Waterpark Leadership

Leadership Mindset

2012-01-27T09:53:00.001-08:00

I have been on a long journey trying to find some kind of unified theory or leadership......in other words one thing that makes all the other facets of leadership fall into place and happen easily, naturally and normally.

Perhaps its the belief that
my job is to help every individual get to the next level in their career,
regardless of age or experience. This will of course require different approaches and skills for each individual with differing results depending on the motivation levels.

If i can keep this mindset in every interaction I have, it will benefit me, the organisation and the individual involved....just a thought.

Bring back Service

2011-12-31T05:59:00.000-08:00

Everyone apparently has a book inside them if they choose to write one.

As a by-product of 21 years in the hospitality industry i'd like to write a book/pdf on customer service.

No not a book on how to give great customer service. That's been done many times before by more qualified people than me, no, my book is on how to be a good customer.

My belief is and hopefully the central theme is that,

"Customer service will only improve when we become better customers" -Andrew Vaughan

watch this space............

How do you get repeat business....?

2011-09-29T12:49:00.001-07:00

How do you get repeat business....?

Well trained employees of course

The cause of every positive guest comment

2011-09-29T12:47:00.000-07:00

The cause of every positive guest experience and comment is a well trained employee.....
Andrew Vaughan

Training is part of the job blog

Create your own online Visual resume

2011-09-17T10:45:00.000-07:00

Great way to visualize and market yourself when applying for a new position

vizualize.me/U4oteic2Cj

Check out mine and make your own.

2011-09-17T08:23:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to pass on this interesting tidbit in case you wanted to prevent some distractions.

Read the full article

The door code

DOOR OPEN: It means that you can be interrupted at any time for any reason.
DOOR AJAR: It means that you're busy. But if there's something extremely pressing, you can be interrupted. You can set your own house rules to say what "extemely pressing" means.
DOOR CLOSED: Don't. Even. Breathe. In. This. Direction. Open this door only if there's a fire.

How to eliminate rumors and gossip in the workplace

2011-09-10T11:53:00.000-07:00

There are less rumors, gossip and complaining when someone is busy- including yourself!

You cant Buy Experience

2011-07-07T05:37:00.000-07:00

It's easy to underestimate the value of experience sometimes.

I took for granted recently the fact that I have many resources available, especially when things go wrong.

I have built many contacts over the years ranging from chemical suppliers, Facility equipment suppliers, water slide manufacturers,Aquatic consultants and local vendors.

What I think I took for granted was that just because I built a list of contacts over the years, I just assumed everybody else had too. This wasn't the case, as I as surprised that a lot of leaders didn't know who to turn to when things go wrong or when they were looking for a certain piece of equipment or part.

For example, a waterslide pump motor burned out last year. I contacted a vendor from a previous job that had done repairs for me. When i notified the owners of the motor failure they started calling around their contacts which resulted in them asking me to follow up with several names they had been given.

It was like Americas most wanted, some names didn't exist anymore and the two I did get hold of both told me they don't do that kind of work and referred me to, you guessed it, the company I had contacted in the first place.

Please keep in mind the following,

1. It's not about having all the answers, it's about asking the right questions.

2. Its not who you know or what you know, but rather what you DO with who you know and what you know.

Don't underestimate the experience you have built.

Checklists are your Servant

2011-06-28T09:59:00.000-07:00

If there's one thing I've seen new and younger supervisors neglect repeatedly is checklists.
I think inexperienced leaders see checklists as,

Extra work
Unnecessary because I know everything already
Old fashioned
The Enemy
Somebody else's Idea

Time and Time again, when something is missed on Opening or Closing, such as Trash under chairs, dirty tower steps, Algae or an obvious safety hazard missed the answer you get is ' I told Ashley to do that or Robbie told me that he did it and it was clean.
I believe with all my heart that a well organised and effective checklist could have saved most of those missed items.
Checklists are your servant. Think of them as another worker reminding you and others of routine and specific tasks.Great Checklists,

Plan
Prioritize
Assign
Delegate
Prepare
Record
Remind

all of opening and closing duties.
Additionally checklists don't complain, call out, make mistakes or cost anything!
Why wouldn't you use them.

Breakdown vs a breakthru

2011-06-26T11:35:00.000-07:00

http://www.freakingnews.com/Baby-Breaking-Bricks-Pics-31329.asp

I suspect that there are waterparks out there in June operating at capacity right now and experiencing pool issues, guest complaints, call ins, time off requests, coaching and counseling of staff, as well as good things like revenue generation and happy guests.

We don't always see the positive first but the negative side we remember.

So as a reminder to myself and hopefully others,

There's only a tiny distance between a breakdown and a breakthru

The Bigger picture

2011-06-17T05:03:00.000-07:00

http://blog.myhappyenglish.com/2011/02/happy-english-idiom-lesson-my-eyes-are-bigger-than-my-stomach-from-new-york/

"If you're not careful......your job can get in the way of your work, your work can get in the way of your career and your career can get in the way of your life"

written by me.......while driving to work

How Should we train Lifeguards for certified bystander help?

2011-06-09T07:23:00.000-07:00

I have experienced this a few times, long before the recent incident at the Bahamian waterpark where an off duty nurse/doctor began care on a drowning victim. staff came on scene and took over care with the off duty person feeling like the certified staff members ignored their help which possibly contributed delay in care and fatality. this resulted in bad publicity.

two of my own situations come to mind.

a guest fainted while walking up the slide tower on a super busy day. a guard was alerted and went to investigate. as they were beginning care and waiting on supervisory help, a doctor came out of the crowd, assumed control and gave directions all the way to the first aid office. he began telling the guest all the possible conditions they may have. as it turned out the doctor ended up being a podiatrist
a guest cut their head from a slip and fall. 2 off duty nurses(who used to be lifeguards they told me) were close by and took over care until the guard responded within a few seconds. the spouse of the injured man became very frantic and caused a scene. the nurses then disagreed with the initial care the guard was giving and told the spouse we were doing everything wrong, making the already nervous guard more insecure. I asked the nurses to stand away as our EMT took over. afterwards I went to find the nurses as they seemed offended in the heat of the moment. they wouldn't accept my apology and told me how incompetent we were, when they had actually contributed to the craziness.

For every incident now, I almost anticipate that there will be an off duty/retired nurse/medic/firefighter/lifeguard close by and want to be involved by either assuming control, criticising what your doing or try to be helpful.

WARNING- Controversial topic ahead

HOW SHOULD WE BETTER TRAIN LIFEGUARDS IN COURSES/IN-SERVICE, TO PROPERLY DEAL WITH TRAINED OFF DUTY RESCUERS?

It seems to me like there are a few options,

allow the off-duty responder to exclusively provide care without verifying credentials
don't allow the off duty responder to provide care and move them away to avoid negligence
figure out a way to integrate the off duty responder into the rescue response while you have command control, IF they show competency.

I would love to know your thoughts and if this should be addressed and included in formal training given by nationally recognised lifeguard agencies

The Last Word

2011-05-27T10:58:00.000-07:00

The first few seconds of a conversation and the last are the most important.

I have found that the last word and who has the next action step is also critical.

In the case of Waterpark injuries and incidents it is necessary to leave the other party with one clear message,

'Here is my name and number, contact me if you have any questions'.

It is important to make it clear who has the next communication responsibility, because in the chaos of an incident the guest is worried, confused, looking to assign blame and concerned about who is going to pay for any medical expenses. One guest told me that the only reason they went to an attorney is that the park was supposed to get back to him regarding liability, which they didn't', so he thought that the park was going to deny he ever had an incident.(Please note, this doesn't prevent all lawsuits but can reduce the amount of lawsuits).

If you are not clear with this the other party will assume that the ball is in your court.

The same last word is true with Sales. I have an an example about this yesterday. We are currently getting a lot of inquiries about Waterpark groups for the summer, but due to hotel occupancy we limit groups to weekdays and limit size because we are a small Waterpark.

I received a phone call from a guest who told me that they had spoken with our sales person who books food events ' a couple of weeks ago' . They spoke with me because they declined the food part but was 'just calling to confirm their reservation'. I was not aware of the group and they also were too large a group for us to accommodate for a weekend date. We were at our limit on birthdays and hotel occupancy is high so i couldn't allow them to come and tried to find an alternate date which they did not want to do.

They felt like the sales person had lied to them and had taken down all the details so it was a miscommunication on our part and I should have known about their reservation. As you can imagine the conversation ended badly with a promise to tell everyone how unprofessional we were.

When I followed up with the salesperson she told me that the group had contacted her 4 weeks ago and not two and the last word was that the group leader was undecided about food and would 'get back to us'. The sales person did not follow up because she was getting more and more inquiries to answer.

The point of the story is that the guest believed that she had a solid reservation and the salesperson thought she had just provided pricing to a group that never got back to her.

I know this could have been resolved if the last word had clearly told the group that a reservation couldn't be made last minute or until an agreement was signed or until a deposit was accepted.

Of course, if the next action step is yours , then keep your promise and 'walk your talk'.

How to be a Guest mind reader

2011-05-24T08:34:00.000-07:00

There's someone in your organisation who answers phone calls about your waterpark. Many times the newest employee will be that person. The most frequent questions will probably be about,

operating hours
food and beverage policies
group rates
directions

Questions are good and very welcome but most times customers will not fully disclose all the details about what they are planning and will fill in the blanks with their own assumptions and often these assumptions result in complaints that you have to fix.

Here's a real situation that highlights this,

Tuesday morning

Guest: phone call "we are going to have our own birthday celebration there, can we buy tickets in advance?"

Employee:" sorry ma'am we currently don't sell in advance, but you can buy them on the day"

Guest:"OK thanks"

Memorial day Saturday afternoon

a group of 30 people show up with coolers, uncooked burgers, chafing dishes and burners ready to cook their food and buy admission.unfortunately the waterpark is at capacity.

Employee:"i'm sorry ma'am we don't allow outside food, coolers and you can't cook your own food. Also we are at capacity due to the holiday weekend and we can't let anymore in"

Guest;" I called up Tuesday to buy my tickets in advance and no one told me this, i want to speak to a manager, we have 30 adults and kids here to celebrate a birthday and you're telling me we can't come in!"

you can imagine that the conversation doesn't go well with the manager and complaints of rudeness and unprofessionalism are made. the guest tells you that you have ruined their whole birthday party, made the kids cry and they will sending a letter to your corporate office (where you know all the complaints will be hugely exaggerated)

BUT,
Whose fault is this situation? Don't we still live by buyer beware? we also live in the Google generation where people expect to be provided all the answers without doing much research. In addition if you dare to point this out you will be accused of poor customer service.

Use the following tools to help reduce disappointment causing complaints

Anticipate that your guests will not disclose all the details. they will assume that because they know then you will know.
OVER communicate, ask lots of questions and give more information than asked for. You may insult some peoples intelligence BUT you will save more disappointment in the long run.
create a FAQ page on your website and refer people to it every chance you get.
encourage every caller to call before arriving to check on availability due to capacity.

Finally, use this story above as a training tool in your IN service training to ask your staff,

whose fault is this?
what should the guest have done differently
what should the employee have done differently
what tools can be used to reduce these types of incidents from happening
what are we doing currently and what can we improve on in this area

Command Presence

2011-05-21T10:29:00.000-07:00

One of the worst things a good leader (on any level) wants to hear from a guest is , "I want to speak to someone higher than you!"

On the other hand weak supervisors love to hear that because it gets them off the hook, they don't have to deal with a guest complaint.

The other day i took a walk around the Waterpark and i saw my supervisor at a distance with a guest. I then saw him point towards me and the guest started walking to me. I introduced myself and asked how I could help. The guest complaint was that there wasn't enough umbrellas as they were all taken. I apologized, realized quickly and informed her that we didn't have any extra. I offered a couple of options and asked where she was going to be in case I came across an umbrella not being used. She wasn't completely satisfied but she was content with my answer.

Afterwards I asked the supervisor what happened and what he said. He told me that he explained that we didn't have any extra umbrellas and the guest then wanted to speak to his manager. He was sending her to my office when he saw me walk around the corner.

When I told him that I said the same words as he did (except in a different way) I had to ask him " If I gave the guest the same answer as you, how come she didn't ask to speak to my manager?". I felt a little bad asking such a point blank question but it was one of those statements that was good old fashioned straight talk. He couldn't answer.

I believe the difference was 'command presence'. I believe this is a presence of authority, confidence and respect. If you look at the picture above you can see who is 'in charge'

Dont's

Don't send the guest to your leaders office blindly without notification. They may not be there or they won't appreciate being caught off guard.
Don't pass the buck
Don't use negative body language
Don't be afraid to use initiative
Don't make promises you don't intend to keep just to keep the guest appeased

Do's

Do say "I can help you".
Do say, 'I'm not sure but i'll find out'
Do use positive body language.
Do offer alternatives and explain the consequences
Do ask you boss what you can and can't decide in regard to refunds or 'complimentary giveaways"

HOW to be and hire SELF MANAGED people

2011-05-12T10:33:00.000-07:00

When things are a bit hectic and several things seem to be going downhill I tell myself,
‘My job would be so easy if I didn’t have to deal with guests or employees’

This usually makes me chuckle to myself and reminds me that without those individuals I wouldn’t have a job. Naturally, it doesn’t mean that the better leader you are the more problems with guests and employees you create. The opposite is true. The goal is to minimize these challenges and not to have the same problems repeat.

The key to this as a leader is developing ‘self managed’ team members. This is especially true for young and inexperienced workers. If every day, you could be there in the morning to wake them up and get to work on time, make sure they clock in and out properly, be right with them on post to direct what to do and how to do it, then that individual would be well managed, right?

The concept I try to promote is to ask the individual, ‘if you were your own supervisor what would you do to make yourself successful in your current position?’

Here are the main areas and some (not all) of the important questions to ask to determine if someone is self managed,

Attendance
Plans their personal needs, (school, social, appointments and vacations) around their work commitment without having to frequently request time off.
Arrives 5 minutes early every day
Finds a replacement to cover their shift if an emergency comes up

Guest service
Consistently displays friendliness and takes hospitality to the guests
Turns difficult guests into happier guests by preventing and resolving complaints

Presentation
Displays or exceeds the ideal presentation standards without having to be instructed
Acts appropriately in guest view areas

Job Skills
Individual keeps Safety skills current by attending facility training and self training
Is able to perform critical safety skills without help when tested or required.

Teamwork
Completes assigned work to high level consistently without supervision
Cooperates fully with supervisors
Brings an action plan involving themselves to supervisors when a problem is spotted.

These are just some examples of being self managed. If you have any other examples please let me know and I will add them to this article.

Remember being self managed is a basic requirement of a leader and it is a journey not a destination!

How to use a free applicant survey for better hiring

2011-05-04T06:24:00.000-07:00

I use the free service at http://polldaddy.com to create an applicant survey (limited to 10 questions with the free version)

it really helps to,

screen applicants better to save time in the interview process
begin outlining expectations by listing minimal requirements
keep the interview process professional without being too formal
can be posted on ad pages such as craigslist or sent by email
meet the changing climate of online applicants

we cover,

age eligibility for hiring needs
outlining requirements for working weekends and holidays
determining availability
guest service experience
ability to meet presentation guidelines
cash handling experience

keep in mind to adhere to the appropriate hiring legal requirements in your state

here is the link to our survey to see the questions http://polldaddy.com/s/E1F4275E3A9C6A4D

Please let me know if you decide to use an applicant survey too!

p.s. I have started to use an interview schedule document thru Google docs to have applicants pick their own interview time from a list of structured times

Training and influence

2011-04-21T07:03:00.000-07:00

Monkeys, Bananas, Water & Pole

By Adam Chan

In an experiment, four monkeys were placed in an enclosure. In the enclosure, there is a pole. Atop the pole were some juiciest bananas waiting to be grabbed by the monkeys. Indeed, with no hesitation, the monkeys started scaling the pole for their pricy rewards. However during their climb, they were doused with a cold stream of water from the top thus preventing them from getting to the bananas. Monkey likes water slightly more than cats. That how much they would enjoy the splash. In the end, none climb the pole anymore.

In the next stage of the experiment, the scientists removed three monkeys from the enclosure and introduce another three new monkeys that were never splashed. The new monkeys responded to the bananas immediately in the same way which first batch had. The first monkey has seen and felt the cold water; with all his might he prevented the three new ones from climbing the pole. He shouted, growled, pulling legs, jumped up and down, etc. In the end, the three new monkeys even without experiencing the splash of cold water, they did not climb the pole again and they were not soaked.

In the final stage of the experiment, two monkeys were removed and three new ones were introduced. In the enclosure, there were two existing monkeys. One which has seen the water and the other has not. The three new ones responded to the bananas immediately, jumping onto the pole at the first instance. One of the existing monkey that was not splashed previously by water nor has seen the water, bared his teeth, shouted, jumped, growled at the three new monkeys, prevented them from climbing without knowing the reasons behind it. Eventually, no monkey gets to eat the bananas.

What is the connection between the monkeys, bananas, pole and water to corporate culture? Our beliefs are subterranean a.k.a. iceberg beliefs or more commonly known as assumptions. We think of assumptions are the by-products of iceberg beliefs. Most people are familiar with our assumptions but are not discerning about our iceberg beliefs. It takes some willingness and effort to discern its existence and its potent effect it has on our cognitive development. As stated by BF Skinner, humans can be conditioned both positively and negatively. Operant conditioning is the most popular behavioral phenomenon discovered by him in the 60s which set forth the school of behavioral science in the field of psychology.

The monkey story above has demonstrated the definite effects of conditioning coming from external stimulus that has reinforced, changed, altered, transformed, inculcated, influenced, etc the behaviors of the monkeys, to be precise, their beliefs. This can be true for humans too. The facts in the monkey experiment have such uncanny similarity to the works in any organization.

Senior staff members can easily influence the new comers in both the good and the bad manner; this is one parallel aspect between the story and reality.

New comers adapt and live the existing culture with no discernment, following suit for the sake of compliance, in a total blinded manner.

Conditioning is potent as the effect it exercises on us is unobtrusive and subliminal. Conditioning can be premeditated too. Both constructive and destructive results can be achieved by understanding the mechanics of conditioning. Like the movie Spiderman, with great power comes great responsibilities. Leaders, Head of departments, CEOs, Directors have the authority and opportunities to do so. With or without the knowledge of conditioning, they are exercising it daily in both verbal and non-verbal communication occasions. Let’s understand its power use it wisely both at work

My observations

tribal training can be both positive and negative
influence and training go hand in hand
over time the rationale behind policies in training can become lost and the maintaining of the policy or standard can become more important than the desired outcome from the policy

BUSY IS NOT THE EXCUSE BUT THE REASON TO FOLLOW PROCEDURES'

2011-04-20T13:30:00.000-07:00

We just experienced Spring break.

The calendar tells me every year that it's coming but there's always an adjustment.The Waterpark and staff go from slow and steady to full speed, seemingly and literally overnight.

What you find is that the weaknesses that you thought had been fixed and not seen for months are exposed.

Here's a few examples,

Children too small to ride the waterslides slip through causing irate parents.
Strainer baskets not being cleaned.
Cash banks not balancing and being short.
Voids and refunds needing to be made.
Flow rates getting low
Chlorine barrels getting empty.
Decks getting dirty
Pumps failing.
Getting so many group and birthday inquiries you can't get back to them all in time.
Being short staffed and not having enough time to call back applicants let alone interview.

I was having a conversation about this with our Front Desk Manager, Lionel, who was noticing the same thing. He mentioned that the answer he got when things were missed and mistakes were made was, 'It got too busy'. He gave me some examples that if the extra few seconds were taken and the normal procedures followed, most if not all the mistakes would have been averted.

Here's a giant banner waiting to be posted in the break room.

'BUSY IS NOT THE EXCUSE BUT THE REASON TO FOLLOW PROCEDURES'

http://weatherspark.com/

2011-03-16T07:34:00.000-07:00

In waterparks you become very in tune with weather not only for forecasts, chance of storms, tornadoes and snow, but also with historical data when providing a narrative on why the last month or period went compared to plan.

I came across http://weatherspark.com as a useful site to get historical and current data. Hope it helps

You know you've been in waterparks a long time.....

2011-03-16T05:05:00.000-07:00

sounds like a setup to a punchline but this is a true story.

Recently I attended a business fair/expo to promote my current employer, and took two female staff members to dress up and perform as the mascot/character. While manning the booth I recognized a former employee named Michelle and introduced her to the new staff members. I couldn't remember how long ago she was a lifeguard with me and didn't want to embarrass her. She told me she was now a teacher.

After she left I couldn't help but notice that one of the new employees had seemed to know the former employee, so I asked, ' how do you know Michelle, are you neighbors?'.

'No', she replied, 'she was my teacher in kindergarten'.

needless to say, you know you've been in waterparks a long time when one set of employees were taught how to read by another set of previous employees. I felt proud and old at the same time.

what do you need to do to get people to buy in

2011-03-10T11:30:00.000-08:00

Even though silence is a form of agreement, if you really want people to to buy into your idea you have to allow them to weigh in with their opinion of your idea

Know the cleaning lady

2011-03-03T11:00:00.000-08:00

ORIGINAL AUTHOR UNKNOWN

During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions, until I read the last one: "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"

Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade.

"Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say "hello."

I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy

K.O.I.

2011-03-02T13:56:00.000-08:00

What is KOI?,

no not the fish that lives a very long time but KEY OPERATING INDICATOR.

I realized recently that if I were to evaluate a department, person or company, I would be able to tell how organised and efficient it was from just a few KOI.

one of them would be,

how well or consistently they communicated their accomplishments, news or updates. I can tell you right now the best department in your waterpark just on this one thing. If they are clearly communicating information to others then they are definitely one of the best if not THE BEST.

Craigslist tips for waterpark hiring #2

2011-02-24T05:43:00.000-08:00

Start setting expectations

Craigslist will give you some set parameters to fill out but the first way to start filtering solid candidates and resume pushers is state at the beginning,

Please read and follow all instructions before responding,

Here are some strongly recommended expectations to add as instructions,

Please add a short sentence on why you think you would be suitable for this position.
Add your work history/resume in the body of the email response rather than an attachment(who has time to open attachments only to find they are in a version of Microsoft works, RTF file or Notepad)
Only successful candidates will be contacted. Due to the quantity of responses it will not be possible to respond to applicants......etc, this will reduce the number of people who call or email to 'check on the status of their application'

These will help in the filtering process. If you get ,

plain email with no note and just an attachment
a response that says' I am interested in this position, please call me at xxx-xxx-xxxx to discuss
no sentence describing why they would like to work at YOUR place

you can perhaps discard straight away because you'll know that they didn't take the time to read the whole post. You may have to sacrifice someone who has related experience that just sends an attached resume over someone that followed directions with no experience.

More on specifics of setting expectations in the next post........

craigslist-tips-for-waterpark-hiring-1

Craigslist tips for waterpark hiring #1

2011-02-22T10:13:00.000-08:00

You may or may not be using Craigslist for hiring non managerial staff and you may or may not be having good results, but, I thought I would put a series of tips I have found and of course open up any reader suggested ideas in the comment section. I will add a new tip every few days.

Tip # 1- Be ready?

you will get quantity but maybe not a lot of quality responses usually within an hour or day of your posting. Make sure you are prepared for this. Some responses will be specific to your post but some will just be blind resumes hoping that once you see their resume you will be blown away and create a position just for them. The next posts will deal with how to be specific to keep these to a minimum.

How hard are you working for your employees?

2011-02-11T05:36:00.000-08:00

A manager leaving the company wrote an email thanking his employees for their work and mentioned,

'I hope that I have worked as hard for you'.

The more I thought, the more I liked the concept of a leader working hard for their employees.

So here is my self questionnaire,

am I working hard to recognize my best performers
am I working hard to train them daily, weekly or monthly
am I working hard to set a high enough standard for their work
am I working hard to use everyones efforts to get progress and results
am I working hard enough to keep everyone productive

and the list goes on.................but the core idea is that you have to be focused on getting the best out of your employees AND work hard to meet their needs of feeling that they are providing worthwhile work

Quote of the day

2011-02-09T06:18:00.000-08:00

'People make decisions based on their feelings about the facts'- me

Andrew Vaughan

2011-02-07T08:07:00.000-08:00

Andrew Vaughan: "

Hi,

I am Andrew and I have spent my work-life operating water parks.

You can Email me here

Hard habits to break

2011-02-03T05:29:00.001-08:00

Make your good habits hard to break!

Each summer at a Waterpark you work hard to install good habits.

One of those for me was a daily closing routine of hosing down the decks and especially the front entrance.The closing guards would know what to do and when to do it without being told.

Come the end of summer our general manager would see the hosing and tell me just to save the labor and send everyone home.After all, he said "the decks look clean already"

What would happen is that the routine would get forgotten and slowly but surely the dirt and stains would appear and everyone just got used to seeing them and they became part of the facility.

Next spring when the park got busy again, the GM would call during the opening duties and demand that someone hose immediately and was frustrated that no one had seen the dirt. Understandably so.

After a couple of years of this stop/start, damned if you do damned if you Don't cleaning routine I was able to convince the GM to just let me continue the routine of nightly hosing regardless of the time of year.I just scaled down the amount but made sure the critical areas were done.We went back to staying on top of deck cleanliness and rarely got caught out.

Did the decks really need to be washed down daily? No. But remember my saying, 'what you pay attention to gets noticed' and because of that habit even our lifeguards could see when areas would get dirty all because they paid attention to getting it clean.

The word habit and routine has a negative association but I think it means consistency.

Consistency is only noticed when its missing!

Under Pressure

2011-01-27T05:43:00.000-08:00

This is a reminder (to me)

People don't remember how you act when things are going well,

They remember how you act when things are going badly.

Be calm & assertive

Setting Service Standards

2011-01-20T06:22:00.000-08:00

One of the most satisfying moments in my work life was helping to create a set of service standards for a 1200 employee resort where I managed a 12 acre water facility with a lazy river and water slides. It truly was an ‘A-HA’ moment. Two words come to mind -

CLARITY and ALIGNMENT.

We came up with 35 separate standards under the word S.e.r.v.i.c.e that were made into a booklet. We knew that it wasn’t enough to have employee’s carry it in their pockets, how could we get them to carry them in their hearts?

What made it successful is the following,

1. The standards came from collaboration with key players and not from corporate headquarters.
2. The standards were in the own words of the group.
3. A pocketbook was created to be worn or carried.
4. At the daily executive meeting a person was assigned to talk about each of the standards. This meant a little research and any handouts could be posted for all employees. The executive group had to talk about it daily which bought focus as it was rolled out to descending management groups
5. A different service standard was covered in all pre shift meetings on a daily basis. Some departments even delegated to each of their members a daily topic to cover, thus creative skits and presentations were born.
6. A recognition and reward card was developed when one of the standards was observed by fellow employees or management.
7. It became part of orientation and ongoing training

Disney has a wonderfully simple operational standard.

Safety, Courtesy, Show and Efficiency

What I like about this personally is that you can hold up every one of your daily actions to these standards.
When an employee is faced with a challenging situation they can do the same or when coaching an individual you can talk about what they did or more importantly what they can do next time. This will be true of your service standards. Shortly after developing these standards I received a guest complaint about a lifeguard that merited a formal counseling. I was able to coach with clarity and document each of the service standards that were not upheld.

The following is a sample of my own standards I created for my current department using the STAR analogy.

• S- Service
• T- Take hospitality to the guest
• A- Attention to detail
• R- Respect

Service

1. Be prepared to deliver service. You’re on stage at all times.
2. Always displays a positive attitude. Send the right signal.
3. Take Pride and ownership in everything you do. Be your best.
4. Be a star! Be a role model.
5. Our job is not what we do but who we do it for.

I encourage you to develop your own service standards and develop a visual that represents each of these. that visual will help to reinforce your message

These may not necessarily cover your Safety standards but remember, 'a dead guest is not a happy guest'.

Feed the tigers, Ride the horses, shoot the dogs

2011-01-12T06:29:00.000-08:00

If you haven't heard this saying before it is a very simple and effective way to look at your fellow team members and the results they produce at work. I am a dog lover so I don't believe in actually shooting animals or people but taken in the right caring and supportive context you can sort each individual into one of these categories and develop an approach for each person to improve their work results.
(I've also heard this recently described as racehorses and donkeys)

Its a good time of the year to evaluate current staff or people that may return for your upcoming season.

Feed the tigers- let them loose as they ferociously, consistently and actively provide excellent Guest service, Safety and teamwork. They just need a daily or weekly 'chunk of meat' in the form of recognition and praise.

Ride the horses- these types of individuals need course correction every so often and affirmation that they are doing the rights things. the whip and the carrot may be necessary. This takes a little more shoulder to shoulder supervision but it's worth it if they become a tiger.

Shoot the dogs-well you probably shouldn't have hired them in the first place, but this group may only need a warning shot fired in the air to get their attention. Every effort should be made turn them into horses but if there is no signs of effort or cooperation then it will be best to release them and wish them good luck in their next adventure. If you do have to 'put them to sleep' then it shouldn't come as a complete surprise to them.

Don't take these analogies too literally and remember that a single person may be a tiger in guest service skills, a horse in their safety skills and dogs in their attendance.

Its not always that simple.

What do you sell at your Waterpark?

2011-01-08T05:36:00.000-08:00

You may sell,

merchandise
souvenirs
admission
annual passes
candy
drinks
burgers
group rates
catering
even safety

BUT, I think the real product that we should be trying to move and make transactions is selling the product of SERVICE.Its the one thing that ties together all departments, is the table on which you sell the other things above and gets people to become your first circle of fans.

So the product we should try to sell first and most is SERVICE!

YOU'RE ONLY AS SAFE AS YESTERDAY

2011-01-06T10:49:00.000-08:00

I just asked Google to send me a daily update of anything in the news related to 'waterpark' and also I signed up for Aquatics International Connect and whats amazing is how many drownings across the countryoccur each week.

After working at the same waterpark for 15 years I am especially proud that there was no drownings during that time. I think that adopting the concept, 'You're only as safe as yesterday', helped a great deal.

If you had a safe day today, you can be satisfied, but tomorrow is another day that you have to be prepared for.

Another concept that is helpful is to ask, 'How far away is the next emergency'. In order to answer this honestly you have to consider your,

1. Supervision
2. Prevention
3. Reduction
4. Recognition
5. Response
6. Training
7. Communication

All the above and more will determine how you can avoid the incidents in the first place or how well you handle the emergency when it is in progress.

Uniform Lineup

2011-01-06T10:36:00.000-08:00

We are in the coldest months here in Florida, and being a year round facility we have to address cold weather uniform.

In a climate of budget cuts we are unable to provide warm jackets and pants so we ask our safety staff to provide their own uniform with certain guidelines as far as color and style. We try to take into account the following criteria,

Must match our colors
Must be inexpensive
Must be easily available from outlets such as walmart, Target etc.

We post pictures to emphasize what is acceptable and what is not. Still we get variances in the look or style that have be coached and counseled.

My theory on uniform is that it ,

Is the first stage in discipline and self management.
Is a clear sign that you are identifiable and approachable for your guests to ask questions and get help.
Is a sign that you provide consistency.
Is a psychological signal that you are on the same page and part of a like minded team.
IS PROFESSIONAL- you wouldn't want your police officers showing up with different types of the color green shirts and shirts untucked when you call 911!

The best definition I heard regarding uniform is to think of your staff standing shoulder to shoulder, similar to a police line up.

Would you find,

name tags missing or on different locations
different shades of one color t shirts
different color pants
different styles of pants with or without cargo pockets
different types of shoes.

OR would you find everybody in harmony regardless of size, height and body design.

Water park Kaizen

2011-01-04T06:06:00.000-08:00

The Japanese have a term called 'Kaizen', which stands for approximately, 'small changes that make constant improvement. Integral to this is the 5 'S' system.
In the Japanese 5 'S' system http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5S_(methodology) , which stands for (roughly)

sort
set in order
shine
standardize
sustain

one theme which runs through all the standards is the use of visual cues.

So, taking a tip from this I started to apply this to our pump room, specifically labeling the valves for backwashing and where to find and store the brush used for cleaning the filter baskets. The 'b' shows where the valve should be pointing for backwashing and the 'f' shows normal filtration position.

I post the following pics to show how you can use visual cues more or feel pretty good that you are already using visual cues to make your work better.

Video inspections

2010-12-28T05:40:00.000-08:00

Many years ago ( about 1992) i heard a audio recording from the World Waterpark Association conference from I believe Ned Stancliff. He was talking about doing a daily safety inspection with a 35 mm camera and snapping pictures. At the end of the inspection the camera roll was dated and placed in a draw in the event that it was needed if an incident occurred.

While that was many years ago and digital cameras have been easily available for at least the last ten years I wondered how many people use a video camera to perform daily,weekly or monthly inspections. video cameras can now be purchased as cheaply as $50-$100.

I will be posting an article on how to perform a video inspection in the new year and some must do's and things to avoid.

please take the poll below

Video inspections- Do you currently use them to document safety conditions at your facility?customer surveys

Top Ten Reasons to Say it WHILE you do it

2010-12-23T06:32:00.001-08:00

ci.new-brighton.mn.us

While teaching a couple of CPR classes this last few weeks I decided to pass on some reasons why I feel its extremely important to verbalize the steps of CPR while you are training AND if you perform in an emergency.

It reinforces the retention of critical safety skills while practicing in preparation for an emergency
It helps others learn from you while watching you perform the skills
In a real situation it may jog another rescuer into correct action by listening to what you say while you are doing it and vice versa
It promotes communication and confidence with other rescuers
It helps you get into the 'zone' therefore improving the chances of performing well in a real emergency
It shows the person that is testing you in an audit that you are competent
It promotes teamwork and coordination when working with other rescuers
Other rescuers even EMS can see where you in the process of emergency care from what your are doing and saying
It promotes confidence in bystanders especially family members who may be highly emotional. There is a good chance that a nurse, EMT, former lifeguard, will jump from the crowd and distract you if they dont see you in command control.
It can help in a law suit when witness statements reflect how you verbalized, communicated and coordinated your rescue skills until EMS arrives.

please let me know any I have missed in the comments!

10 reasons to wear your nametag

2010-12-21T05:43:00.000-08:00

Some of you may not be in a job where you have to or want to wear a name tag. Here are MY top ten reasons

To let your guests/customers/clients know, ‘I can help you’
To send a message to your guests that you are approachable.
For getting yourself into the work mindset when you put it on.
As a billboard in marketing your facility when you wear it off property.
To display pride in what your do and where you do it.
To set a good example if you supervise others.
To show your boss that you comply with simple standards without being told.
To personalize things for your guests by being able to use your name.
To get to know people you work with, who work for you and who you work for.
To emphasize and reinforce polite authority if needed.

Please feel free to add any i might have missed in the comments !

Vital few vs. The significant many

2010-12-16T03:22:00.000-08:00

Whenever you feel a little foggy on what to do next or you want to plan your day/week/life, you may find it useful to ask yourself what are the vital few things I have/need to do versus the many significant things that I want to get done.

You may not have heard of the Pareto principle or more commonly called the 80/20 rule but it applies in this case.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle

you may spend 20% of your time to get the most important (80%) of things done.

so, what is your vital few today?

is it?,

Creating

Hiring

Counseling

Calling

Training

Teaching

Learning

Fixing

Planning

Buying

Cleaning

Coaching

Delegating

Emailing

Budgeting

Selling

Is Waterpark labor a fixed expense?

2010-12-09T06:31:00.000-08:00

On slow days you have to look at waterpark labor as a fixed cost like a mortgage payment or insurance fee rather than a variable controllable expense.Meaning it is comparable to the fact that the bank expecting the same mortgage payment amount regardless of you low income that month. the mortgage payment never goes down as a percentage of your revenue.

Of course you can always trim labor but as anticipated revenue goes down lifeguard labor can can only come down proportionally for a very short time until you are spending more in the short term than you are making.

e.g. the cost of minimum staffing maybe 1 guard per ride/pool open with someone to rotate for breaks which may far outweigh the revenue coming in from one or two families that may visit.

You may not now when and for how long those small amount of guests may come so you have to have the staffing staggered appropriately. those guests don't really care that you may be losing money but you should care that you provide an experience that your guests are paying for.

Just a change in mindset as you'll never see Waterpark labor in the fixed expenses of the P&L. There is nothing wrong in asking for ways to reduce labor costs but all non lifeguard executive management need to understand this and lifeguard managers need to remember this.

Keep in mind, on those busy days your labor % may be well under the expected goal and you wont be allowed to bring in more lifeguards so you have one for every guest in the pools and on the rides.

Should do vs. Have to do

2010-12-01T11:23:00.000-08:00

Recently I heard a story about a department head who was expecting an audit from the management company on behalf of the bank. The department head was a little concerned as they had no training program in place, no department manual, no employee files and no documented schedule. They were told by the GM , "don't worry only do the things you have to do" and gave them a list of things that the management company was looking for.
Well, they made it through inspection but I couldn't help but think,

SOONER OR LATER THE SHOULD DO'S WILL BECOME THE HAVE TO DO.

For example,

the leaks on the slide seams
the very small cracks on the slides
the water leak from the pool
the guard who needs their re cert in CPR
the pump thats starting to get a little noisier.
INSERT YOUR SHOULD DO HERE

p.s. I have quite a few should do's

Aspiration or Inspiration

2010-11-30T13:07:00.000-08:00

Do you provide aspiration or inspiration?

Whats the difference?

For me I sometimes fall into the aspiration category. I want and wish for my group to do all the right things without being told only to feel let down sometimes.

What I should do is provide a leadership example and inspire them to be better as an individual and produce better results as a group.

I'm trying to transition from aspiration to inspiration.

When does the job actually begin?

2010-11-19T12:53:00.000-08:00

Here's a great question to ask your staff in your next group meeting / In service,

When do you start work?

Is it when you clock in?
Is it when you get out of your car?
Is it after you've had your coffee and caught up with the gossip
Is it when you enter the property?
Is it when you begin your drive to work?
Is it when you check your email?
Is it when you wake up and get in the shower?

There is no right or wrong answer to this question only (much)better answers than others, BUT the important part of this exercise is to ask WHY? to each answer you are given.

You can gain an insight in to how people think about their job and how much planning they may do whether they are required or not.

Pose the question,

If you get out of your car and there is a piece of trash in the parking lot, it is ok to pick it up before you are clocked in?- why/why not?
or
Once you clock out do you have to stay in complete uniform or can you walk to your car with half and half or pull out your tucked in shirt and put your nose/eyebrow/tongue ring back in?- why/why not?

I have always believed that once you enter property you should begin inspecting and planning your day. If you are walking in or out or even on break you represent your organization but the challenge is trying to get everyone in your dept. and others to be consistent.

I also ask this question in an interview with the follow up why? to get an understanding of what someone will do once hired.

I would love to know how you address the issues of how you lead others on what they do and how they look and act when they are on or off the clock.

Whats your workplace 'texting while driving' policy?

2010-11-16T11:41:00.000-08:00

Disney bans texting and driving

The Walt Disney Co. has issued a new policy banning employees from texting while driving on the job.

The ban applies to all of the Burbank, Calif.-based entertainment giant's worldwide employees — including its roughly 60,000 workers at Walt Disney World.

The policy, which recently took effect, also prohibits employees from making or receiving phone calls while driving on the job unless they use a single ear piece. It applies to workers who are either driving company vehicles or using their own vehicles while on the job.

Disney punishments for workers caught violating the driving policy will be decided on case-by-case basis. The policy does not apply to employees during their drives to or from work.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/breakingnews/os-disney-bans-texting-20101116,0,2127219.story

The mousetrap story

2010-11-11T09:11:00.000-08:00

I was throwing away some old notes and came across this great story I thought i'd share. I don't remember writing it but its in my handwriting. I am posting it so I don't forget it in the future.

A mouse discovers a new mousetrap in the farm kitchen with cheese. He had never seen one before so he went Panicked to ask the chicken, pig and cow for help.
The chicken said, 'its not my concern'. The pig said, ' theres nothing I can do sorry'. The cow said,' I don't even eat cheese'.
That night a poisonous snake got caught in the trap and bit the farmers wife as she was trying to remove it. The wife became very sick and developed a fever. The farmer gave his wife chicken soup to help recover. After a few weeks the wife became so ill she passed away. The farmer held a banquet with roast pig to honor his wife. After a few months the farmer looked for new wife which cost him one cow to his new wifes father,as was the custom.

The moral of the story, If you think that someone or something is so small and not worthy of your help then you may want to think again because you all could be at risk.

10 rules for business success

2010-11-11T05:10:00.000-08:00

If you haven't heard of Larry Winget you should check out his audio books

What would you do today.........................................?

2010-11-10T12:16:00.000-08:00

What would you do today if tomorrow you knew you were going to get a visit from?

The health department
Your lifeguard auditor
Your Owner to discuss the P&L statement
Your mother
A tour from a prospective large group

The answer is that you would probably,

Scramble all resources to clean all the pools ,check all the readings, read the pool code and inspect everything on your property to see if it meets code. Also you would make sure all your documentation is up to date.
Check all certifications, drill all your guards to make sure they are ready and give the day off to all those who are weak on their skills.
Pull all your data and make a spreadsheet to show all your revenues, cost of sales, payroll and other expenses versus budget as well as print graphs to show attendance, occupancy and comparisons.
Inspect every slide and ride tube so you know your mum will not get injured.
Clean and repair everything (C.A.R.E.) so you make your mum proud and the prospective group will be impressed and book with you.

You will also be out in the park the whole time supervising to make sure everything above gets done or you will be doing it all yourself!

Well the good news is that it’s highly unlikely that you’ll get a visit all in one day but the bad news is that it’s likely that you’ll get a visit from all of these folks at some point.

I don’t have the perfect answer to this question except to say that it is a good question to ask yourself everyday or week. This mindset can help you to be focused and after all any leader reading this knows all this information but very few (including me) are able to keep this focus and do these things consistently.

Ironically, to stay focused doesn’t require you to be manic and neurotic. We also condition ourselves and those we lead to do things to stay out of trouble and to avoid liability. The trick is to do things to gain honest pleasure and not to avoid pain. For example, when you’re in school and you do your homework project the same day its assigned to free yourself to play Xbox etc. or wait till the project is due and stay up late or claim forgetfulness the day it’s due.

It’s critical we condition ourselves and others to get pleasure from doing the right thing rather than doing things to avoid the pain of looking bad!

So, if you knew you were going to any of these visits tomorrow or next week, WHAT WOULD YOU DO TODAY?

The hand off

2010-11-08T15:45:00.001-08:00

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

The hand off

View more presentations from Andrew Vaughan.

WOW

2010-11-03T07:47:00.000-07:00

Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose

Have a word with yourself

2010-10-30T06:37:00.000-07:00

Whether you are seasonal or a year round facility you and your staff will inevitably suffer from burnout, especially near the end of the peak season.

Some signs are,

You are not as motivated to be as detailed in your inspections
you procrastinate
you let some little bad habits creep in, in yourself and others

Then all of a sudden you get a wake up call from a harsh guest complaint on a slow day, a visit from corporate/ health inspector Or your supervisor seems irritated. it could also take a combination of all these things and more.

There are one of two things you can do,

blame it on 'they or them'. your staff, poor management, the economy, lack of budget etc,
have a word with yourself to get refocused and look for ways your co workers can do the same.

One thing to to ask yourself ," was I really on top of my game before this?"

or another way to say it,

"you have to be on fire before you get burnt out"

Words of Wisdom (WOW)

2010-10-29T12:53:00.000-07:00

Delegation

You can delegate the work but not the accountability!

Sharing the Happiness

2010-10-22T06:29:00.000-07:00

I have just finished listening to the Audio book of Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh, the CEO of www.zappos.com
http://www.deliveringhappinessbook.com/

I found this book truly inspiring and wanted to share the audiobook to anyone interested by posting a download link using filemail.com

Please Email me at waterparkleadership101@gmail.com and i will send you a link to download it. I only ask that you type some notes that are meaningful to you about the book to include in a summary that can then be reviewed later to remind you of the useful topics shared in the book. kind of a collaborative effort.

Some of the topics include,

Pay new employees $2000 to quit.
Make customer service the responsibility of the entire company, not just a department.
Focus on company culture as the #1 priority.
Apply research from the science of happiness to running a business.
Help employees grow both personally and professionally.
Seek to change the world.
Oh, and make money too.

Hands Only CPR for citizens

2010-10-21T13:58:00.000-07:00

Prezi for presentations

2010-10-15T06:16:00.000-07:00

Prezi.com is one of my new favorite tools for presentations, but I also use it for jotting down ideas and concepts like a mind map. It also offers the ability to embed and share,

Here is an example I made for a more interesting resume.

Hit the play button for the next slide or Auto play, you can also view Full screen

Non Traditional Resume on Prezi

In between the House

2010-10-07T08:41:00.000-07:00

wahoo Waterpark Bahrain

In the Hotel Industry there is a division between the front of the house and the back of the house. This probably is related to the Restaurant or Theater Industry and refers to those who work in the 'front' of the business and those that work 'back', behind the scenes.

Some examples of positions in a Waterpark, of front of the house are,

Ticket sales
Guest services
Lifeguards
Gift shop Cashier

Back of the house employees are typically in staff only areas, such as,

Maintenance
Custodial
Accounting
Sales

But more and more the lines between the front and back are being blurred and one day may disappear( if they haven't already), which will mean you will have to have skills for both areas including,

Customer service skills for all
Cashier skills for all
Basic maintenance knowledge for all
Basic shared cleaning duties for all
Basic tech skills for all
Pool cleaning skills for all
Sales skills for all

So how have you developed your own front of house and back of house skill?

You have to be a great follower to get others to follow you!

2010-10-02T09:19:00.000-07:00

Attention and Intention

2010-10-01T06:13:00.001-07:00

The Operation of a Waterpark (or really any business) comes down to two things.

Attention

what you pay attention to.
what gets noticed
what you focus on
what you train others to notice
what standards you communicate

Intention

what you motivate yourself to do
what you plan to do
what standards you consistently uphold
what you commit others to
what you accept of yourself and others

TECH TIPS- Groupme.com

2010-09-27T11:50:00.000-07:00

www.groupme.com

Maybe a way to send a text to everyone in your work group OR a way for your staff to communicate with your supervisory group without giving out personal numbers.

What is GroupMe?

Free group texting and conference calling. It’s like a private chatroom over SMS, or reply-all text messaging. GroupMe enables you to organize and communicate with the groups of people in your life that are important to you.

What can I do with it?

Set up unique groups to text message or conference call. Each group is given a unique phone number that sends all text messages to everyone in the group and calls everyone in the groups. Save it to you’re your contacts and you’ll never forget who you’re talking to.

Great video on single tasking

2010-09-24T10:30:00.001-07:00

see http://waterparkleadership.blogspot.com/2010/07/single-tasking.html
see http://waterparkleadership.blogspot.com/2010/08/theres-always-room-for-jello.html

Training IS part of the Job

2010-09-22T05:54:00.000-07:00

NEW LAUNCH

I have just launched a new site called Training IS part of the job. http://trainingispartofthejob.blogspot.com/

"I believe that ongoing Training within a job creates better more engaged individuals who are loyal and easily retained. This is a site dedicated to the pursuit of making training part of any job not something additional that barely gets done. Share your thoughts and best practices on how you make training part of the job."

No one doubts the importance of training in a job, BUT we all find it difficult to include training as part of the job.

I have begun writing and will be completing a book called 'Training IS part of the Job' and will be posting chapters on the new site for comments. All your good ideas and comments will be added to the book, and of course subscribers of the new site will receive a free E-copy.

My mission is to shake up the work environment and provide some 'real world' tools to change the culture and make Training part of the job!

The Door code

2010-09-14T07:32:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to pass on this interesting tidbit in case you wanted to prevent some distractions.

Read the full article

The door code

DOOR OPEN: It means that you can be interrupted at any time for any reason.
DOOR AJAR: It means that you're busy. But if there's something extremely pressing, you can be interrupted. You can set your own house rules to say what "extemely pressing" means.
DOOR CLOSED: Don't. Even. Breathe. In. This. Direction. Open this door only if there's a fire.

What do YOU say ?

2010-09-11T07:13:00.000-07:00

A guest at my office door with a question.

A question that I have heard hundreds of times, sometimes a few times in the same day, every few days or every once in a while.

A question that is understandable, to be expected in a Waterpark but is asked by people who are hoping you'll answer in their favor.

Here it goes,

A dad approaches with his young son and says the following,

"my son is just a couple of inches too short for your water slide, but can you let him go?". This is usually followed up by some or all the following,

he goes on roller coasters all the time
he goes on water-slides back home all the time
He'll be OK, i say its OK
can we sign a waiver
his big sister is tall enough but he's not, how is that fair
can he ride with me
he's on the swim team at school
etc.

Now depending on your answer the response can be anywhere from slightly disappointed to a nuclear meltdown. I realize this depends on the type of waterslide you may have.

So,

When you get asked the question above,

WHAT DO YOU SAY?

Training Games

2010-09-08T14:46:00.000-07:00

Get to know you

click link for larger picture get to know you sample

Purpose: to get a new group of people comfortable with each other OR to remind an existing group that they share many things in common.

how to play: each person (at least 6 people) has a paper table with items that they have experienced in their life. see example. the object is to go to different people and see if they have experienced the item on the paper. for example if the person you are speaking with knows how to play an instrument then you write their name next to the item. you have complete the whole table or as many as you can.

results: I have found that after using this game the group energy and participation level increases or when used with an existing group of people who have worked with each other for a while , this exercise brings a new found respect and interest in the experiences of others.

tips: pick the experiences or achievements to meet the type of group you may have. with a group of new people you want to make sure that you don't alienate those who may not have experienced things that require large amounts of money.

commonality helps people work together better and faster as they can relate to each other through shared experiences and breaks down barriers by giving individuals knowledge of each others talents/experiences more effectively than traditional means.

'Save' a Lifeguard day

2010-09-04T07:07:00.001-07:00

source:http://comiccoverage.typepad.com/comic_coverage/comic_book_life_lessons/

There's a day for secretaries, Housekeepers, Bosses, nurses, doctors and even chemists recognize moles day!

So why not an observance for Lifeguards!

Take the Lifeguard Recognition Event Survey

I searched Google and there was no designated day or week on a national or international level, other than a few local efforts.

Join Me in a grass roots level to create a national or international observance for Lifeguards

WHY

Lifeguarding is a profession
Alongside Babysitting it is the job with the most responsibility with the least pay
Lifeguards prevent negative consequences on a daily basis without recognition and get judged when something goes wrong and not when it goes right
Lifeguarding can be an intense job that requires ongoing determination to provide a minimum level of safety
Bring attention to water safety personnel and facilities to the public
Assist in continuing recruitment of Water safety personnel
Do I need anymore?

WHAT

Media coverage
Promotions and Activities to encourage recognition of the safety staff who provide necessary safety supervision for water recreation activities.
Education of the public in what it takes to be a good lifeguard
spotlight on the career opportunities
Insert Endless ideas here

WHEN

At the best time to recognize those that provide water safety service before the Summer or near the end of the summer when Lifeguards need the most encouragement after a busy hectic time.

CALL TO ACTION

Join me in taking the survey and next step to make this happen!

How to decrease rumors, gossip and complaining

2010-09-02T14:01:00.000-07:00

There are less rumors, gossip and complaining when someone is busy- including yourself!

Who Audits first?

2010-09-01T07:43:00.000-07:00

This is a great question to be followed by the following possible answers

who audits first, you or Osha?

who audits first, you or Ellis & Associates?

who audits first, you or the American red cross?

who audits first, you or your Insurance company?

who audits first, you or the health department?

who audits first, you or the dept of Labor?

who audits first, you or a secret shopper?

who audits first, you or your customers?

The asking of these questions prompts you to develop your own internal evaluation system and documentation.

here is a link to a self evaluation i made for employee safety programs.

Employee safety program- self evaluation

If i missed anything major let me know

There's always room for Jello

2010-08-28T05:16:00.000-07:00

This morning I came into work with 3 or 4 things I wanted to get started on. Its the end of the summer and things are starting to slow down so I was looking forward to completing some vital projects.

see Vital few vs significant many

I arrived at 7:45am to find a squad of sheriff cars parked. When I entered I quickly gathered that a 4 year old girl was lost or more accurately she was by herself and her parents were nowhere to be found. The Sheriffs couldn't get a last name or other information to reunite the child.Being the most senior member on property the staff were happy to hand over responsibility and the sheriffs needed access to video cameras to find out who the child belonged to.

Within a short time the child's guardians were found and the emergency was over. However the whole process had taken the first 45 minutes of the day.

Personally I find it very frustrating especially first thing to get knocked off plan but I remembered reading somewhere recently that,

'Something unexpected will happen today that will take you off your plan or schedule'

Other recent examples are,

a delivery of product that isn't for your dept. but the dept. is not here yet and it needs to be signed for.
a phone message from a guest stating they got injured at your park the previous week and want to know who to send the bills to.
your opening supervisor is 15 minutes late and you haven't heard from them.
Your GM or owner needs that budget information within an hour that they've known about for a few days.

I've talked about interruptions before , see single tasking

but if you're going to make room for interruptions you also have to be determined to make room for good things too.

Such as,

Self learning-that WWA or IAAPA or Aquatics International webinar
that 15 minutes at the end of your day to plan for the next day
that 15 minutes before your staff meeting to plan the agenda
that 30 minutes a week to meet with your key people as a 1:1
that 15-30 minutes to go over with each staff member the missing pieces of their leadership training checklist.

In 1964, the slogan "There's always room for Jell-O" was introduced, promoting the product as a "light dessert" that could easily be consumed even after a heavy meal.

If there's always room for the 'bad' stuff then make sure there's always room JELLO first!

Rite of Passage

2010-08-10T05:58:00.000-07:00

Every year I see a newly appointed supervisor come to terms with transitioning from being a friend and co worker to leader.Depending on how it is handled I can get an idea of how well the supervisor will do in their time with me or if they make it a career.I see it as a rite of passage.

Most new leaders can wrap their head around separating work and social relationships but the other side of the coin is how well the individuals adjust to the new work/social relationship.It's usually the employee adjustment that makes it difficult for a new leader.

I like to tell this story to make a point. At first I get a blank look but many times the 'penny drops' and several times people have told me that they didn't get the story until it happened to them.

' In a faraway land hundreds of years in the past a great king died. He was beloved by his people and he only had one son who was a bit impetuous and strong willed.On his death bed, he instructed his son to learn from the kings friend and trusted advisor. the 'new' king didn't want to follow the instructions and he met with the kings advisor."I want to be loved and respected like my father so I will take care of rewarding the people and you will take care of punishing the people". the Advisor politely agreed.

Soon the new king was popular but he started to find that people didn't do as he asked.

They didn't seem to be concerned about upsetting the new king when they didn't complete his orders.On the other hand,when the advisor wanted something done people went above and beyond to complete it. The king met with the advisor and requested they switch duties. The new king would take care of the punishing and the advisor, the rewarding.

After a few months the people became unsettled. The new king went on a punishment rampage to get people to follow his orders."what happened to the new king,he used to be so nice" the people said until finally they couldn't stand it any longer. The got together and threw the new king into jail."who will be our new king, they asked. What about the old advisor? he seems to know when to punish and when to reward, he used to be mean but now he's coming around!". So the advisor was appointed the King.

The moral of the story............... As a new leader,It's better to be firm first, then friendly, rather than the other way around.

How quickly drownings can occur

2010-07-30T11:09:00.000-07:00

A great video to show how quickly situations can develop

Single Tasking

2010-07-30T06:17:00.000-07:00

Many years ago I read a book that said, ' As a manager you are paid to handle interruptions'.

I really took that to heart and strived to become as good as I could be at doing as many things as possible at the same time and measured myself on being able to handle the interruptions.

I WAS WRONG FOR THE LAST FEW YEARS AND WASTED A LOT OF TIME!

I felt like it was a sign of failure when day after day I was 'really busy but got nothing accomplished'. So, like throwing gas on a fire i worked harder at handling more interruptions.

This pursuit of this ideal, For ME, resulted in

many projects started but not completed
stress
Analysis paralysis
overreactions
loss of concentration
lowered attention span
taking time to get back on track
saying yes many times when i should have said no
De motivation
an ever growing to do list
working more at home to stay caught up

In the mindset of single tasking versus multi tasking I'm trying to,

Work on one project at a time before starting another
clear out distractions such as picking up every phone call
only checking email twice a day and not every time when the alert pops up
saying 'sorry no' more
moving to a quieter place to avoid distractions
only completing 2-3 tasks a day rather than trying to do 5-1o

Of course there will be unexpected events, but I am finding out more 'crazy wisdom'. The better you become at single tasking and preventing distractions, you will have more composure and time to handle the interruptions.

If you have any other tips for single tasking or working with less distractions please share for the benefit of all of us who have wasted many years.

Lifeguard Attendance Poll

2010-07-24T12:16:00.000-07:00

Which of the following have the most negative impact on your Lifeguard Operationonline surveys

Virtual Assistance

2010-07-24T08:14:00.000-07:00

Ever since reading the Four Hour Work week By Tim Ferriss http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/

I wanted to try experimenting with a Virtual Assistant or Outsourcing as its called.

Many leaders in the Waterpark industry are usually their own admin person and it's hard to delegate jobs to supervisors who you really want to be 'in the park' managing rather than keep them tied to a desk.So I thought i would give it a try even if it seemed a little bit of a luxury!

I came across Timesvr, https://www.timesvr.com, who have an unlimited concierge service for about $60 a month or $15 a week. Its really meant to be for checking airline tickets but I send them quick administrative tasks like researching waterpark articles or creating graphs to show important labor and revenue data. So far I have sent about 75 tasks that usually take me about 10-15 minutes to do, like inputting data. I can't tell you how mentally it is beginning to improve my attention span and reduce feeling paralysed by trying to multi-task with multiple distractions!

Here are some tips

Be very specific
cut tasks into smaller blocks
some other tips http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/12/06/the-personal-outsourcing-olympics-bangalore-butler-or-american-assistant/#more-200

Here are ten reasons you should use a service like Timesvr.

There are some tasks that require specialized skills. Sometimes, you may need such skills only for one or two projects but don't need to hire a full time employee just for the project. TimeSvr provides you with an aide that specializes on the tasks and skills you need.
Because of the nature of their work, many Aides are tech-savvy. They use the internet, social networks and many online tools for their work. You can gain benefits from the Aide's capacity to adapt to new technologies.
Sometimes you don't even see little details that need improvement in your business or in your processes that an outsider can easily see. When you hire an Aide at TimeSvryou have an employee that works for you but has the unique perspective of an outsider.
Aides at TimeSvr take their work very seriously and personally, subsequently, your satisfaction is their main goal.
If you are running a business from a small office or from your own home, you need assistance but can not afford a full time employee, an Aide is an ideal solution.
Cheaper cost- compared to in-house workers, it costs less to maintain Aides. You don't have to provide payment for the virtual assistant's vacation leaves and other time that was not spent doing tasks for your business. Trainings, computers, and office rent are also some costs that you get to save on when you work with a virtual assistant.
Your Aide does not work in your office, your relationship can be strong without becoming too personal. This means you can be objective when evaluating the worker's performance.You are always on the move due to which most of your work stays pending, at TimeSvryou get an assistant that is potentially available whenever you need him, or her.At TimeSvr Aides offer flexibility as far as time is concerned. There is no contractual relationship so you do not have to keep a VA employed when you don't need his or her services.
Aides at TimeSvr will support your needs, not the other way around.

this article was outsourced!

I will have decide if I continue to use this or get better at delegating!

Smile & Move worth showing and sharing

2010-07-22T12:59:00.000-07:00

Comp vs. Freebies

2010-07-21T12:54:00.000-07:00

Many businesses experience loss due to products and services being given away without compensation.

Waterparks/Resorts/Aquatic facilities experience both comps and freebies.

Whats the difference?

Well my definition is simple. Comps are given out by authorized persons to enhance an experience to create positive word of mouth by people to influence others.

Freebies are given out by those not authorized for their own personal gain or to gain favor with others.(Freebies are given out usually without the knowledge of an authorized person.Some people call this theft!)

Some examples of Comps

A free cabana for a guest who experienced some real or perceived poor service
A free Waterpark pass or passes for a competition winner
A free food tasting and visit for a group leader planning a large group outing
A free water toy with a birthday package purchase
A free slushy for winning a hula hoop competition
A request for tickets for a fundraiser
A documented recognition program for free uniform and lunch vouchers

Some examples of Freebies

Some but not all employees get a free soda
Some but not all employees get free leftovers
A cashier taking unused tickets and reselling for personal profit
A cashier short changing to keep the overage
A cashier not ringing in a purchase but giving out product
Giving out free lunch everyday so a janitor will empty their garbage for them

I think the latter comes from a sense of entitlement and the perception that 'the company can afford it, they're making lots of money'

Compensation Cafe: How to Save a Buck and Spend Two

2010-07-21T10:30:00.000-07:00

Compensation Cafe: How to Save a Buck and Spend Two

my new favorite saying!

Crazy wisdom

2010-07-16T05:45:00.000-07:00

Conventional wisdom says you do things in a certain way which many times make sense but more and more i'm finding that 'crazy wisdom' as I call it, is the way to go.

For example,

a hotel resort with a waterpark should book as many birthdays and groups as possible

(only on weekends in the summer is when people want to do that) . The result is extreme wear and tear, tensions rise, chance of injuries increase,staff stress, Activity with no results, hotel guests resent outside guests, chance of revenue decreases due to discounts given, refunds given to hotel guest compensation and the experience is not memorable and wont be repeated.

Crazy wisdom says still book groups and birthdays but limit them(this does mean saying no to customers and turning down some revenue which may make your GM unhappy) to limited times, days, dates, raising some fees etc.

I have found that it is a case of diminishing returns. but applying some crazy wisdom we lose maybe $150-$200 revenue on a busy Saturday but lose approx $100 from complaints when we are packed.(net loss of $50-100) By turning some people down but the experience is better for everyone and I anticipate better survey scores, word of mouth and return visits.

wisdom

do everything to make your employees happy

lower prices to get more customers

motivate your employees

the customer is always right

never say no to a guest

send an e blast to thousands of contacts

get more customers

Make your very difficult guests happy

crazy wisdom

do everything so your employees make you happy

raise prices to get less complaints

don't hire or fire people who are not motivated

the customer should always be treated right even when they're wrong

say no if its for their own good

send an e blast to 10 fans who will tell others

get better customers

make only your great guests happy

please feel free to add to this list!!!!! in the comment section

Leadership tech- Evernote

2010-07-14T18:54:00.000-07:00

Evernote is your external brain. Whenever you see, think, or experience something, throw it into Evernote and you'll have it accessible and searchable across all the platforms and devices that you use. Evernote allows you to easily capture information in any environment using whatever device or platform you find most convenient, and makes this information accessible and searchable at any time, from anywhere.

Features:

Saved Searches

One of the great features of Evernote is the ability to use Notebooks and tags to sort all of your notes – its organization features are among the reasons it’s so useful. Saved Searches add even more functionality to tags and notebooks, because it lets you weed out only exactly what you want. You can search for, say, everything in your “School” Notebook that doesn’t have a “History” tag, or only things that are tagged with “To Do” and are in either your “Home” or “Office” notebook. The more notes you have, the harder it can be to weed out exactly what you want – Saved Searches are a lifesaver.

To create a saved search, right-click on the left side of the Evernote client, and select “New Saved Search.” Then, enter your parameters, and you’re set!

Sub-Tags

Within a given tag, you can create sub-tags that will make it even easier to sort what you’re looking for. To do so, right-click on a given tag and click “Create tag in ___”. You can create as many tags as you want within a given tag.

I have a ton of tags within my Evernote, but sub-tags lets me put them all underneath the general topic of what I want. This isn’t so much a feature as it is a way to further organize your notes under umbrellas, to be able to access all the appropriate ones at the same time, in the same place.

Global Shortcuts

This is the single most-used thing in my Evernote workflow. From any window or application on your desktop, a particular keystroke (that you create) can create a new note in Evernote, clip a screenshot into Evernote, or paste selected text right into Evernote. This means getting information into Evernote is super fast and simple, and makes Evernote the easiest place on your desktop to put information.

HTML Export

One worry I hear from people, when I tell them to use Evernote, is “what if it goes away?” It’s a fair point, as Web apps are prone to up and disappear without any warning. With Evernote, though, there’s no worry. First, because the desktop app works offline, and will still function even if something happens to Evernote.

And second, there’s no worry because Evernote lets you export notes to HTML. Most other applications will read an HTML file, so exporting it that way makes it easy to import into another application, or even keep accessible on your hard drive. Thanks to this export, there’s no fear of ever losing your Evernote data – you just might, possibly, one day, have to move it around a bit.

To-Do Lists

Since Evernote is aiming to be your “second brain,” your place to keep everything in your head and in your life, it’s a natural place to keep a to-do list. All the information is there; why not have your action items there too? Evernote does a great job with this – you can easily, with a mouse-click or keyboard shortcut, create a checkbox next to any line of text.

You can also search for to-do items, and keep track of any number of lists within Evernote. It’s flexible, easy to add to and edit, and a perfect solution for to-do lists simple and complex.

Formatting Goodness

What a lot of people don’t realize is that Evernote actually works fantastically as a word processor. It’s not especially feature-rich, but it has all of the basics you’d need when you’re writing – font, color, size, bold, italics, underline, justifications, bulleted lists, and even tables can all be featured in your documents. They’re all saved automatically into Evernote; it’s great for writing everything from a journal to a novel.

Put your thoughts, ideas, inspiration, and things to remember all in one place. Use Evernote for work, for play, and for everything that’s noteworthy. Here are a few suggestions:

Snap a photo of a business card with your phone, and have an easy way to store and access contacts.
Capture plane tickets and confirmation numbers, hotel invoices, and receipts for your expense reports.
Get inspired. Keep a file of anything cool you want to buy for yourself or as a gift, whether it’s online or out in the real world.
Keep notes from your meetings all in one place. Take a picture of a whiteboard and you’ll be able to find it later.
Plan your next trip. Clip web pages, maps, and itineraries. Capture sights, sounds, tastes, and anything else.
Research web sites and clip pages directly from your browser.
Keep a record of your favorite wines by snapping a photo of the label when you find one you like.
Remember the things you were supposed to remember. Create to-do lists, jot down random thoughts, leave a voice memo, and more.
Create notes right from Twitter and save tweets that you like by following @myEN on Twitter.Learn more »

Discover more great ways to use Evernote on our blog or get a first-hand tutorial on ourvideos page. Don't have an Evernote account? Get started now »

Comparison chart between Evernote and Onenote:

http://manage-this.com/evernote-vs-onenote/

clockwork

2010-07-14T07:12:00.000-07:00

'It takes a lot of moving parts, in place, in good condition, doing what they are supposed to do to make things run like clockwork.'

Andrew Vaughan

Time savers

2010-07-13T18:17:00.000-07:00

I searched for the services in which you can call by phone and get transcribed for email. Few are them are free while one of them is a paid service. Below are the services which I found:

1. reQall

Qall is a voice-enabled memory aid that seamlessly integrates your mobile phone, email, text messaging and IM into a powerful organizer, reminder system and productivity assistant. With reQall, you can capture your ideas, tasks and commitments before you forget—wherever you are. The service helps you capture ideas as they emerge, arrive on-time and well-prepared for appointments, share reminders with family and co-workers, retrieve relevant information at the appropriate time, and remember important events such as anniversaries and birthdays.

http://www.reqall.com

2. SpinVox

It captures spoken words and feeds them into a Voice Message Conversion System, known as ‘D2’ (the Brain), and spits them out as text content.

http://www.spinvox.com

3. GotVoice

Checking voicemail can be time-consuming and aggravating, and not all transcription services are created equal. When accuracy matters, GotVoice easily transcribes voicemail messages to text and delivers via email, so you get the accurate message at a glance. And the original message is attached as MP3 or WAV audio file to archive or forward as needed.

http://www.gotvoice.com/

4. PhoneTag

PhoneTag automatically converts your voicemail into text and delivers it directly to your mobile phone, Blackberry, Goodlink enabled phone and/or your email account; so you can read your voicemail.

http://www.phonetag.com

2010-07-12T19:24:00.001-07:00

good to hear about a positive lifeguard response
http://bit.ly/cE2bKT

The most likely waterpark incident

2010-07-10T11:23:00.000-07:00

WSVN-TV - Boy makes recovery after cardiac arrest

The link is to a story about a boy who unknown to his family had a heart defect which after riding some slides at a Fort Lauderdale Waterpark caused his heart to stop several times.

While every Waterpark operator and lifeguard must recognize, reduce and respond to drowning and slide injuries I have found in my career that the most serious incidents come from prior medical conditions.

So prevent and be prepared for not only the obvious but also the possibility that guests walk in to your facility with conditions before they even step into a pool, climb a tower or exit a slide.

ON STAND WEBSITE

2010-07-05T06:24:00.000-07:00

On Stand, the website, is aimed at lifeguards and lifeguard supervisors to be,

'A Resource for Lifeguards and Supervisors to promote Leadership and Career Development at Aquatic/Recreational facilities.'

I am looking for content and contribution as it the site will grow best by reader contribution.

please share the link with other lifeguards and facilities.

Also please do leave a comment.

http://www.wix.com/Waterparkleader/On-Stand

Notes from the wall part 2

2010-07-03T12:06:00.000-07:00

Seth Godin & The Jesus Butt slide

2010-06-27T10:51:00.000-07:00

One of the people I subscribe to and actually read every day is Seth Godin.

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/

What I like most is that the daily post to my email is short, to the point and allows me to figure out the concept for myself.

One day a few months ago i actually emailed him to tell him How much I enjoyed his daily digest. It was after 5pm and I hit the send button and packed up to leave work. Just 3 minutes later I got a phone call. I answered with the required greeting and this is what I heard,

'hi, this Seth Godin and I've been waiting to talk to one of you waterpark guys!'

I knew it was him and not a prankster as I had not told a soul about the email and I recognized his voice from audio books. He then proceeded to tell me of his experience at a large resort in the Bahamas with a waterslide. He had seen the lifeguard at the end of the day ride the slide down instead of walk down and had magically skipped 15-20ft in the catch pool. Seth had begged the guard to tell him the secret and named it the 'Jesus butt slide'. So the next day the guard taught he and his son the 'technique'.

Seth went on to tell me (very passionately)that he'd had this idea for a waterslide manufacturer to make a ride that makes a competition out of trying to ride the farthest in the slide or catch pool and had been waiting to tell someone(fortunately for me). I didn't have the time or heart to mention the risk elements and that most operators would not want their guards encouraging patrons to possibly hurt themselves.

The point of the post is that It really made my day, week and month and am more of a fan of Seth Godin.

So the question worth asking oneself is,

"Who do I work with or visits me that I can make their day by actually reaching out to them?"

Notes from my wall

2010-06-26T11:28:00.001-07:00

Breakdown vs. Breakthru

2010-06-25T05:59:00.000-07:00

We don't always see the positive first but the negative side we remember.

So as a reminder to myself and hopefully others,

There's only a tiny distance between a breakdown and a breakthru

Checklists are your friend

2010-06-19T06:42:00.000-07:00

If there's one thing I've seen new and younger supervisors neglect repeatedly is checklists.

I think inexperienced leaders see checklists as,

Extra work
Unnecessary because I know everything already
Old fashioned
The Enemy
Somebody else's Idea

I believe with all my heart that a well organised and effective checklist could have saved most of those missed items.

Checklists are your servant. Think of them as another worker reminding you and others of routine and specific tasks.Great Checklists,

Plan
Prioritize
Assign
Delegate
Prepare
Record
Remind

of opening and closing duties.

Additionally checklists don't complain, call out, make mistakes or cost anything! Why wouldn't you use them.

Leadership Goalkeeping

2010-06-13T09:18:00.000-07:00

Couldn't help the world cup analogy.

Being a leader is sometimes like being a Soccer Goalie.

The goalkeeper is in unique position than some of the other positions on the field.

When a striker misses an easy goal they typically get forgiven and praise is given for being in a goalscoring position in the first place Or a defender loses possession in their own half other players including the goalkeeper can make up the mistake.

When a goalkeeper fluffs up and fumbles a goal they are the villain, after all they can use their hands and feet. yet when they make an easy save, then 'thats what they are supposed to do!'.

Many times being a leader is like being a goalkeeper.

If you're cool calm and collected under pressure then thats what's expected. If you get upset easily then you're considered too emotional and mean.

If you perform some scheduling wizardry and get thru a July the 4th week of call ins and time off requests then 'thats why you get paid the big bucks'.

If you gripe and complain then you are not setting a good example.

it's not right and its not wrong but it is how it is. The 'goal' is to create others with the same leadership expectations that you have.

I.D.E.A.S.

2010-06-09T07:40:00.000-07:00

In college a teacher gave me this gem of wisdom for planning, structuring and teaching training. I found that this also can be used for presentations or project management.

I haven't heard it used anywhere else or by anyone else so i think you may find it useful.

I.D.E.A.S.

I- Introduction

D- Demonstration

E- Explanation

A- Activity

S- Summary

Introduce the purpose and give an overview
Demonstrate any physical skill or product/object/use
Explain by breaking down into smaller parts how and why it works
Activity- A practice, drill or game to reinforce the skill
Summarize the what, why, how, when.

an ounce of prevention

2010-06-08T05:59:00.000-07:00

If you asked any of your staff what would make them proud, motivated and give them the greatest satisfaction on the job today they may say, 'saving someones life by performing a rescue and or cpr correctly.'

They could imagine the respect, praise, gratitude and self esteem they would get from their loved ones,peers, leaders and the victim/family.

why though, do we give any less recognition to the people who prevent these things from happening everyday.

whether its the guard who measures the child who is just an inch too short for the water slide, the guard who does a complete and detailed safety inspection, the guard who stops the weak swimmer from going to the deep end or the guard who notices that a 12 year old is watching their 6 year old sister and gets them to return with a responsible parent. It's a little like the butterfly effect, with a series of seemingly small actions that prevent larger events with life threatening consequences.

Along with babysitting there is no other profession that is expected to perform flawlessly when an emergency occurs, with so much responsibility that is filled by mostly teens with low compensation.

Notice and reward those who consistently prevent emergencies everyday by small actions that minimize larger emergencies from occurring. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Command Presence

2010-06-03T07:01:00.000-07:00

One of the worst things a good leader (on any level) wants to hear from a guest is , "I want to speak to someone higher than you!"

On the other hand weak supervisors love to hear that because it gets them off the hook, they don't have to deal with a guest complaint.

I believe the difference was 'command presence'. I believe this is a presence of authority, confidence and respect. If you look at the picture above you can see who is 'in charge'

Dont's

Don't send the guest to your leaders office blindly without notification. They may not be there or they won't appreciate being caught off guard.
Don't pass the buck
Don't use negative body language
Don't be afraid to use initiative
Don't make promises you don't intend to keep just to keep the guest appeased

Do's

Do say "I can help you".
Do say, 'I'm not sure but i'll find out'
Do use positive body language.
Do offer alternatives and explain the consequences
Do ask you boss what you can and can't decide in regard to refunds or 'complimentary giveaways"

the last word

2010-05-29T10:30:00.000-07:00