I hope you are enjoying the monthly online reports that I have been sharing with you, and thought this might be a good time to dive into the most talked about topic at the current time...the labor shortage. Before I do that however, I wanted to update you on a few items.

• Compensation Profiles - We finished our Compensation Profile push with 938 Members and Associates in active classifications competing their profile on PGA.org. This represented 61.23% of the active membership, which placed us 3rd out of the 41 sections in terms of participation. Kyle Kirk, A-1 at Pinewild Country Club was drawn as the winner of the Amazon Gift Card for completing his profile.

It is important to remember that this is an evergreen profile...it can be edited at any time if a member gets a raise, changes jobs, etc. So please keep promoting the importance of the Compensation Profile to the members of your Chapters. Up to date data will allow us to create up to date reports, which are always the most accurate.

And speaking of compensation reports, I am working on designing a "live" report that members will be able to access via a website link and hope to have it ready in early to mid October. In the meantime, I can get information for any member, but they will need to request it from me directly and it may not look very pretty yet.

• Executive Search - I will be wrapping up the Thornblade Club Head Professional search in the middle of October and have just launched the General Manager Search at the Surf Golf & Beach Club in North Myrtle Beach, SC.

With the busy “jobs” season coming fast, I would appreciate any assistance you can provide in connecting me with clubs that have management level openings in your Chapter. Executive Search remains a priority of the Association, so we want to make sure that we are doing our part in the Carolinas.

On to the labor shortage issues. Although I spent some time in my August 2021 report on the subject, I wanted to do some additional research, provide relevant statistics, and offer up a more holistic model for the Carolinas PGA to consider.

To begin, let’s attempt to quantify the problem for our industry. A quick search of the PGA Job Board shows 42 total jobs posted in the Carolinas as of 4pm on 9.30.21, with 25 of those being Assistant Golf Professional positions. Year to date, there have been 448 jobs posted in the Carolinas, broken down by the following categories:

• Assistant Golf Professional - 206

• Outside Operations - 48

• Sales Representative - 34

• Director of Golf / Head Professional - 31

• Director of Instruction / Teaching Professional - 31

• GM & GM/HP - 16

• Club Fitting / Club Repair - 12

• All others - 70

Admittedly, this looks like a lot of labor needed at golf facilities in the Carolinas. In fact, in 2020 a total of 392 positions were posted on the PGA Job Board all year, with 187 of those being Assistant Professional positions. Anecdotally, we seem to lack sufficient numbers of people entering the industry to fill all necessary positions. But what do the statistics show?

Again, as of 4pm on 9.30.21, the PGA had:

• 3,246 enrolled PGA Associates

• 1,583 enrolled in the PQ / QE level

• 1,422 enrolled in PGM Universities

That is 6,251 people who have raised their hand, indicated that they want to work in our industry, and are actively pursuing PGA Membership. I honestly don’t know if that is enough, too many, or just right. I do know that they are the labor source for entry level positions, so we should treat them as a valuable asset as an Association.

Looking at historical data was a little more difficult, as data on PQ/QE and PGM University enrollments was hard to find, but in the last decade, we averaged 1,121 new associates annually (nationwide)...that is 12,330 in the past 11 years! The best questions to ask at this point are:

• What percentage of people complete the Associate program or PGM University program?

• What percentage are still in the industry 1, 3, or 5 years later?

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find answers to those questions in time for this report, but anecdotally, I would guess that neither percentage is very high. Historically, the dropout rate for PGM and Associate programs were similar, sitting at about 70%. With the stagnation of wages and the general lack of upward mobility, coupled with significantly higher tolerance for career mobility and change associated with the current generations in the workforce, I would be willing to bet that the dropout rate has increased rather than move the other direction.

What does all of this mean? I don’t have the answers, and it is clear that the labor shortage is real, but the narrative seems incomplete and it is starting to look like at least some of our issues around quality employment opportunities, PGM Associate education, and industry retention are self-inflicted. With that in mind, I see a better way forward for us as a section, and it involves a three tiered approach.

1. Recruit - While 6,251 people feels like a big number to me, it makes sense to continue growing that number in the short term while we address other issues in the long term. As you know, the PGA of America’s Career Services Department recently hired four additional staff members to augment the 22 consultants already in the field whose primary role will be to provide outreach, awareness, and onboarding to attract individuals to our industry and get them connected.

But this is not a problem that can be solved by the Career Services department. It will require a collaborative effort between all departments, all sections, and all 29,000 members of the Association. Everyone must be recruiting everyday.

2. Retain - We need to think of retention in two ways. First, we must keep the employees we already have. Take good care of the staff you have right now. Pay them well, treat them well, develop them and mentor them. The replacement costs will far outweigh the additional financial burdens involved in retention.

Second, we need to retain the 6,251 and any others who raise their hand. While we have always offered passive assistance to Associates via mentor programs, it may be time to reimagine how we can best assist the group to reduce attrition rates. Groups are a powerful motivator, so ideas such as learning cohorts based on program start date, more group learning / study events at the local level, and competition between cohorts should be considered.

3. Re-educate - In the end, it is the employers who can make the greatest difference on the lives of their employees. As a section, we should strengthen our relationships and grow our involvement with the Golf Course Owners Association, Club Managers Association, regional Management Companies, and those involved in private club governance. Their influence over compensation, work/life integration, and advancement opportunities is vital, and is currently a roadblock to retaining workers in the industry.

I work hard at those relationships when I have time, but unfortunately, I don’t have enough of it. We should look at ideas such as sponsorship opportunities, growing PGA Professional presence at their organization meetings, or creating events to influence these groups (an Employers Summit?). In the long run, these relationships and partnerships will pay off.

I’ll hop off my soap box now! As you can see, I am pretty passionate about this issue and hope that we can adopt a strategic approach to solving some of the most pressing issues we face as an industry. As always, I welcome your feedback and am happy to answer any questions you may have.

Finally, some of you may know that I will be running the 50th New York City Marathon on November 7th to raise money for PGA REACH. I have never actually run a marathon before, so I am feeling a mixture of nervous and excited at the same time. My fundraising link is below...if PGA REACH is a charity you would like to support, I would appreciate any donation you can give and any additional promotion you can provide.