Setting the Right Tone
For reasons from common courtesy to developing life-long members, a well-thought-out orientation process is a best practice for private club success.
Getting off to a good start is important in any endeavor. Membership is no exception. Despite this basic tenet, one of the more confounding statistics McMahon Group has collected from clubs over the years is that only about 80% of them have a formal new member orientation program. You would think the lack of common courtesy among the 20% that don’t have an orientation program would embarrass them to act. Their thought process is difficult to accept. They are missing an opportunity to strengthen the sense of community in their club and create members for life.
Unfortunately, member feedback from those clubs that do have an orientation indicates the industry could do a better job. In response to McMahon Group surveys conducted over the past decade, which represents hundreds of thousands of members, orientation efforts on the part of management and staff leave roughly 64% of members satisfied and 36% neutral to dissatisfied. Satisfaction with orientation outreach on the part of members is even lower, with 56% of members satisfied and 44% neutral to dissatisfied. This is unfortunate, as the first weeks and months of a new member’s tenure can set the tone for their experience for years to come.
What’s at Stake?
New members are a precious commodity. They represent your club’s future, bringing in new energy, fresh ideas and much-needed capital dollars. At a minimum, their commitment to the club should be paid back with a thank you and a warm welcome. Bigger issues are at stake as another reason to effectively welcome and assimilate new members is that they are the best source of new members. The sooner they feel part of the club, the more likely they will be to invite friends and relatives to experience it. This will expose the club to a new network of prospective members. Quite simply, new and younger members are your best source of other new, young members. By welcoming the ones you have, the club will be taking one of the most effective steps possible to grow membership.
Effectively onboarding new members is also essential to perpetuating club culture. A director at a club with a Donald Ross golf course recently told me that new members don’t care about Ross, they only want to play golf. We’ll give him the benefit of the doubt that this is indeed the prevailing opinion among the new members, but this attitude misses the point. It is the club’s job to make the new member aware of rules and policies, but to also understand and appreciate its origins and special traits. Whether it be about Ross or some other historic aspect of your club, engendering a sense of community begins with education about why it exists and what it values. A good orientation is one of the ways you can nurture pride among your members and make them feel like they are part of something special, not just people with access to certain facilities.
The Golf Club at Briars Creek on Johns Island, S.C., is a small private golf club in a marketplace where it is common to have thousands of members and oversubscribed tee times. Its strategy is to be a private golf retreat. It takes its culture seriously: Every new member must participate in two orientation sessions prior to gaining access to the club, one with Membership Director Sharon McGuirk and one with Director of Golf Eve Vanderweele. The introduction to golf session with Vanderweele is mandatory before the new member can play the course. This is where members learn to navigate the club’s no tee time policy, are encouraged to take care of the course, learn how to register for golf events and begin to develop a sense of the club’s unique culture. Following these sessions, they’ll know they made the right choice when selecting from the many clubs in the region.
Of course, onboarding is also about minimizing poor behaviors. At a time when boorish behavior is on the rise at clubs, it is more important than ever to educate new members about your club’s standards and expectations. This can avoid embarrassing situations and provide the context for corrective measures should they be needed later in that member’s time at the club. New members are often criticized for their behavior, but many of their missteps are unintentional.
Importance of New Member Orientations
The Membership Committee at every club should accept responsibility that it is their job to develop and execute an effective orientation program. Perhaps sponsors filled this role in the past, but even that left open the possibility that the existing member responsible for educating the new member was only marginally fluent in rules, policies and the broad range of activities offered by the club. At any rate, sponsors don’t seem to be what they were in the past, so make sure that your orientation programs involve informed participants.
Club leaders must also commit to making the orientation mandatory. The new member is excited to use the club when they join, so there can be pressure from them to immediately get on the golf course or use other club facilities. You should avoid this, as the window of opportunity to send the right message and create the proper mindset will quickly pass. It will become increasingly difficult to get the new member to attend an orientation after they have a member number and have begun to use the club. The new member and staff are both busy, so it’s easy to let an orientation slip by but it is important for both parties to make the time to get acclimated. There is never a better time to say “thank you” than at the beginning of the membership.
The Committee should recognize the important aspects of an orientation process:
- Provide new members with accurate information and make them feel comfortable using the club.
- Perpetuate the club’s legacy by educating new members about its origins, history and unique characteristics. This can pay dividends later when the leadership may be asking members to fund initiatives that restore or enhance the club’s assets.
- Encourage confidence and use, which makes it more likely the new member will invite friends and family members to experience the club.
- Build a more cohesive and active membership.
- Improve member retention. Feeling part of a special community is a key reason to stay a member.
- Establish channels of communication between the new member and the staff so the new member knows where to go to resolve problems or request services.
Tips for New Member Onboarding
A new member orientation program should include participation from both staff and members. It is important that some “well met” members participate in the program to expand the conversation from rules and policies to club culture and events. Let the staff take the lead on the functional aspects of the process while the members lend a personal touch.
A successful orientation should accomplish several things:
- Make the new member feel welcome and at ease.
- Help the new member understand and respect the club’s history and culture.
- Create clarity about rules and behavior and let them know how to resolve issues that may arise with other members and staff.
- Make members aware of how to enjoy the club, from the “can’t miss” events to service offerings that may not be obvious.
The orientation meeting is the first official interaction the newly accepted member has with the club. As the adage says, you only get one chance to make a first impression. By making this a well-thought-out and engaging experience, you will be setting a positive tone for everything that follows in this member’s tenure. A haphazard orientation will leave the new member feeling uncomfortable and wondering if they made the right choice.
Many clubs are enjoying unprecedented levels of demand for membership, so it is easy to skip over fundamental steps like an orientation. It is very likely this time will pass and you will again need to rely on existing members to sponsor new candidates. If you set the groundwork for a positive member experience right at the start, it is much more likely that these members will bear the fruit of new member proposals down the line. You spend a lot of time and money developing programs, training personnel and investing millions of dollars in maintaining and operating your club’s physical plant. Recruiting new members is not easy, so you want the new ones to stay. That’s where having an organized and well-thought-out new member onboarding process comes into play. Remember, the warmer the welcome, the longer the new member is likely to stay.