Kampgrounds of America Inc. (KOA) focused on employment issues during its IdeaXchange on Wednesday (Nov. 16) afternoon at KOA’s International Convention in Orlando, Fla.
KOA invited four different speakers to give TED-Talk-style speeches that focused on different thoughts about how campground owners should approach hiring and keeping workers.
Speakers included:
- William Henry, founder and CEO of Be Better World
- Yolawnda Henry, vice president of human resources at KOA
- Glenna Hecht, founder of Humanistic Consulting and a well known speaker
- Erika Purington, executive director of organizational development at KOA
William and Yolawnda, a husband and wife team, focused on William’s journey of working for Yolawnda at a young age and how an organization should create a culture that evaluates the needs of an employee and how they can fill gaps in an organization’s structure — ensuring that an employee feels valued and wants to stay.
Utilizing the acronym “Exploring,” William spoke about his needs as a new employee and what he was looking for when he first started at the company Yolawanda was already working for.
- Expectations: “I had to think about what I wanted and what they needed.”
- X-Ray: “Employers need to examine their current practices, policies and procedures and create a culture that attracts workers.”
- People: “This is your most important asset. You want to communicate a great culture to potential employees. Are you treating your current employees like they should be treated so that they communicate that?”
- Limits: “Everyone has limits and we need to face those. When recruiting I try to supplement needs that I don’t have. What are you missing?”
- Opportunities: “What opportunities exist in your community that you aren’t taking advantage of when it comes to recruiting people?”
- Reassigning: “What do you offer to keep employees? They might have more to offer than what you realized when you first hired them.”
- Ignite: “What are you doing for your staff to ignite the fire? You want to give them opportunities to become extensions of you and keep that fire burning.”
- Nurture: “If you nurture relationships with employees you will see a better return on investment.”
- Grace: “Provide yourself some grace as you go through change.”
Yolawnda spoke about some of the ways she had to change her mindset so that she could keep employees like William. She utilized the acronym “Outdoors.”
- Obvious: “We needed to change and realign our mindset so that we wouldn’t lose talent.”
- Understand: “We needed to understand the market, employee concerns and needs. People want to feel like a part of the team and hiring is expensive.”
- Team: “Together everyone achieves more. You want to create an experience that no one will ever want to leave. Be vulnerable as a leader and be willing to ask for help.”
- Direct: “Set expectations and allow employees to be honest. You want to make sure it is a good fit for everyone.”
- Obstacles: “People leave bad managers, not organizations. Figure out how to remove obstacles.”
- Objective: “You want people-centric objectives. Everybody that touches your park should all leave as ambassadors of your park.”
- Room to Improve: “It is OK to hire people that are smarter than you. We hire people because we are not all good at everything.”
- Success: “How do you measure success? Look to pay more, listen more and build better relationships. Focus on ‘stay interviews’ and tell them that you want them and that you want to know how to keep them.”
For her part, Hecht focused on the question, “Would you work for you?”
She highlighted that people need to be willing to change in order to grow and progress as leaders.
She highlighted five skills:
- Aware: Do you observe, listen connect and relate?
- Accountable: Are you consistent with every camper and team member? Are you patient with people?
- Available: Are you paying attention and willing to take the time to talk about issues?
- Authentic: Are you honest and vulnerable? Are you willing to admit when you are wrong? “When you admit mistakes, your team will more readily admit when they make some too.”
- Adaptable: Are you willing to change? “The way you deal with the problem is more important than the problem itself.”
Purington wrapped up the session by encouraging attendees to embrace “courage.”
She highlighted the fact that employers need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
“The workforce has dramatically changed,” she noted. “Nothing can be the same and it requires a tremendous amount of change. The workforce is looking for creative leaders and you need to have the courage to embrace new ideas and ways of doing things.”
KOA is set to wrap up a busy week at its International Convention today (Nov. 17) with a full day of expo events, including small expo workshops that tackle topics like Wi-Fi, insurance, satellite TV and more.
Later tonight, KOA will host its final night celebration dinner and its Care Camps Auction.
To learn more about KOA, click here.
