How to Use Private Golf Clubs to Attract and Retain Top Talent

Employee retention is one those things every business strives to achieve. While you can get great employees early on in their careers, figuring out how to keep them can be difficult. Compensation and benefits packages are always necessary, but doing a little more to keep your best employees happy and to bring promising new hires into your business can be even more important. You have to use every tool at your disposal – and in some cases, this might mean using access to private golf clubs in order to secure the best talent for your business.

Using private golf clubs effectively

Your membership at a private golf club is very beneficial for so many reasons. You’re not just looking for networking activities here – you want to leverage your membership to keep your top talent and bring the brightest minds into your company’s fold. There are many different methods of accomplishing this, but there are a few that are surefire hits with most employees. Below are four of the ways you can use your membership to help with employee recruiting and retention.

A round of interviews

Is there anything more time-tested than interviewing a prospective hire over a round of golf? It gives you as an employer a chance to get to know the potential employee in a non-business setting, while allowing everyone to relax and have a bit of fun during what can often be a very stressful process. Going to a high-end private golf club is a great way to take that experience and really increase its value, using the club itself as a tool for bringing in the best talent that the area has to offer.

Being able to bring a prospect out to a private golf club says quite a bit about a place of business. It says, of course, that the business can afford a club membership. It also says that the business thinks highly enough of the potential hire to extend the benefit of playing a top-tier course to him or her. There’s also the implied benefit that those working for the company might be able to join in on these activities regularly – or afford to do them on their own time. Conducting an interview at a private club sends a number of messages that are sure to entice a great hire.

An executive benefit

If you’re looking for how to retain top talent, a good start can be with perks. Not every benefit of working for a company is necessarily monetary, and some of those fringe benefits make the difference between staying at a company and moving on to the next opportunity. A corporate membership at a golf club can be one of those perks that not only looks great on paper, but also one that will help to encourage an employee to stick around. It’s through your company that the membership is possible, and maintaining that membership will always be intertwined with the relationship an employee has with a company.

While it’s entirely possible that an employee can become a club member on his or her own, it’s important to remember that it’s difficult to give up something that feels free. If your employees love being a part of the club, it might be hard for them to walk away for a new business opportunity that doesn’t involve membership. While they could join on their own, why would they want to give up what they already have? This might be the kind of perk that helps convince those on the fence to stick around.

Invitational dinners

A golf club is far more than just a place to play golf. A great golf club is a place where you can entertain guests and build business relationships. Even if your top employees aren’t golfers, you can invite them out to a dinner at the country club and allow them to see just how beneficial it can be to stay a part of your business.

Dinner can be a fantastic way to show off your company’s connections. It’s not just about what you eat, but the people you can bring to the dinner. Dining with other club members – many of whom are well-connected members of the business community – sends a not-so-subtle signal that being a part of your organization places an employee on the same level as the movers and shakers of the community. It’s power and networking purely by association, all wrapped up in a fantastic meal. Inviting your employees (and their spouses, depending on the situation) out to a good meal at the club can be a great way to remind your employees of the perks of your business.

Whether you are looking to interview new talent, make a good impression with those whom you work with or just raise your company’s profile in the eyes of job-seekers, membership at a private course can be a major benefit for your business. Don’t just join any club, though – join a club with the course, facilities, and reputation to help boost your company’s profile and really help you keep the best talent. Blackstone Country Club offers a Non-Equity Corporate Golf Membership Plan that is perfect for companies looking to attract and retain top talent by offering membership to the most prestigious private golf club in the West Valley area. Click here for more information about this and the other types of memberships offered at Blackstone Country Club.