Tackling the lifeguard shortage: Sage advice for recruiting and retaining team members

by Samantha Ashenhurst | November 23, 2018 12:09 pm

By George Deines

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Headlines from various news outlets across Canada and the U.S. this year have summed up what this author heard from aquatic facility operators on a weekly basis—a shortage of lifeguards exists within the aquatics industry. However, is this really the case? This article will seek to define the lifeguard shortage issue, identify creative ways to recruit and retain great lifeguards, and give some practical advice for facility operators to find, hire, and train enough lifeguards for the 2019 season.

Before tackling the lifeguard shortage head on, one must consider if the shortfall is related to a lack of people, a shortage of those willing to become lifeguards, as well as what role the aquatic facility itself plays with respect to recruiting lifeguards (e.g. starting salary). While aquatic facilities in major metropolitan areas cannot use the excuse of a lack of people as a reason for fewer lifeguards like a smaller community might, they need to find proactive ways to show potential employees the value and benefits of being a lifeguard.

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A great place for aquatic facility managers to start is ensuring they offer a starting salary that is competitive and comparable to other employers seeking the same workforce. While the historical age for lifeguards ranges between 16 and 24, a more recent move exists to branch out and start to explore ways to recruit, hire, and train retirees who would not only appreciate the supplemental income, but also give them a reason to stay active and engaged in his/her community.

How can an aquatic facility operators recruit lifeguards?

Several hurdles exist to recruiting and retaining lifeguards, including money (primarily), attitude, time, and the physical component of the job. In addition to the starting salary, another major hurdle that exists lies with the initial cost of lifeguard certification, which in some areas can cost more than $300.

This author believes facility operators need to seriously consider reducing the cost of the certification course dramatically to attract more candidates. As a former operator, this author always maintained it is more important to have a lifeguard who can work 200 to 300 hours over the course of the summer than the cost of the certification course. As a result, the author dropped the cost of the lifeguard certification course at his last facility to $49—just enough to cover the cost of the textbook and pocket mask.

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Attitude also plays a key role in the ability to recruit. According to some facility operators, their current workforce is either apathetic towards lifeguarding or lack the responsibility it takes to be one. Couple this with a lack of willingness to spend the required 30 to 40 hours in a lifeguard certification course and it becomes a recipe for a shortage. Facility operators can combat some of this by giving their prospective lifeguards complete assurance that if they successfully complete the certification course, they will be hired for a position. After all, if they are comfortable certifying a person as a lifeguard, they should also be comfortable to employ them.

Finding solutions to the problem

Facility operators can focus on several possible solutions to help them recruit lifeguards for their team.

• Pay for training—Aquatic facility pays for training fees for employees because the cost of lifeguard certification has become a significant hurdle in recruiting employees.
• Tuition reimbursement—Aquatic facility pays for lifeguard training fees after they have worked a certain period of time (typically six to 12 months).
• Six-month pay increase—Aquatic facility provides a pay increase after the employee has worked for six months.
• Incorporating vision/culture into recruitment process—Aquatic facility promotes its vision and culture of greatness, excitement, and making a difference into the recruiting process. This helps operators find potential employees who are motivated to work at a facility where they have a sense of belonging and feel his/her day-to-day job makes a difference in the lives of others.
• Ability to advance—Potential employees want to have the ability to advance in his/her position. The recruitment process should show potential candidates they have the ability to advance, whether it is becoming a lead or head lifeguard or even a pool manager.
• Promotion of flexible schedules—As most aquatic facilities are typically open from morning until evening, promoting the ability to have a flexible schedule, including mornings, mid-days, nights, and weekends can entice potential candidates to join the facility’s team.

While the above ideas can work great once there is a core group of people to recruit, facility managers need to ensure he/she gets any lifeguard openings out to the masses. This can be accomplished by, first and foremost, getting out of the office. The days of sitting around and waiting for applicants to come in have ended; therefore, a detailed and comprehensive plan of attack is needed for the recruitment of lifeguards.

The recruitment process

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Taking advantage of the local high schools, community colleges, and universities is a great first step. Most high schools have a student activities co-ordinator who helps organize the various groups that have opportunities for the school’s students. Meeting this person and developing a good relationship with them can play a huge role when trying to recruit potential lifeguards from these local schools.

Schools love to partner with employers who can offer students real-life experiences and quality employment opportunities—aquatic facilities offer both of these.

After recruiting from high schools, facility operators should contact the local community colleges and university career centres as most of them offer the ability to post positions online, attend career fairs, and set up a table in the student centre during school hours. The best time to focus on this recruitment effort is October to April for seasonal facilities, while for those that operate year-round a more concerted effort must be taken. Facility operators should go on recruiting visits at least once a month to ensure they keep the lifeguard team fully staffed all year.

For seasonal recruiting, operators should make an effort to visit each school twice—once before spring break and once after—as it takes a while to get interested candidates to apply for the position and register for the lifeguard course.

Next year’s recruitment starts with this year’s retention

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While much of the recruitment process involves work to bring lifeguard candidates to a facility, operators should not forget about the team they already have on staff. The philosophy of retaining staff is just as important (if not more) than the philosophy of recruiting. In fact, the ability to keep lifeguards on staff proves to be more beneficial than the ability to recruit new people.

While operators will spend a lot of time between November and April recruiting, they need to spend a substantial amount of time between May and September retaining. No matter how hard an operator works to keep his/her entire lifeguard team from one season to the next, it will never result in 100 per cent retention due to the volatile nature of seasonal employment, those leaving for college, or taking a job elsewhere. That said, if a facility operator can keep his/her retention rates in the 70 to 80 per cent range, this significantly reduces the number of new lifeguards they need to recruit. It also increases operational efficiency and safety, as second- and third-year lifeguards with hundreds of hours of experience are not being replaced with new staff.

The topic of retention drives the question, how should a facility operator go about retaining his/her lifeguard team? While one can spend hours only scratching the surface of this question, the following are five simple ways a facility operator can interact with his/her team on a daily basis throughout the season (or year):

• The desire to be known;
• The desire to be cared about;
• The desire to fit in;
• The desire to make an impact; and
• The desire to get paid.

Any employee, especially a lifeguard between the age of 16 and 24, has the desire to be known by his/her supervisor(s). It may sound silly to say an aquatics supervisor should know everyone’s name on his/her lifeguard team, but apparently this still is not status quo within the aquatics industry. That said, knowing individual names is important, but it is also essential to get to know each member of the team on a personal level, too. Facility operators should take the time to find out where they go to school, what types of activities they are involved in, etc. This goes a long way in helping them identify with the operator and building a relationship.

Facility operators can show the lifeguard team they care by being approachable and available to listen to problems. While the majority of them will be in their formidable years, this does not exclude one from caring about any older employees on staff. Team members want a supervisor who presents himself/herself as being easily approachable and always willing to listen.

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Lifeguards also have an innate desire to fit in and be a part of a team. Therefore, providing an atmosphere where they have value in the sight of others, the opportunity to make friends and socialize with their co-workers, and the ability to see their contribution to the team are all essential ways to help them meet the desire they have to fit in on a facility’s team.

This author has seen some facilities provide social functions outside of work hours throughout the summer to help team members to get to know each other better, which helps them feel like they are part of the team and keeps them more engaged throughout the season. And, when they stay engaged, they will hopefully return for another.

Other key desires every lifeguard has deals with impact and purpose. It will be exponentially easier to retain lifeguards if, on a daily basis, facility operators help each member of the team see their overall purpose and ensure they leave work with a sense of accomplishment. This may seem like another ‘no brainer,’ but to retain great team members from month-to-month or season-to-season, supervisors need to remind each member of the team about the great things they accomplish each day. Few other jobs offer the opportunity to save a life and provide aquatic experiences to the community and this needs to be stressed to the team consistently.

The last desire goes without saying, but all lifeguards need money, whether it is simply for spending cash or for living expenses. Operators must regularly compare thier existing entry-level pay rates to other competitors (in aquatic and non-aquatic lines of work) so they do not fall behind the curve with respect to the salaries other places of employment in the area are offering. At a minimum, this will take away the ‘pay factor’ as being a hurdle to recruitment and retention, allowing facility operators to focus on other areas of need.

Recruiting for 2019 starts now

As aquatic operators across the country enjoy a little downtime from the 2018 summer season, it is important not to stay down too long. Effective recruiting takes a clearly defined plan of attack and that starts immediately when the summer is over by writing personalized thank you cards to every member of the lifeguarding team, thanking them for their hard work and starting the recruitment process early by inviting them back for the 2019 season. While it may seem a little premature, but to tackle the lifeguard shortage head-on, facility operators must remember that next year’s recruitment starts with this year’s retention.

[7]George Deines is a studio director for Counsilman-Hunsaker, specializing in aquatic feasibility studies. Before joining the CH team in 2014, he worked in a variety of roles within the aquatic industry including, lifeguard, swim coach, aquatics co-ordinator, and aquatics manager. He holds degrees from the University of North Texas and Dallas Theological Seminary and is a lifeguard instructor with the American Red Cross and an Associate with Ellis & Associates. He is chair of the World Waterpark Association’s (WWA’s) safety committee and past-president of the North Texas Aquatics Association. Deines can be reached via e-mail at georgedeines@chh2o.com[8].

Source URL: https://www.poolspamarketing.com/trade/features/tackling-the-lifeguard-shortage/

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