Turning the tide: dive into how the city of Omaha pooled its resources to beat its water woes

Parks & Recreation, August, 2004 by Kimberly S. Harman, Cheryll A. Peterson-Brachle

Formation of an Aquatic Team

In 1997, seven full-time recreation staff members were assigned to work year-round to improve the aquatic program.

The first step was to establish and rewrite the operational manuals. Along with the Policies and Procedures Manual, an in-service training program was developed, Emergency Action Plan devised, Crisis Team formulated, Injured on Duty procedures developed, and program manuals for Learn to Swim and Recreational Swim League were also developed and initiated prior to opening season. These manuals are reviewed and revised annually.

Once policies and procedures were in place, staff had to be recruited. The newly developed Aquatic Team felt that the best way to recruit lifeguards was to begin with training more lifeguards. In 1996, the city offered nine lifeguard training classes, while in 20O3, that number had risen to 33 classes that were offered. Possible candidates are recruited from each of these classes. Other recruitment techniques included interviewing during school breaks, placing personal phone calls to trained citizens, and mailing ads to past employees, local schools, colleges, swim coaches and community leaders. Finally, an inner-city lifeguard recruitment plan was implemented in 2001, and during the first year of this program Omaha hired 33 percent more employees from those identified areas.

Changing employee attitudes was the final step. This bad to start from the director to the part-time staff. Creating a professional image and attitude within the aquatic team started by providing full-time employees with additional training opportunities. Each aquatic team member became a certified pool operator, lifeguard certified and lifeguard instructors. The seasonal staff began to see that the aquatic team was professional, they cared about the program and they could walk the talk. Thus, employees began to buy in to the new philosophy.

To improve the seasonal employee's performance, a comprehensive training program was developed and implemented. The first step started with a pre-service training for all staff. This consisted of both classroom and pool time. Other training included:

* Weekly, one hour training sessions;

* Weekly, emergency training drills;

* Weekly conditioning; and

* Weekly, aquatic-related articles that staff were required to read.

Equipment and supply purchases were a necessary step. Prior to 1997, seasonal staff was not provided with the proper equipment to do their jobs. Simple things such as office supplies and change funds were needed to improve operations.

Staff and customer safety was the next hurdle that needed to be overcome by Omaha. Currently, five facilities have full-time police officers assigned to work during all hours of operation. At a cost of $68,000 in 2003, this safety precaution has improved the reputation of these facilities, and it is no longer difficult to hire employees to work at these locations.

In 2001, the City Ordinance for a Living Wage was passed and went into effect. Lifeguard wages rose from $6.80 to $9.01. This resulted in having 70 percent of the staff return in 2001. This ordinance was repealed in 2002, but fortunately for the aquatic program, the city council recognized that higher wages improved the quality of service and wages remained the same in 2002. For 2004, 72 percent returned for the season.