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 23 www.stma.org pronto or they gone. We simply do not tol- erate anybody rocking the boat in anyway. SportsTurf: What working environment or culture have you found works best to get a great crew? Winter: Again, consistency is key to the work environment. There are few surprises when they come to work. They know it will be a safe place that is free of drama, bicker- ing, and backstabbing. We communicate honesty and openly, and do it "right now." A great crew starts with great people. Great people are only found in a thorough, me- thodical hiring practice. I work to find indi- viduals that fit our mold and motto, which is, "Hard work often times can be a substi- tute for knowledge, but rarely does knowl- edge serve as a substitute for hard work." Barry: Again, we are blessed with a great crew here in Dayton. Each crew has a dif- ferent personality, and functions differently as a whole. There is not one proper way to manage every crew; it depends on the per- sonalities of the manager and the crew. We have a pretty laid back environment here. The crew knows what to do, and how to do it properly. Jokes are common, but hard work is as well. I believe this keeps the morale up and the job fun, which helps to create the best product possible for the team and fans. Deacon: I think you have to be fair, hon- est and approachable. The job has to be en- joyable, which can be difficult, but you also can't sacrifice the quality of work for a good time. You have to remember the old saying "you can't expect someone to do something you wouldn't do yourself." I also believe it is important to acknowledge when people do a great job. Yoder: A 'lead by example' operation and also a sense of ownership works best. By as- signing crew members a specific area of our operation that they are responsible with their name on it creates a sense of pride and tends to get the extra mile out of an individual. We don't simply tell someone to do a job for the first time or give them an assignment unless they have seen it demonstrated from some- one who has done it 100 times before. Burgess: All positive. Good or bad, I try to have the crew looking forward and how to better any situation and not dwell on anything too long. If one person keeps a negative spin on things, it will bring every- one else down. I also try not to keep every- thing as employer and worker. I want to know about each member personally be- cause as we go through the year, we all be- come a family. n