How do you start finding the right tennis professional for your country club or facility?
There is a two-step process that we follow here at Beyond The Baselines. The first, is to dig into the ethos and teaching environment at the club or facility. Research through discussions with members, board and committee members and, indeed, present employees gives us a well rounded viewpoint and objective opinion of where the club might be in the present and where its members would like it to be in the future.
A. The Club Profile
It’s imperative that our Club Profile is completed prior to creating any job description for your professional. Where do the members want to be in 5 to 10 years as a club will affect the incoming professional. What were the mistakes that the club would like to leave behind? Again, this would affect the new hire and how the club management and the new hire would avoid previous pitfalls.
With 20 to 25 succinct questions asked of playing members along with sit-down sessions with committees and boards, we can come to a sense of where the issues have been and in which direction the club wants to move forward.
Job Description Is A Priority
Firstly, you must create a job description that allows the position to be understood by the applicant. A false or incomplete job description either posted or verbally passed along can, in fact, easily lead to the wrong applicant being selected – or even the wrong pool of applicants applying for the position.
Outline the complete job – from maintenance to teaching. We advise to look for gaps with your last professional and the reasoning behind his or her leaving the post. Does the job include human resource management along with maintaining clay courts? How many weeks per year is the professional expected to be on site. Does the professional have hiring and firing ability for all staff members?
What is your primary reason for hiring this particular position? Is it to be more administrative, on-court teaching, or playing high level players? Or, it could be a combination of many variables – a Director in reality has to wear many hats.
What level professional will you be hiring? Both the USPTA and the USPTR have various level of professionals based on certifications and years in the industry.
Here at Beyond The Baselines, we specialize in creating and promoting the correct job description through meetings with your committees both in person and via video conference calling, so that the pool of applicants is matched well with the open role and the opportunity will attract many qualified candidates.
Email us now at beyondthebaselines@gmail.com for more information or to answer any questions you may have.