeper, the leading HR mobile communication and collaboration platform. It will help you to connect with your entire golf club/golf resort workforce (whether active or furloughed) in real-time.
The Beekeeper can help you to:
- Enable secure peer-to-peer and cross-departmental collaboration.
- Push updates and changing operating procedures in real time to relevant teams — they can confirm receipt in one click. For instance, you will be able to post “how-to” videos to quickly train employees on new operating procedures.
- Reach all employees at every location, in their preferred language.
This article was brought to you by Beekeeper.