SQUARE PEGS, ROUND HOLES - GOLF’S WORKFORCE CONUNDRUM: GATHER WHITE PAPER #2

Inertia is powerful.

Pre March 2020 (before the pandemic) we may not have been fully satisfied with our career choice.

But we love golf and the rhythm of life meant we kept going. Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and months turned into years.

We had to keep on keeping on.

And there we were, years later. Same job, same career, same frustrations. But too busy to make change.

“Oh God, I hate my job. I hate it. I want to quit. But then I think I should stick it out. Then I think, ‘Why would such a person stay in such a demanding job just because its remotely related to the thing they are interested in.’”

(Rachel from Friends)

Then the pandemic hit. The golf industry workforce got a once in a lifetime (we hope) window of time to reflect on the meaning of its work life. Time stood still as golf courses, travel, and daily routines ground to a halt. We had time to think about what was important to us and the trade-offs we were willing to make. We had more time to spend with our families. We had a ‘normal’ life for a few weeks or months. And many of us kinda liked it. And if we wanted more of it, we probably had to move into a more flexible position or get out of the golf industry. The same reckoning happened across other leisure industries. Consider that in the USA there was almost twice as many job openings in September 2021 than in September 2019 (US Bureau of Labor Statistics). We all probably know friends and colleagues who have taken stock and left the golf industry for another. Our research indicates that for those of us remaining, over 50% said they had considered jumping ship within the last year (more on this later).

The last 18 months – and counting – have impacted the workforce across many countries and industries. Golf is no exception. We wanted to benchmark where the Gather community is with hiring, firing, and brain drain. And we wanted to look at what lies beneath those numbers. Why? Because we don’t have to guess about tensions in the golf workforce when we have research. (This White Paper focuses on the workforce – but look out for future Gather insights that tackle other golf-related issues.) These insights quantify what we may feel is happening in the industry. And if you’re an employer, these insights may make you reconsider what top talent wants.

* In the following report, we use the term ‘significant’ in a statistical sense (Institute for Work & Health). That is, there is a 95% chance that the differences reported are caused by something other than chance.

The golf workforce: Our findings

Are you hiring?

In our Gather sample, over 65% of organizations indicated they were hiring for at least one open spot. If your organization is based in the UK and Ireland, there is a significantly higher chance that you are looking to recruit team members than if you are based in other regions across the world.

Which jobs are hardest to fill?

The data pattern here was linear. The hardest jobs to fill were entry level. Hiring became progressively easier as the positions gained seniority.

Why are entry level positions tough to fill? We have two working theories. One is a leaky pipeline (a what?). In the last five to ten years, we haven’t had enough younger people playing golf who decide it would be a good career choice (England Golf, The Children and Young People’s Plan for Golf 2017 -2021). Not all younger golfers will want to make a career out of the game – but a proportion will. If fewer people start playing in their youth, less will consider golf as a career choice. Maybe this will correct itself after the pandemic.  Combine that with our second theory – the golf industry and Generation Z. GenZ’ers look for a flexible and diverse workplace. Somewhere they have independence and can demonstrate entrepreneurship (Science Direct). We may have a square-peg and round-hole problem. Traditional entry-level positions in the golf industry may not be what GenZ’ers want.  

It makes sense that jobs with seniority, autonomy, status, money, and better benefits are easier to fill. Considering that is what the post-pandemic golf workforce is looking for, it is unsurprising that these spots are easier to fill than entry level positions.

One conclusion to draw from these data is that there is a mismatch between what people want in the job market, and what’s available.

In a practical sense, you may be a highly qualified, motivated, and ambitious golf industry professional. Despite the messaging that the golf industry needs more workers, you can’t get a job that matches your experience.

These data explain why. It’s not you, it’s the market.

When organizations struggle to hire, what are the biggest barriers?

The inability to offer a competitive salary was the number one reason cited for not filling open positions. This was closely followed by a lack of qualified candidates. If you are an employer, it may be worthwhile offering a competitive wage to attract better talent. Put yourself in the shoes of the candidate and survey the job landscape. Why should she or he apply for your position when others pay more?

And if you are looking to move into a more senior role, experience can get you so far. But engaging in professional development to gain more qualifications may be the difference between making and missing the cut for jobs with more seniority.  

Is retention a problem?

Retention does not appear to be as problematic as hiring. Over 36% of the sample was mostly satisfied with their ability to retain qualified employees. But when employers struggle to hold onto good employees, it is a toss-up between salary limitations and work-life balance that attrition is chalked up to. Considering the cost of replacing employees, organizations should think about what it can do to hold on to qualified staff. Unless, of course, you are okay with the cost of replacing him or her (estimated between 50-200% of the employee’s salary) (Gallup).

How important is professional development?

Appropriate professional development opportunities are important to individuals, the workforce, and organizations. A skilled workforce can make an organization perform more efficiently. And investing in professional development indicates to staff members they are not only valued, but there is a pathway for them to grow. In our sample, almost 42% of responses indicated they were ‘mostly satisfied’ with the available professional development opportunities. Unfortunately, 50% of our sample were less satisfied. The unanswered question, is why?

More broadly, satisfaction with professional development opportunities relates to bigger trends in our study. As satisfaction with professional development increases, so does optimism about the future of the golf workforce. Even more interesting, is that as employers become more satisfied with professional development opportunities, they also report significantly more satisfaction with the ability to hire and retain qualified candidates. These data suggest that the golf industry should care a lot more about delivering appropriate professional development opportunities for the workforce. It may be the best investment we could make as an industry (more on this later!).

Why are good people leaving the golf workforce?

We are back to the statistic mentioned in the introduction of this white paper. Over 50% of survey participants have considered leaving the golf industry in the last year. Why? In a nutshell, the biggest sticking points are lack of opportunities to advance, lack of work-life balance, and being underpaid. Quite simply, golf is not offering its talent the same opportunities available in other industries.

“Long hours, no benefits, no private pension, no future career path.”

(Gather Member)

When we look closer at the numbers, there are other trends emerging. Optimism about future employment opportunities is a significant predictor of leaving the golf industry. And what contributes significantly to optimism about the golf industry? Satisfaction with golf’s leadership. In this case, the more satisfied you are with golf’s leadership, the more optimistic you are about the future. The relationship works in the other direction too. The less satisfied you are with golf industry leadership, the less optimistic you are about the future, and the likelihood of you leaving the industry increases.

Is the golf industry’s leadership satisfactory?

Well. It depends on who you ask. Overall, 54% of our sample is reasonably satisfied. And 25% is unsatisfied. It is fair to say the jury is out on this one.

But if we dig deeper, the picture becomes more interesting.

The sector in which you work will significantly predict how satisfied you are with golf industry leadership…

If you work in golf’s more traditional sectors (golf clubs, golf operations, or golf’s governing bodies), you are significantly more likely to be satisfied with golf industry leadership than if you work in less traditional sectors (tech and equipment manufacturing).

Similarly, the size of the organization in which you work influences your satisfaction with golf industry leadership. The bigger (and arguably more powerful) organizations are more satisfied than smaller ones when it comes to perceptions of golf industry leadership.

At this point, we can only guess as to why we are seeing such trends. Is the tech sector led by, and does it hire from, a different candidate pool than traditional golf organizations? Does that lead to different levels of satisfaction with golf industry leadership? Do larger organizations have more influence with golf industry leadership than small business owners? Could that explain the disparity? Whatever the cause, these data are a wake-up call to golf industry leaders. Satisfaction with golf industry leadership relates to the workforce’s optimism about the industry, and intention of staying in it.  

So, what now?

Good question!

We have issues and pain points within the golf workforce that need addressing.

These insights merely scratch the surface but show us that the employment crunch we are feeling is real.

FIVE key takeaways…

1. Brain drain is happening. If you want to hold on to talent, you need to pay for it.

2. Despite a depleted workforce, good jobs are hard to come by. It’s tough at the top.

3. If you want to get the top jobs, upskill.

4. Professional development is the engine that delivers workforce sustainability. If the workforce is developing, they are more motivated, and retention is higher. Invest in professional development.

5. We are less likely to quit the golf industry if we are optimistic about future career opportunities.  And crucially…our optimism relies on our satisfaction with golf industry leadership. Leaders: It’s time to inspire us. All of us!