So, time for a second blog from race2resource. The topic is unsurprisingly staffing and staff management; specifically racing staff. I am sorry to break this to you if you are behind the curve regarding today’s predicament, the industry has a staffing issue! The industry cannot rely on a ‘love of horses’ to foster long term commitment from staff…… should we really be surprised? Social factors faced today are vastly different to those of twenty years ago, which, let’s face it, is the era that I along with many trainers’ hail from.
Today’s society demands the prioritisation of the safety, welfare, equality and development of staff in the workplace provided by good human resource management; rightly so! Racing is not exempt from the main stream, the leg-up of elitism and class has not disappeared but it is far less accepted by society as a whole; we cannot bring our children up to expect fairness and integrity in all aspects of their lives and then not provide it. The majority of racings staff are from the social media generation, like it or loath it you cannot deny its existence and the reality is that it provides a platform for a constant stream of comment, information and opinion. Staff are aware of what goes on in other yards; whether that is perceived as better or worse than in their own yard; better opportunities, more fun, their friend has just moved there, these are all factors that plant a seed that maybe they should move jobs. Have a bad morning and you can have a new job by the end of the day. There is always a choice; today’s society is one that provides choice in a way previous society did not and again this is good but it brings challenges for employers. This situation coupled with the fact that most yards are under staffed leads to an ease of movement from job to job that does nothing to help stabilise a workforce and enable an established team culture to form. A strong culture helps build lasting ‘buy-in’ to a yard from staff who can truly invest and see their long-term future there.
The churn of staff is like a Catherine wheel firework; lit some time ago, it propels itself around and around losing and gaining some of its mass as it goes! Good human resource management can begin to take the ‘sting’ out of the spin, slowing the turn-over so that stability and strong culture has a chance to take root. Trainers want to keep staff and yet often do little proactively to create an environment where this becomes a reality. If we turn that model on its head and create a culture where staff are developed and well managed, then if they choose to move on to other employers, and why shouldn’t they, they are supported to do so. In turn there will be someone of similar calibre to take their place, also developed by a yard with a similar human resource ethos. I realise what I am describing is revolutionary and I can hear many of the trainers out there (thank you for taking the time to read this) groaning and saying ‘but no-one wants to work anymore, the work ethic has gone’; I do appreciate the challenges faced. I will leave you with this thought; when you started in racing 10, 20, 30, 40 years ago; how many horses were you expected to ride each morning? How many race fixtures were there a week? Sunday racing? How many horses were you given to look after…properly? Now apply these questions to a young person working in racing today. Many things have changed, not just society, not just the expectations of young people, not just the way we communicate using technological advances, racing has also changed and if we do not embrace this and think about things differently the wheel will continue to spin!
To find out more contact me at lizjuckes@icloud.com, call me on 07890127504 or visit www.race2resource.com