Measuring Success

Golf Course News, Jun 2004 by Blais, Peter

ESTABLISHING AN EMPLOYEE EVALUATION SYSTEM HELPS SUPERINTENDENTS MANAGE STAFF AND IDENTIFY LEADERS

Pinehurst grounds and golf course manager Bob Farren, CGCS, oversees eight courses and 800 acres of turf-everything that "grows or flows"-at the fabled North Carolina resort. Farren also is responsible for a staff of 230 people, and like the other department managers at Pinehurst, which employs about 1,200 workers, he reviews the job performance of his staff at regular, prescribed intervals.

"Employee reviews are very important, whether you are a small organization of 12 people or, as in our case, a staff of 1,200," he says. "It is a formality to make sure people are treated consistently and fairly throughout the organization."

Fair and consistent treatment, coupled with appropriate feedback generated during employee reviews, helps employers attract and retain their most talented workers.

"It is either part of your culture or it isn't," says David Hayslette, senior vice president of human resources for ClubCorp's Pinehurst Resort Co.

Hayslette is responsible for personnel functions at Pinehurst, The Homestead in hot Springs, Va.; Barton Creek in Austin, Texas; and Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio.

"Great employees have the option of being able to take their skills elsewhere," he says. "If you want to attract and retain those top-quality employees, you need to develop an environment where they get feedback. Then, you need to make sure they know where they stand. Top-quality employees won't be satisfied with going through the motions."

Overseeing it all

Farren has been at Pinehurst since 1983. He was the superintendent at courses No. 2 and No. 4 before becoming assistant to Brad Kocher, CGCS, vice president of golf course management for Pinehurst Resort Co., in 1986. In the fall of 2000, Pinehurst promoted Farren from assistant director of golf course management to his current position. Farren also serves as vice chairman of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America's career development committee.

The task for Farren and his staff is a monumental one. Among the eight courses is Pinehurst No. 2, the Donald Ross-designed course that successfully hosted the 1999 U.S. Open, which was won by Payne Stewart, and which is the site of the 2005 U.S. Open. There are 230 acres of fairways, 144 greens, 432 tees and more than 500 bunkers to be maintained throughout the eight courses. Farrens staff also is responsible for 22 acres of hotel and clubhouse grounds, a park, eight putting greens, three croquet courts, marina grounds, a lawn bowling area, a 10,000-square-foot bentgrass nursery and a 17,000-square-foot greenhouse.

Farren's overall $6.!-million budget includes about $4 million of payroll. Among the full- and part-time staff, 155 of them are for course maintenance, 25 are for grounds, 30 are for the maintenance center and two are for administration. In addition, there are a number of part-timers performing various duties.

Reviews for new, hourly staff

Course superintendents conduct formal, inoffice evaluations of their assistants and all hourly employees 90 days after they're hired. Annual reviews are required after that. Both evaluation forms note: "An honest and accurate appraisal of performance is vital to self-esteem, motivation, efficiency and improvement within the individual's current position." It directs managers to devote enough time for the review-usually about 30 minutes, according to Farren-to ensure useful feedback is given.

The 90-day evaluation directs superintendents to use a scale of one (the lowest) through five (the highest) to rate the individual's general performance level in many areas. The first section addresses six skills and behaviors, including safety, compliance of policies, attendance/punctuality, quality of work, cooperation/adaptability and job knowledge. The six ratings are totaled and divided by six to yield an average rating. The second section of the 90-day report asks supervisors and employees to list specific goals to be attained by the annual review date.

Although not guaranteed, the evaluation usually results in a slight increase of the hourly rate for new hires. The average rating, which might be something like a 3.8 or a 4.2, is compared to a matrix to determine what pay-increase percentage an employee receives. If someone hasn't performed well enough to merit an increase at that point, that might be the time to say, "This job isn't really for you," and then part ways, Farren says.

ClubCorp is careful not to label the initial three months as a probationary period.

"We don't want people to feel they are under the gun those first 90 days," Farren says. "The evaluation enables us to develop a score sheet of their success to that point. For example, we can see what equipment they have been trained on and obtain an update of where they are in terms of job skills."

Regular annual review use ratings to describe the individual's general performance level in many of the same areas as the 90-day review. The highest rating ("world class") is overachieved expectation, which is described as performance unquestionably above established expectations. For an employee to receive this rating it must be documented with detailed explanations by the reviewer. The next rating ("role model") notes that the employee achieved 100-percent of expectations, described as "performance sometimes exceeding but consistently meeting established expectations." Next is "meeting minimum expectations," which acknowledges the potential for greater contributions. The bottom two ratings are "needs significant improvement" and "did not meet expectations."