Fast Five with Nigel Dennis

As we launch into 2023, leisure operators are looking ahead with excitement but also a degree of trepidation. Staffing is one of the big challenges of the coming year so keeping teams strong while continuing to meet and exceed customer expectations will be the name of the game.

This month we put five questions to Jonas Leisure Business Development Manager Nigel Dennis to gather his thoughts on some of the key challenges and opportunities for leisure operators over the next 12 months.

You spent 20 years working in the leisure industry, initially as a lifeguard and later developing programmes and managing facilities. What do you love most about it?

Sport and recreation has always been a passion of mine, right from a young age, and I’ve always found it’s the people in the industry that make it special and so enjoyable to work in.

Whether it’s the people we work with or the customers we serve – everyone has their own story and as an industry we are very privileged to hear these stories on a daily basis. No two stories are ever the same and every day is different, which is what keeps this industry so enjoyable and challenging to work in.

What are some of the biggest challenges leisure managers will face in 2023?

Staffing! The industry has seen a significant decline in important roles such as swimming instructors and lifeguards, along with many others, over recent years. This has been exacerbated by COVID-19, which forced many centres to close down for periods of time.

Building the required specialised aquatic staff numbers up is a shared challenge right throughout Australia and New Zealand at the moment. As an industry we need to be mindful of the time and cost associated with helping individuals gain and maintain the skills they need to do their jobs effectively and progress in their careers – I know there are some amazing initiatives being run by various organisations and at many facilities helping to address these very problems. Well done to those conducting these initiatives in what is otherwise a very tough time.

Given the staff shortages across the industry, what are the key things managers should be doing to retain team members and attract new ones?

The sport, recreation and aquatic industries are built on teamwork and having amazing and adaptable in-house teams around is part of what makes it so enjoyable to work in. Importantly, people want to feel they are part of a great team and very much a part of the bigger picture, not just a specific area of a facility or program.

Managers need to build that sense of culture and belonging into their teams to ensure they are something people want to be part of. It’s also important to celebrate the differences teams, programs and facilities are making for their communities so that people hear about them and feel they want to be part of that environment.

Communication will always be key but it’s also important to make sure you do the little things on a regular basis. Asking staff about their school, uni work, families and sport, and generally getting to know them on a more personal level – that all really helps them feel they are a part of a true team environment.

When it comes to redeveloping or upgrading leisure facilities, what are planners getting right? And where do you think they can improve?

There is certainly a very tough balance to meet when developing and upgrading facilities – I don’t envy those having to make key decisions in this space. What is the budget? What services do we

want to include? What services do we need to exclude? What is our demographic now? What will our demographic be in the future? Unfortunately, a budget is never unlimited so we can’t make every aspect 100% perfect.

However, I do think the day-to-day operators need to be more involved in the planning and designing phases as a general rule of thumb. These are the people that have the frontline experience and knowledge of how a centre will be run and how any design will affect ongoing operations. Believe it or not a design feature you might consider small can have a long lasting effect, positive or negative, so getting the little things right in the first place is key, whether it is a construction feature or a visual feature.

When it comes to aquatic facilities, pool space is such a premium for so many different users and programmes. When given the choice always go that little bit bigger for your pool space, as even then it won’t be enough.

How important is it to have the right technology and systems in place at a leisure centre, and what kind of difference can it make for staff and customers?

It’s critical on all levels, whether for accounting and auditing, member and staff communication, or for basis transactions and point of sale. If the technology and systems are not in place, the extra time and effort involved in even the most basic functions can escalate and satisfaction levels for both staff and customers can decrease quickly.

In today’s technological world, customers expect the same kind of experiences in leisure centres as they get in other areas of their lives. They want to self serve at their own convenience through online portals, bookings and transactions.

Likewise, our staff expect communications and payroll systems to be accessible at the touch of a button and accessible on mobile devices, including their phones, so they can instantaneously act on any pressing work needs.

Leisure centre managers also need to think ahead; what if a large number of staff left today? How would the business survive? If a best practice model is used with appropriate systems in place that utilise key technologies, then a leisure centre can continue to operate and systems that have served it well in the past can be carried over to the next generation of staff. This is much better than if the information about the way a centre operates is in the hearts and minds of only a few key people, as you find in some organisations. If a good system isn’t in place, generationally passing things on can become quite difficult.