Exercise: Planning for Next Season’s Programs and Staffing Needs
It’s May, and the season is about to wrap up, making way for the summer programs. However, as the head pro of the facility, you should already be thinking ahead to the next season, which starts in September, with registrations opening no later than July 1st. You’ll find the overall status of the club for this season in the downloadable document.
Based on the previous blog, what do you think would be the best course of action?
Analyze the demand using the figures provided in the document. Keep in mind that you’re managing 4 courts, available from 6 AM to 10 PM, Monday to Friday.
Do you think there’s an opportunity to create new programs? If so, which ones? How many courts would you need to run these programs, and what time slots would work best? Would you need to hire more staff? How many experienced coaches and how many assistants?
In the previous blog post, Evaluating the Level of Demand for Tennis Programs, we analyzed program participation, demand trends, and court availability, identifying areas for potential growth. Now that we’ve confirmed these opportunities, it’s time to assess whether your current coaching staff can support this expansion. This involves analyzing their workload and finding ways to optimize it while maintaining program quality.
1. Analyze Current Staff Workload
The first step is to assess your coaching staff’s current workload:
- Tracking Hours Worked: Monitor how many hours each coach spends on-court for both group programs and private lessons. This gives a clear picture of whether they are working at full capacity or have room for more hours.
- Shift Patterns: Evaluate whether coaches are working consecutive hours or split shifts. Consecutive shifts maximize efficiency and reduce downtime, while split shifts can be less convenient for coaches and may lead to inefficiencies or reduced motivation.
- Roles of Lead and Assistant Coaches: Consider the balance between lead and assistant coaches. While having all lead coaches might indicate quality, it may not be the most cost-effective approach for certain classes. For sessions with smaller groups, pairing one lead coach with an assistant can maintain high-quality instruction while optimizing resources.
Example: Currently, coaches are working 22 hours over 4 days (Monday to Thursday), with consecutive hours from 4:30 PM to 10:00 PM. To complete their weekly hours, they are likely providing private lessons either before these programs or on Fridays when courts are unused. This consecutive schedule maximizes efficiency by minimizing gaps in their workday. However, all 4 coaches are currently lead coaches, which, while signaling quality, may be excessive for some programs. For instance, in sessions with 8 participants across 2 courts, having one lead coach supported by an assistant would achieve the same outcome while optimizing resources.
2. Evaluate Capacity for Additional Work
After analyzing current workloads, the next step is to determine whether your coaches can take on more hours to meet growing demand.
- Availability for Additional Hours: If demand is strong from waitlists or wishlists, assess whether your coaches have room in their schedules to take on additional work. If some are underutilized or have gaps in their schedules, adding programs could help optimize their hours.
- Peak Time Utilization: Examine both peak and off-peak hours. If peak times are fully booked but demand is still growing, explore whether less busy periods, such as mornings or Fridays, could be used to accommodate new programs. This helps spread the workload more evenly and maximizes court usage.
- Expanding Class Offerings: Look for opportunities to introduce additional programs, either during existing hours or by extending your schedule.
Example: With coaches currently working 22 hours across 4 days, there’s a clear opportunity to add classes on Fridays from 4:30 PM to 10:00 PM. This would increase their weekly workload to 27.5 hours, which remains competitive and manageable, particularly since they still have weekends off—an advantage over many clubs that only offer one weekday off. Here’s a breakdown of potential additions:
- Friday Classes:
- Add classes from 4:30 PM to 10:00 PM, increasing coach workloads to 27.5 hours per week while maintaining weekend breaks.
- Compete U14 Program:
- Two groups of 8 participants.
- Group 1 trains on Mondays and Wednesdays from 6:00 AM to 8:00 AM.
- Group 2 trains on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:00 AM to 8:00 AM.
- Both groups attend match play on Fridays from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM, using all 4 courts.
- Additional Adult Classes:
- Open two adult classes from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM.
With these changes in mind, it’s important to keep in mind the need to optimize scheduling for efficiency:
- Consecutive vs. Split Shifts: Prioritize consecutive shifts to reduce downtime and boost efficiency. Split shifts, while sometimes unavoidable, can lead to inefficiencies and coach fatigue, making them less ideal.
- Balance Lead and Assistant Roles: When expanding, aim for a balance between lead and assistant coaches. Overstaffing with lead coaches drives up costs without adding significant value. Often, a lead coach supported by an assistant can deliver high-quality instruction with fewer resources.
- Flexibility and Growth: Flexibility is key to sustaining long-term growth. For example, coaches working morning shifts could finish their day earlier, preventing burnout and ensuring a sustainable workload as the programs expand.
Example: Assigning a lead coach to morning programs not only allows for the addition of new classes but also spreads the workload more evenly. By opening two adult classes from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM, Monday to Friday, the coach can accumulate 23 hours of weekly programming. Private lessons can be slotted in either before or after these classes, from 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM or from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM, providing flexibility. An assistant coach working these shifts would also get 23 hours, ensuring a balanced schedule for both. While early starts might be challenging, they offer the benefit of finishing earlier, improving the work-life balance for coaches.
3. Meet with Coaches to Finalize the Schedule
Once a potential schedule is developed, it’s essential to meet with the coaches individually and in group settings. This allows for both personal preferences and team dynamics to be addressed. While you may have an idea of who would take on the morning shifts, it’s important to consider their personal situations, contract terms, and whether they are contractors or employees. Additionally, relevant legislation and policies must be factored into any shift adjustments.
Example: Before meeting with the coaches, the initial preference was for Marc to handle the early morning Compete U14 program, as he seemed the best fit for that age group. However, after discussions, it became clear that his 45-minute commute and lack of a car made him unreliable for the early morning shift. Franck, who was more interested in the morning shifts, requested a $5 per hour raise. It was agreed he would receive the raise, but only for the Compete U14 program from 6:00 AM to 8:00 AM, recognizing the inconvenience of the early hours.
Regarding Fridays, Marc and Justin mentioned feeling overwhelmed with their current Monday to Thursday schedules, especially because they conduct a high volume of private lessons for juniors, with parents expressing great satisfaction. Since private lessons are integral to the success of the junior competitive programs, Peter, who is less involved with junior parents, agreed to take on the Friday programs. The Friday schedule was made lighter, featuring two match play sessions from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM, along with the introduction of Try Tennis 1.0 and Try Tennis 1.5 from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM, helping to round out the program.s, it was crucial to keep them focused on those duties. Peter, who is less involved with junior parents, agreed to run the Friday programs. The Friday schedule was made lighter, including two match play sessions from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM, along with the introduction of Try Tennis 1.0 and Try Tennis 1.5, each lasting 1 hour from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM. These new offerings help round out the program.