Staffing Cancel The title field is required!

1. Mark Van Lienden

   

   14 posts
   
   6/29/2019 6:06 AM

   I have been a superintendent for forty five years now and this year has been the hardest year ever to find help. I am working part time to train someone to take my place at a small home town type country club and I have advertised national, Craigslist, two local associations and local papers with one application in 4 months. Some of the ads I didn't mention pay just to see if there was any interest.But even harder just finding some one to work in pro shop 3 months one application asked what the job intails, bring down carts collect money wash and put back carts....no thanks. Even lifeguards for the pool almost no response. We are in low income coal country I was just wondering if people in other parts of the country are finding it hard to find people to work?

   
   
   
   
2. Melvin Waldron

   

   43 posts
   
   6/30/2019 8:06 AM

   We have definitely seen a decline in applications, almost all are high school (we can't hire under 18, well we can, but they can't do much for us) and college students or retirees. We're in a decent sized city with a couple of colleges, (160,000). We raised our pay rates a couple of years ago to $10 to start. Hard to compete when convenience stores are starting at $12. The state unemployment rate right now is at 3.3%.
   
   Our minimum wage is now at $8.60 an hour, higher then our surrounding states of Kansas, Oklahoma, Illinois, and Iowa, but lower than Arkansas. Also voted in at the last election, the people passed it to go up .85 cents a year until it reached $12 an hour in 2023. The legislature is trying to change it, despite the citizens voting it in. I know some of of us in our industry are not happy about it, not so much paying the minimum at $12, but what will we pay our full-time operators? We used to have 8 steps, but now new hires start at step 3 for us, $13.34 per hour and top out at $17.85 an hour, plus good benefits.
   
   Mel

   
   Melvin H. Waldron III, CGCS, Horton Smith Golf Course, City of Springfield/Greene County MO
   
   
3. Christopher Thuer

   

   101 posts
   
   7/5/2019 7:07 PM

   We had to increase our starting wage to $11 per hour a couple seasons ago. This gets us competitive with other entry level positions like fast food and others. Still behind the lawn and landscape operations, construction, etc. The last 2 years we did receive much more interest in open positions than when we were starting at $9.
   
   To make it work with the budget, which has increased by $25k, or just over 5%, since 2002, we had to alter spring start and fall end dates for a few positions. I am more inclined to call the staff off before they head in if the day looks like a washout rather than have everyone automatically go in then wait for a couple hours before making the call to send them home. Also will delay their arrival and let them sleep an extra couple hours if it is raining but it looks like we could get out later. Much more tolerant toward absences or early departures for Dr., dentist, etc. I also no longer staff a true assistant but promoted a seasoned staffer to foreman to back me up when I am away, which in season really doesn't happen. That person is paid a little more than the others but not as much as the assistant was paid.
   
   This season we had 1 new hire. All but 1 returned from last season, and he moved out of state to get a job related to his degree, geology.

   
   Chris Thuer, CGCS, Bear Slide Golf Club, Cicero, IN