May 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 44

LIFE GUARDING
Ensuring that every guest who
comes to the park goes home each
night to be with their family is a
safety goal that requires training,
skills-building, teamwork, dedication
and pride. Positive reinforcement
that energizes and motivates is particularly
important for a workforce
that includes 15-, 16- and 17-yearolds,
some working their first jobs.
" When they do something appropriate,
praise it. When they may
have missed something, don't let it
slide, " says Ramos.
Ramos' leadership style can be
summed up in three words that he
says are important to him: " just
being present. " He explains,
" It
is very easy to get stuck in your
office or bogged down in paperwork.
So, physically being present
is important - being seen, making
comments, being on deck, letting
people know what they're dealing
with. Sometimes when I was probably
on the deck too much, people
would say, 'Get back to your office
and get to work.' "
Communication
When Ramos was on the deck " being
present, " he was communicating
- another core component of
a safety culture. Open and transparent
give-and-take, giving feedback
and updates, listening, and
questioning are essential.
" Give your guards an avenue to
tell you what is going right and
what isn't, " he says. " I find there's
often a frustration with some of the
guards that they feel like the people
running the show are disconnected.
I remember once I went to speak
to the guards and I asked them,
'How are you feeling?' And they
said, 'Well, we don't think management
really understands what
we're going through.' There were
some safety issues with the patrons
that weren't being resolved. Make
sure there is that two-way communication
so they can tell you how
they're feeling. "
Employee Involvement
That two-way communication is
key to another safety culture musthave:
employee involvement. Team
engagement in competition, safety
initiatives, continuous
improvement
and a learning culture is created
by showing respect for team
members' feelings and building relationships
with all employees.
At Rock'N River Water Park,
leadership started an incentive program
that included social events for
team members " because it was what
they were asking for, " says Bohner.
" So, we offer non-paid social events
for the team at least once a month. "
" One thing we've done is a waterpark
party where the managers
Ensuring that every guest who comes
to the park goes home each night to be
with their family is a safety goal that requires
training, skills-building, teamwork,
dedication and pride.
44 Parks & Recreation | MAY 2 0 2 3
| PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
will sit on the guard stands and the
lifeguards and attendants who are
normally running the waterpark
get to enjoy it with their leadership
filling their regular roles on the
deck. We also did a sort of lock-in
at the recreation center one time.
But the one that has really stuck is
our summer prom. It's an end-ofthe-year
awards banquet and everyone
gets to dress up and have fun. "
Want engaged employees who
know what to do and care about
what they do - for safety and other
responsibilities? Let them have
fun. Let them know you care.
Accountability
Of course, along with fun and summer
proms must come accountability
- a safety culture essential. The
most direct and mandatory type of
accountability is top-down. Management
holds you accountable
and you do as they say - or be disciplined
or possibly lose your job.
That's fear-inspired accountability.
However, the most effective form
of accountability is when employees,
guards and others hold each
other accountable. In this scenario,
accountability is a shared value. At
Rock'N River Water Park, weekly
in-service lifeguard training is an
activity where guards hold each
other accountable for participating.
Bohner says, " If someone misses
in-service, it's a big deal. Somebody
that you work with on a regular basis
is not coming to training. It's
like, 'Hey man, what happened?'
" It's not always myself and the
supervisor calling them and giving
them a hard time and finding
out what happened. It's their
teammates calling them and texting
them and finding out, asking,
'Why weren't you there? We went
over some important stuff today.'
" We look to our head guards
PHOTO COURTESY OF ROCK›
N RIVER WATER PARK
May 2023 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of May 2023 - Parks & Recreation
