b'BY RON BARGERCreating a Great CompanyCulture Can Work to Attractand Retain EmployeesNumbers from the U.S. Bureau of try for Starbucks with about 6,000 em-LaborStatistics in2019showedthe ployees and was the head of HR forleisure and hospitality industry, which Brinker Concepts as well. consists of accommodations, food serv- Hecht believes that a strong back-ices, arts, entertainment and recreation, ground in HR should include the abilityhired more than 1.1 million people na- to relate to people of many different lev-tionwide. els. To me the most important role inThe report showed a significant in- anorganizationisadishwasherorcrease over the previous year and is il- housekeeper, because obviously with-lustrative of the tightening job market out them, wed be in trouble, right? shecampgroundandresortownersface said. What I always say is in this com-when looking for qualified workers. petitive market, you have to rehire peo- Well-trained, happy employees can give a parks customer service level a significant boost. In this competitive market, camp- ple every day of their career becausegroundownersandoperatorsmust they just have so many choices.Whats the work environment like? Is bodymayhaveworkedforanotheradopt employee attraction and reten- The interview process is key to the this the job you advertised? How do you campground,andsotheinterviewtion strategies along with business cul- success of any hire, Hecht noted. interview people systematically? These processbecomesminimized,Hechttural shifts to maintain the right team to Itsimperativethattheinterview are all questions the interviewer must noted. Then the person comes to workmake their businesses thrive. process is developed and honed before ask themselves to be ready to interview and does not fit the job they thoughtGlennaHecht,anaccomplished you ever go out and post ads to get the prospective employee.theyweregettingbecausethenewspeaker, trainer, con- somebodyinthatchair,shesaid. She stated that interviewing is an campground does it differently. sultant and author, as What are the jobs available? Whats the onerous task, but it is essential that its She believes attracting good peoplewell as a certified Sen- description?Whatsthetrainingin- consistent for every candidate that an starts with taking an internal inventoryiorProfessionalin volved? What job are you offering to that owner interviews.of what a company culture truly is andHumanResources person?Howmuchareyoupaying? What I often find happens is some- how that is perceived from outside the(SPHR), is backed by firm. 25 years in the field. ThebusinessshouldlookinitsGlenna Hecht She is well known to backyard to make sure they have an at-Kampgroundsof tractive business environment that peo-America Inc. (KOA) owners as she has plewillwanttoworkfor,shesaid.worked with several KOA owners and Make sure the business has strong val-presented educational sessions at the ues and treats people with respect andcompanyslasttwonationalconfer- is a great place to work for, and that youences. do what you say youre going to do withHecht cut her teeth in the human re- employees.Lookunderthehoodatsource (HR) business, handling organi- your engine first, because if you attractzationalproblemsformanylarge somebody and youre not who you saycompanies before hanging out her own you are, theyre not going to stay withshingle with her company, Humanistic you very long.Consulting.I was fortunate when I was workingIve been very blessed to have some Providing employees with bonuses or other amenities, like an employee retreat, can create with KOA that I had several franchiseeswonderful jobs and opportunities, she a positive culture at your park.reach out to me independently and askstated. I ran a good chunk of the coun- me if I could do some work with them,shared Hecht. One of the groups wonthe Campground of the Year award.They were very focused on How do wemake it fun? How do we grow peoplescareers? How do we nurture and mentorthem? What do we give them in the wayof benefits? Even if it may not be the tra-ditional medical benefits, what do wedo for them?Ashley Churchhandles HR for OceanCity, Md.-based Blue Water Hospitality,whichmanagessixcampgroundsandfive hotels overseeing700employeesdi-rectly and 1,100 em-ployees for its entireportfolio over the pastAshley Church three years. She believes in cre-ating a positive culture to attract theright employees in this competitive en-vironment.We take a holistic approach, saidChurch. We focus on our values and acommon theme, our passion, and ded-ication to what we are doing. That at-tractspeopleofasimilarnature.Inaddition, we do compensation studies,where we are looking at whether we arecompetitive in the marketplace fromthe salary and bonus perspective.She said proper compensation is apart of the companys culture, and BlueWater spends a lot of time and energybuilding benefit programs competitive26 -April 2020Woodalls Campground Management'