Mike Coker and son Troy work on golf courses ... - Backed By Bayer

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MANAGEMENT “You do not want to hire someone who is going to kill all your grass.” — Norton reference checks is an important, <strong>and</strong> occasionally frustrating, part of the process. Some companies <strong>and</strong> courses have st<strong>and</strong>ardized questions to be asked by the per<strong>son</strong> conducting a reference check. CourseCo’s human-resources department, for instance, has a list of 11 questions it provides the company’s superintendents to ask references. Subjects include the c<strong>and</strong>idate’s position <strong>and</strong> main job responsibilities; primary strengths; areas needing improvement; ability to get along with management, co-<strong>work</strong>ers <strong>and</strong> customers; attendance record; need for close supervision; customer-service skills; communication abilities; attitude toward <strong>work</strong>; rea<strong>son</strong>s for leaving; <strong>and</strong> eligibility for rehire. The PGA Tour Golf Course Properties Tournament Players Clubs, which operates 26 golf facilities worldwide, likewise provides superintendents with a full-page list of questions, according to Director of Human Resources Linda Altman. For consistency <strong>and</strong> to avoid charges of discrimination,she also suggests superintendents <strong>and</strong> general managers always try to ask the same questions of all references provided by applicants for the same position. “I ask as many questions of references as possible,”says Dave Davies, superintendent of CourseCo’s Callippe Preserve Golf Club in Union City, Calif. “I am interested in skills people have, equipment they can operate, responsibilities they’ve had. The problem is the answers references can give are often limited by law.When giving references, the only thing we [at CourseCo] are allowed to do is confirm that employees <strong>work</strong>ed here during a certain period of time <strong>and</strong> whether they are eligible for rehire.” “We ask the questions, but do not expect answers to all of them,”agrees Norton, adding Three Keys to Smart Hiring Human-resource specialists recommend the following to superintendents conducting reference checks: 1. Avoid subjects like race <strong>and</strong> marital status, which could lead to discrimination claims. 2. Document references <strong>and</strong> attempts to obtain references after completion to rebut potential claims of negligent hiring practices. 3. Obtain written consent from job applicants to seek references. that California law is generally more stringent than other state <strong>and</strong> federal regulations. The fear of defamation suits brought by plaintiffs who believe they were denied jobs because of an inappropriate reference from a former employer is common nationwide,Altman says. Even though 35 states have enacted laws to shield employers from civil liability <strong>and</strong> encourage references to talk c<strong>and</strong>idly (especially regarding criminal behavior that could plague the new employer), if a reference is given with malice or includes speculation about someone’s behavior without documentation to back it up, the reference-giver loses that legal protection, she says. “Our policy at the PGA Tour headquarters <strong>and</strong> with the TPC is to give a neutral reference,”Altman says.“Basically, it is name, dates <strong>work</strong>ed <strong>and</strong> position held.” The neutral reference has become common practice throughout much of Corporate America. Paul B. Latshaw, superintendent at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, used to hire many retirees from Kodak <strong>and</strong> Xerox, two major local employers, when he was at Oak Hill Golf Club in Rochester, N.Y. “You would try to get a reference on someone who <strong>work</strong>ed there for 30 years <strong>and</strong> all the company would tell you was they had either been employed there or not. They could not tell you whether the per<strong>son</strong> had been a good or bad employee.” In those cases, the actual face-to-face interview between Latshaw <strong>and</strong> a potential employee was a more meaningful way to determine whether the applicant might be a good fit at Oak Hill. “Many times, you just took a chance <strong>and</strong> put the per<strong>son</strong> on a 90-day probation period,” he says. The inability to obtain more than “name, rank <strong>and</strong> serial number” in terms of references from many HR departments is the rea<strong>son</strong> Altman encourages superintendents to obtain references from other superintendents <strong>and</strong> front-line co-<strong>work</strong>ers with whom a job applicant has <strong>work</strong>ed. “Technically, I’m just supposed to give the length of service <strong>and</strong> whether I would rehire that per<strong>son</strong> when someone calls me looking for a reference,” says David Br<strong>and</strong>enburg, head superintendent at Rolling Meadows Golf Course in Theresa, Wis., noting that most superintendents would prefer to help 24 Golf Advantage Winter 2006
one another out. “If it is a superintendent I know, I might go further <strong>and</strong> talk a little more in-depth about the applicant’s strengths <strong>and</strong> weaknesses.” Some superintendents will take an additional step. “Usually the types of applicants who are looking for references from a head superintendent are people moving on to become assistant superintendents or head superintendents elsewhere,” Latshaw says. “Those types of people you usually want to go out of your way to promote. If they were on your staff for a while, they should be deserving of a reference. I’ll call the per<strong>son</strong> they are applying with <strong>and</strong> offer to go through a per<strong>son</strong>’s qualifications, tell him he is a good c<strong>and</strong>idate <strong>and</strong> capable of doing the job. “What is surprising to me is how many clubs interview superintendent c<strong>and</strong>idates <strong>and</strong> never check references. You would think for a major position like that, they definitely would,” he says. Real-life references If CourseCo’s Davies is unable to obtain a reference from a job applicant’s former superintendent or co-<strong>work</strong>er, he turns to another resource: He often relies on information from equipment <strong>and</strong> supply representatives who travel from course to course <strong>and</strong> can provide information about applicants who may <strong>work</strong> at other facilities in their territory. “Most superintendents <strong>work</strong> closely with key employees, such as mechanics, spray techs or irrigation people,” Davies says.“They have occasion to talk to their Toro or John Deere reps, for example, about those staff members. Reps have been to those facilities, seen the kind of shops they keep <strong>and</strong> operations they run. They have probably heard the superintendent express frustration or admiration for particular people.” CourseCo encourages its superintendents in this sort of “looking outside the box” when it comes to seeking references,Norton says.Trying to get a per<strong>son</strong>al reference or a reference from a former supervisor who no longer <strong>work</strong>s at the applicant’s current place of employment can be productive because those reference sources are not tied to the limitations of a course with a neutral-reference policy,she adds. For assistant superintendent, mechanic, irrigation <strong>and</strong> spray technician positions, preemployment exams with specific questions applying to those positions help weed out inappropriate c<strong>and</strong>idates, Davies says. A 90-day probationary period also shows whether a new hire is up to the task. Latshaw oversees the PGA Tour’s annual Memorial Golf Tournament <strong>and</strong> generally takes on four to five interns every year. “I make it a policy to check references on potential interns,” he says. “Before I even call references, I try to screen resumes to make sure they <strong>work</strong>ed in compatible organizations. In this business, probably more so than with a major corporation, there is a lot of net<strong>work</strong>ing. Usually when you call for a reference you know the superintendent you are calling or are familiar with the club.” As long as people continue to be a major part of golf course operations, checking the references of job applicants will continue to be a key part of a successful course manager’s job. “Superintendents are very dependent on the staff they assemble every year,” Latshaw concludes.“And every year a third of their staffs are probably new. They need to really analyze the type of c<strong>and</strong>idates they want, because the staff can make or break a superintendent.” CourseCo’s David Davies notes that allowable responses to questions are often limited by law. Davies is superintendent of CourseCo’s Callippe Preserve Golf Club. CourseCo encourages its superintendents to look outside the box when it comes to seeking references. www.bayergolfadvantage.com Golf Advantage 25
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Mike Coker and son Troy work on golf courses ... - Backed By Bayer

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