SportsTurf provides current, practical and technical content on issues relevant to sports turf managers, including facilities managers. Most readers are athletic field managers from the professional level through parks and recreation, universities.
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/266752
March 2014 | SportsTurf 21 www.stma.org our employees. I couldn't imagine going to work unhappy all the time. Yoder: It is all about communication in the beginning prior to a hire. We do our best to give them worst case scenario. Dur- ing the interview we leave out the "fun" parts or desirable aspects of the position. One question we ask is, "Will you clean the toilet?" even though they won't be doing that. It allows us to get a good read if some- one thinks they are above certain tasks. We try to be clear on exactly what they will and will not be doing on the field. We then tell them that no matter if they are doing a par- ticular job or not they can observe, ask questions, and see exactly how we perform a certain task which allows them to still learn. We tell them that in the end if they give it their all and come through with what we agreed on that we will go out of our way to give them a good recommendation. Burgess: I address all expectations to members at the beginning of each season or their employment, and continue to touch on them often during pre-game meetings. SportsTurf: How do you provide chal- lenges for the crew? Barry: We are fortunate enough to have a veteran grounds crew here with the Drag- ons. Most of the crew has been through al- most every situation that occurs during the season. This helps to give the new members of the crew different tasks and challenges to gain experience in all areas. Deacon: I believe in letting people work and make decisions. I do guide people and try and help them make the best decision possible but I believe the best way to chal- lenge them is to let them work and not stand over them. I like to give them some freedom and then we go back and check and make sure things are done properly. I try and make it easy for them to come to me with questions; some employees are just naturally more comfortable going to one of my assistants so we also encourage that, the bottom line is getting the work done to the best of our ability, and I believe people work better with a little freedom. We also try and rotate the work around to an extent so that all crew members know how to do more than one thing. Yoder: We make it clear that we expect detailed, consistent results every day. We show them what we want and check on their work daily. The results we expect don't come easy. When we give them a timeline for their tasks to be completed this turns it up a notch for them to come through. The fact that it is an 81-game season is a chal- lenge in itself to maintain quality day in and day out. Not to mention we have more on field events than Padre games. Burgess: For the entire crew, full time, seasonal, or game day, I like to mix up the job responsibilities so they become skilled in all tasks we normally perform. I've seen this pay off when we are in a crunch. It makes my job easier when crew members are not re- stricted to only one or two tasks. They wel- come the change of pace with doing something else as most responsibilities can get monotonous in minor league baseball. Winter: After proper training and a period of acclimation, I try to make an area(s) of the field "their own." This quickly gives new crew members a sense of entitlement and establishes ownership and pride in what they are doing. A communicated goal is to make the field as good as it can be each and every game on the schedule. We literally "compete" (against the weather, the calen- dar, fatigue) each and every day. SportsTurf: How do you foster their strengths while managing their weaknesses? Deacon: I think the first step is recogniz-