Hiring management staff is difficult. You have to find the right person, with the right experience, training and knowledge that will be a good fit for your organization’s culture. A good hire can mean lower costs, higher revenues, better employee morale and a safer environment for patrons. So how do you choose the best candidate for your organization?
You need someone with the right background knowledge. With the right background knowledge, the aquatic manager can be a resource to staff and the public. You’ll want to look for a number of the following certifications:
- Pool/Aquatic Operator Certifications – these can be obtained through multiple authorities and provide the basic knowledge for pool operations.
- Lifeguard and/ Lifeguard Instructor Certification – background knowledge in lifeguarding and training lifeguards
- Swim Instructor/ Instructor Trainer Certifications – background knowledge teaching swim lessons and training others to teach swim lessons
- Lifeguard Management
If they’ve made it to the interview, you probably have a good feel for their knowledge, and they meet the minimum requisites for the position. So what else do you look for? I look for 5 main qualities when I am hiring management positions.
- Customer Oriented
- Desire to learn/adapt
- Grit
- Honesty
- Leadership
Customer Oriented – I look for people with strong customer service backgrounds and drive. Ultimately whether people come back to your facility or your programs has everything to do with how well the staff treats the customer. Look for someone that will go the extra mile for your customer and is able to articulate the importance of exceptional customer service to other staff.
Desire to learn/adapt – Like most industries, aquatics is constantly changing. New training protocols are released almost annually, along with new research and equipment. Programs fall in an out of favor with the public. To provide the best service, your operator must have a desire to learn about the industry and apply that information to the aquatics operations.
Grit – grit is defined by Miriam Webster as “firmness of mind and spirit”. I see grit as the ability to try, fail, learn from that failure and try again. Leaders need to be able to take criticism from their superiors, the public and their subordinates. They need to be able to take that criticism and look at it constructively and act on it.
Honesty – Look for someone that has the strength of character to be honest when it’s hard to be. Everyone makes mistakes, but good leaders can be honest about them and move on, and their staff will move on with them. Lifeguards often have lots of options of who to work for. They will stay for a manager they respect and is honest with them.
Leadership – Look for someone that sees what they can do for their staff, not what the staff can do for them. According to the United States department of Labor, the Recreation industry has the highest turnover rate of all industries. Good managers can combat that by showing great leadership. Find someone who will frequently give credit when its due and hold people accountable.
I have seen the quote “People leave managers, not companies” a lot lately, and I think most people would say that its true. Look for an aquatic manager that is not only going to be able to bring the necessary knowledge to the position, but also the qualities that you want to see in your staff and in your organization.