Prior to working with Golf HR Pyecombe Golf Club dealt with staff issues and management through a number of sources. These included a member of the management committee who used to work in the HR industry. When they did have occasion for more formal support, this was dealt with through their insurance company.
“I did feel that much of this was very ad hoc and reactive rather than having pro-active processes in place. I felt there was a lack of processes and documentation as well as inconsistencies and incomplete knowledge. This was fine until there were any issues to deal with,” says Alan Davey, Club Manager.
“Dealing with the staff side of running the club felt like a bit of a minefield and it did take up a lot of our time which could have been better spent on other things, like golf!
“I attended a GCMA meeting at the end of 2013 where Carolyne of Golf HR was giving a talk on potential HR issues in the (golf) workplace. As with many of these talks I was initially sceptical about the talk and also felt pleased that I seemed to know a lot of the answers to the questions that were posed. However, I was aware that I had frustrations with our processes and the time taken to manage the HR issues and felt the offer Carolyne had on the day represented really good value. It was a good investment to help professionalise the club and provide us with the contracts and systems we needed to achieve this.
“My requirements were simple, improve our contracts, consistency in dealing with our staff and access to up to date knowledge.
“Our biggest challenge when starting to work with Golf HR was gathering all the information together based on our current situation. This was something that took a lot of time but the benefit was that we ended up with a complete audit of everything we did in terms of paperwork and processes as they stood. Carolyne gave us tight deadlines which encouraged us to get all of this done and ready for Golf HR to incorporate into our new manuals.
The benefits of working with Golf HR have been primarily around having peace of mind. I have someone who can hold my hand through any challenges as well as clear and simple processes that reflect current HR legislation. Carolyne is very good at getting back to us when we need her advice and I now feel our staff members are looked after in the right way. This brings us confidence when recruiting or managing them on a day to day basis.
Alan Davey