I have referenced the concept of “binding arbitration” several times within recent blog posts. My purpose for doing so has been to educate golf course superintendents to the reality that when they have need to look for legal protection when employers take unfair advantage of their employment status – resorting to the courts will not provide relief.

I say this because superintendents will always have difficulty: (i) finding, engaging and affording a qualified attorney; (ii) succeeding in a lawsuit because club/course employers will always rely on the highly successful tactics of out-waiting and out-spending plaintiff superintendents; and (iii) gaining access to another job while litigation is pending (lawsuits generally cover an approximate three-year period) because communications between the defendant club and future employers will shut down job opportunities. Accordingly, club/courses do not generally fear superintendent-based lawsuits per se and superintendents do not consider lawsuits a viable option.

It is important in today’s treacherous economic world to drive home the concept of binding arbitration once again and finally because the concept of binding arbitration works (i.e.- it requires minimal legal support while at the same time providing immediate, inexpensive court protected relief) and also because binding arbitration can provide superintendents with increased access to written contracts.

Binding arbitration can provide superintendents with increased access to written contracts…

Why can I make this unexpected statement? Because binding arbitration affords employers the unique opportunity to hire or retain (affordable) experienced golf course superintendents who alone possess the capability to virtually guarantee the stability of their golf courses in today’s budget-tightening era without the fear or embarrassment of a lawsuit; i.e., because arbitration will do no more or less than quietly enforce previously agreed to termination procedures. With this situation available, employers will be more inclined to negotiate arbitration-based failsafe written contracts with superintendents because this is the only way for them to acquire an “insurance policy” to protect against unnecessary/excessive course failure.

Having said all of the above, it should be understood that the burden clearly falls on each golf course superintendent to: (i) take the initiative to introduce and “sell” the concept of binding arbitration to his/her employer; and (ii) voluntarily position his/her salary to be competitive in today’s down-sizing world – as presented in my June 5th blog entitled, “Addressing Job Insecurity.” Superintendents should remember that they are selling the most valued commodity available in the golf market today – themselves.

Superintendents, want to help your assistant(s) on their career path? Print out these Career Corner posts and responses on an ongoing basis and assemble them in a hard copy binder for your assistants and crew.

With virtually every industry-wide poll indicating that roughly 75% of the nation’s golf course superintendents are feeling insecure about holding their jobs in today’s economy, it is important to put things in perspective. First, it is necessary to judge where the economy is and where it is going:  with the U.S. government spending trillions of dollars beyond it’s ability to pay for the program obligations it is incurring, faith in the economy declines, people spend less and jobs across the country are being lost at the rate of 16,000 a day. Furthermore, the resulting bad economy will get worse, not only because the President has been telling us it will, but because the serious inflation that government over-spending guarantees and the heavy taxation needed to pay for the new government programming loom just over the horizon.

When we add the circumstance that the American achieving class (which includes the nation-wide private club membership community) has been primarily targeted to pay for the government’s extensive spending, it can be fairly anticipated that many private golf clubs and daily fee courses across the country will likely be looking at austerity spending, or close to it – not all at once – but at one time or another through the next several years depending on each club/course’s economic circumstance.

The above commentary is not meant to discourage, but rather to educate to the reality of the situation because only then will the national superintendents’ community take the necessary affirmative action to ensure their quite-savable jobs. Furthermore. I am not suggesting that the vast majority of the approximate 15,000 superintendents’ jobs across the country could be lost. But, I do intend to suggest that several thousand superintendents’ jobs will likely be placed in jeopardy through the next few years should the economy fail to quickly recover – as is being presently forecast. We have already begun to see a pattern developing in this regard with higher earning superintendents beginning to be replaced by assistants earning from $40,000 to $80,000 less annually. Whatever the final number of superintendents being replaced could be in the coming years, I firmly believe this replacement number can be reduced by 90%if the proper initiatives are undertaken – as profiled later in this commentary.

Recognize The Positive Reality

If you are feeling insecure about your job, or think you might be some time soon, understand that the opportunity for golf course superintendents to demonstrate to their employers that they remain their sole indispensable employee in these bad economic times is “striking.” After all, no one wants to replace an experienced ship’s captain with a second mate in the middle of a treacherous storm.

A tight economy only enhances the indispensability of the golf course superintendent…”

Can there be any doubt that an experienced currently employed superintendent will provide tighter fiscal management and be better able to sustain a shrinking staff’s effectiveness while at the same time minimizing the decline in golf course quality than an assistant? A tight economy only enhances the indispensability of the golf course superintendent. Trying to justify the replacement of an experienced superintendent solely on the grounds of the salary that can be saved by hiring the less experienced is ludicrous because an experienced hand will save this salary differential many times over during the course of each calendar year. This story needs to be told nationwide by the superintendents themselves, all GCSAA chapters and GCSAA, itself.

Take Affirmative Action>

The basic approach that superintendents feeling insecure about their jobs should consider taking now, even before austerity spending becomes a serious consideration (i.e., don’t wait until it is too late), is to establish constructive dialogue with their administrations for the purpose of assuming experienced-based control of their operating and capital budgets in a professional manner that employers will respect and are not likely to be able to do as effectively themselves; i.e.- having to continue to cut on-going spending to keep pace with the economy without undermining the fundamental quality of the golf course.

Using personal diplomacy, superintendents should do what is necessary leadership-wise to reach a mutual understanding of what reality-driven budget control measures will be needed from year to year to keep pace with a declining economy; then, once this objective has been realized, commit to flawlessly delivering these budgets on time and in place – as no one else can. Of course, superintendents who do feel secure in their jobs can add to their job security by using the same recommended approach as less job-secure superintendents to balance budget-cutting measures with course quality.

If and when the reality of austerity budgeting surfaces, superintendents should not hesitate to volunteer to take the same percentage cut in salary as is being mandated for the department’s overall operating budget. Clearly, it is better to have a job at roughly 80% of a former peak salary than have no job at all. Employees, union or otherwise, all across the country consistently agree to salary concessions in tough economic times. How much better will a salary concession be received than when voluntarily given?

Summarizing The Game Plan

Summarizing what has been said here and in previous posts on this subject, superintendents who are worried about their jobs . . .

1.  Should: (i) take the personal initiative to assume leadership control of department budgeting in the manner suggested above; (ii) take the learning points from both this blog and my April 9th blog entitled, “Anticipating Austerity” to develop a customized plan of action specifically applicable to their respective club/course circumstances; and (iii) volunteer to take a salary reduction if and when economic conditions dictate.

2.  Ask their chapters: (i) to encourage their members to follow this weekly blog presentation at TurfNet.com; (ii) to link this blog message and the earlier April 22nd blog message entitled, “A Thesis On Job Security and Contracts” to their chapter web sites; and (iii) to schedule informal “town hall” meeting forums several times a year where job-concerned chapter members will find the opportunity to discuss and educate each other as employment situations continue to evolve. At this point in time, superintendents are likely to learn more from each other than from outside sources.

3.  Continue to encourage GCSAA to get involved (as profiled in earlier blog messages) to support individual member and chapter efforts to sustain job security.

In closing, I remind you that your job destiny lies in your hands if you so choose and to continue believing in yourself because you are an indispensable commodity. Finally remember, once again, that employers do not dismiss employees who help ensure employer survival.

Superintendents, want to help your assistant(s) on their career path? Print out these Career Corner posts and responses on an ongoing basis and assemble them in a hard copy binder for your assistants and crew.