- Treat your staff members as if they were gold. Meet with key leadership
staff members in the fall. Ask them for their opinions. Do a lot of
listening.
- As you interview returning staff members and potential new staff
members, make your priorities for the summer clear. Enlist their
support. Acknowledge that you will be asking them to work a little
harder.
- Your best customers are your existing customers. Mail two brochures
to every camper from last summer, one with a big sticker that says: "Give
this to a friend." At the end of January, send an offer to every
registered camper. Ask for the names and addresses of ten friends who
have never been to camp. Send that camper a free T-shirt, and send
each of them a brochure.
- Listen to parents. Their concerns are valid. Read all the surveys
if you sent any out, otherwise conduct a focus group. If possible,
talk to parents of campers who are not returning and find out why.
- For staff training/orientation week, choose three things you want
everyone to know — the three key points you want to get across.
Announce them at the opening and refer to them all week long. Everything
else you do that week should be a subcategory of one of the three points.
Consider doing a Camp Jam. There's quite a bit of preparation,
but the results are well worth it. Learn about a Camp Jam at: http://store.yahoo.com/twheels/campjam.html.
- Make sure that every staff member, including support staff, understands
that the goal is to have every camper have a safe, fun, and challenging
experience that they will want to return to next year. Deal with bullies
swiftly and seriously. Send them home if necessary.
- Parent-camper communication while at camp is more important than
ever before. Allow parents to send faxes and distribute them once a
day along with the regular mail. Sign up for a one-way e-mail service
so parents can send and/or receive replies.
- Meet with your key leadership (directors, managers, and support
staff) every morning for no more than fifteen minutes. Check what is
on their docket. Use this time daily to compliment them on completed
projects and to make them aware of your priorities for repairs and
housekeeping needs. Use this time to keep everyone in the loop. Identify
the various "people
problems" (staff and camper) around camp, brainstorm solutions,
and assign specific people to follow up on specific problems. Make
sure to follow up.
- Check in with the food service manager/cook and the nurse at least
once a day. Find out what's on their minds and if they need anything
from you. Make sure you, personally, are accessible and available to
campers, staff, and parents—always listening and being open to
suggestions on how to improve camp. Return phone calls and e-mails
promptly. Address problems head-on. Admit mistakes with a commitment
to do better in the future.
- Analyze enrollment statistics so you understand which ages and/or
gender that have strong numbers or weak numbers. In light of that information,
analyze your program offerings. A progressive program encourages returning
campers because there is always something for them to look forward
to next year. Survey campers, asking for their interest in potential
new programs or new offerings for next year. Make sure your most outgoing
and exciting staff members address the campers at the closing event
or final meal and plant the seed that ensures that they will leave
camp talking about how much fun they had and telling their parents
that they want to go back next year.
Go to Step 1 and repeat the cycle!
Written by: Rob Grierson; Consulting Editor: A.L. "ALF" Ferreira
Originally published in the 2007 July/August
issue of Camping Magazine. |
