October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 15

external defibrillators (AED) certified.
These are life-saving skills, and
many positions within our profession
- like facility managers, lifeguards
and camp counselors - become
true " first responders " in an
emergency. We provide customer
service training, develop organizational
skills, teach responsibility,
provide leadership opportunities,
and, hopefully, create an enjoyable
working environment. In addition,
many park and recreation organizations
provide professional opportunities
not typically associated with
our profession, such as marketing,
communications, information technology,
finance, cultural arts, public
safety and landscape architecture.
These are but a few of the benefits
and opportunities that need to be
communicated to our communities
and future employees.
3
Higher education - Educational
partners play a role in
our efforts to attract employees.
LSPR is located in a major metropolitan
market with three major
sports teams and two minor
sports teams. In conversations with
students, when asked what they
would like to do after graduation,
their responses are overwhelmingly
similar - many want to work for
a professional sports organization.
Others mention working in hospitality
or collegiate sports. Rarely do
they mention working in parks and
recreation. When you compare the
number of professional sports organizations
to park and recreation
agencies, it is easy to conclude there
are significantly more opportunities
in parks and recreation than
in professional sports. In addition,
my limited
experience
suggests
that park and recreation agencies
pay more for entry and mid-level
positions and provide more opportunity
for advancement. Finally, it
could be argued that working in
parks and recreation provides an
opportunity to positively impact
a community in
significant and
meaningful ways that professional
athletics cannot.
4
Workforce development - My
observation is most agencies do
very little with workforce development
to address staffing challenges.
Here are some questions to ask:
Have you identified key part-time
and seasonal employees to talk
with about future opportunities in
our profession? Do you invest time
and money in the training and advancement
of those key part-time
and seasonal employees? Do you
provide meaningful volunteer opportunities
for youth in your community?
Do you attend local and
regional job fairs? Do you speak
positively and passionately about
our profession and the work you
do when interacting with your
community? Our profession has an
opportunity to expand and grow
in workforce development and we
need to start those efforts today.
5
Culture - Finally, and most
importantly, understanding
and communicating the culture of
your organization are paramount
in
recruitment and retention of
staff. Some work cultures are toxic,
some are inspiring, but most
are somewhere in the middle, languishing
due to a lack of effort. My
experience in both the private and
public sectors has reinforced that
high pay cannot compensate for
poor culture. You can be the market
leader in pay, but if your culture
is poor, you will consistently have
employee turnover. High employee
turnover in our profession does
Our profession has an
employment issue and pay is
but one of many factors that will
help address this challenge.
not lead to success. What are your
values? How do you communicate
those values? Do you recognize
and celebrate employees? Do you
practice consistent and timely gratitude
with your employees? Do you
survey your employees about their
work environment and respond
accordingly? Do you provide opportunities
for personal and professional
growth? Do you reinforce
the value and significance of our
profession and the daily impact
we make on communities, families
and individuals? Do your employees
know their purpose? These are
just a few questions to ask yourself
as you evaluate your culture.
Our profession has an employment
issue and pay is but one of many
factors that will help address this
challenge. As leaders in the park
and recreation profession, we
must take a good, hard look at our
organizations
and
ask
ourselves
what we can do beyond increasing
pay to create and enhance employeevalued
work environments that
differentiate park and recreation
employment from other opportunities
in our communities. The five areas
identified are critical to that success.
These are not quick-and-easy
solutions - they require intentional,
focused efforts. Hopefully, the benefits
of increased applications, high-staff
retention, minimal turnover, and a
happy and productive workforce
will be the fruits of your labor.
Joe Snook, CPRP, is Administrator at Lee's Summit Parks and
Recreation (joe.snook@cityofls.net).
PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G | O CTOBER 2 0 22 | Parks & Recreation
15

October 2022 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of October 2022 - Parks & Recreation

October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - Intro
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - Cover1
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - Cover2
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 1
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 2
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 3
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 4
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 5
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 6
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 7
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 8
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 9
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 10
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 11
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 12
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 13
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 14
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 15
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 16
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 17
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 18
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 19
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 20
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 21
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 22
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 23
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 24
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 25
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 26
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 27
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 28
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 29
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 30
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 31
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 32
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 33
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 34
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 35
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 36
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 37
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 38
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 39
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 40
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 41
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 42
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 43
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 44
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 45
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 46
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 47
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 48
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 49
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 50
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 51
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 52
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 53
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 54
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 55
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 56
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - Cover3
October 2022 - Parks & Recreation - Cover4
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2021
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