Attracting and retaining staff with the Turf Business Summit
The professional Turfcare industry is a robust sector, made up of many specialities and pockets of unique skillsets. The industry is so broad, encapsulating so many sports and surfaces that professionals are often left questioning how much these different specialities have in common. One thing that unites them, however, is the industry wide challenge of attracting and retaining staff.
The Turf Business Summit is renowned for addressing challenges within the industry as well as promoting growth and development. The event prides itself on being for Turfcare professionals, with an agenda set by Turfcare professionals. And the 2023 Summit, nestled on the French Rivera, was no different.
Tasked with finding a valuable solution to ‘attracting and retaining staff’ within the industry, one of the Summit workshop groups proposed a wide-spread media campaign. Comprised of Turfcare professionals, the group included Stuart Kerrison, head Groundsman at Essex Cricket, who played a pivotal role in developing the BRADS scheme, a now well-established scheme originating from discussions across previous Turf Business Summits.
Reflecting on a general lack of awareness that surrounds the Turfcare industry, the group’s solution focused on a promotional video that could be distributed world-wide, highlighting opportunities as well as raising the profile of the industry.
Although, the proposals are at this point just ideas for expanding the industry, and are not currently live projects, the groups were tasked with presenting the project in as much depth as possible, factoring in funding, a time plan and how the success of the proposal would be measured.
With an undetermined amount of funding being required for this proposal, the group emphasised that it would rely more heavily on organisational support from industry governing bodies, such as BIGGA and the GMA, should it become a live initiative. Leveraging the influence of the high-profile figures within the sports industry, the aim is to generate widespread awareness, attracting new people to the industry.
The idea is centralised around a general lack of awareness surrounding the turf industry, a discussion that is recurring throughout The Summit and similar events. With a focus on highlighting the industry itself, the high-profile video would show the many highlights and opportunities that the industry provides, such as international travel and working within sports at the highest level.
The group, made up of professionals in the Turfcare industry themselves, share the belief that increasing the awareness of the industry, would directly increase the numbers of people applying for positions. Believing that it is not that people do not want to get into the industry, they are simply not aware of it.
Closely linked to attracting and retaining staff, another group within The Summit were focusing their attentions on career development. Naming their initiative, the ‘Extra pathway of opportunity’. The ongoing idea once again utilises the governing bodies and industry standards to provide support.
Described as a ladder of progression, the idea takes an active approach to supporting staff through identifying opportunities and areas of development.
If the initiative was to be implemented the ongoing proposal would see regularly updated resources that target career progression, new opportunities within the industry as well as tools to advance knowledge for those already working within Turfcare.
Combined, the two workshop groups propose to create wider recognition of the Turfcare industry, encouraging people to join, while nurturing existing staff with career support and development facilitating improved team moral and performance, and in turn, retaining the staff that has been recruited.
The Turf Business summit continues to explore ways to make the industry better for everyone, creating a space that allows professionals to contribute to the expansion, improvement, and advancement of the Turcare industry.
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