ARVC ROLLS OUT ITS FIRST SPRING SEMINAR SERIES

The seminars are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, May 16th and 17th

DENVER, Colo., Feb. 14, 2012 – The National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (ARVC) and the ARVC Foundation are well known for offering the most extensive educational seminars in the campground industry.

ARVC is pleased to announce its first annual Spring Seminar Series as an extension to its already popular Outdoor Hospitality Conference & Expo held in November and the National School of RV Park and Campground Management held in February.

“We’ve scheduled the series mid-week so that campground operators can get back to their parks in time to prepare for the weekend,” said Barb Youmans, ARVC’s senior director of membership and education. “Seminars will end at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, making it easy to catch an evening flight.”

ARVC’s Spring Seminar Series includes nine seminars, including:

• “Protecting Your Park From Perils” with Mark Maciha of Northern Arizona University: As part of this seminar, park operators will fill out a needs assessment that helps them determine areas of potential risk in their campgrounds. Maciha will work with park operators to develop a plan to reduce health and safety risks in their parks.
• “Happy Campers,” a seminar that teaches park operators how to communicate expectations to staff and ensure that those expectations are met every day so that guests achieve the highest levels of customer service.
• “Business Cents” with Mary Arlington of MMCC, Inc.: Mary will help park operators learn how to optimize customer satisfaction within the business capabilities of their organization and develop a plan to achieve needed business modifications that are identified in the session.
• “Risky Business,” a session that helps park operators learn how to implement effective risk management practices.
• “Great Expectations” with Ron Williams of Travel Resorts of America: This session will teach park operators how to set standards for their business as well as how to monitor and maintain service levels.
• “The Social Stampede” with Barb Krumm and Rachel Beckerman of Ocean Lakes Campground in Myrtle Beach, S.C.: This session provides basic instruction in Facebook, Twitter and other social media tools. Park operators will learn how to use these tools and incorporate them into their business strategy.
• “Cash Cow” with Bud Styers and Associates and Smokey Hollow Campground in Lodi, Wis.: Bud will teach park operators how to identify creative ways to raise revenue by providing additional services, activities and products.
• “Decisions, Decisions, Decisions,” a seminar that helps park operators assess the various technologies that are available to help them attract more business. This session will show park operators how to make the best decisions for their business.
• “Let’s Go Shopping” with Janine Roberts of Tradavo, a wholesale supplier of foods, beverages and sundries to small format retailers. Park operators will learn how to manage the retail space they have while creating an appealing atmosphere and making more money.

Registration includes all seminars and materials, as well as, breakfast and lunch both days. Discounts are available for those who register before March 31st. Special lodging rates are available for seminar participants at the Embassy Suites Denver Tech Center.

For more information, visit www.arvc.org/seminarSeriesMain.aspx or call the ARVC Education Department at (303) 681-0401, Ext. 118.

How to Improve Your Workamper Staffing Experience…Without a Crystal Ball

by Steve Anderson, WKN President & Director of Possibilities

Recruiting, interviewing and hiring the right Workamper is a challenge! Then there’s the waiting and hoping they will arrive at your location on the agreed upon date.

The experience of staffing with Workampers is different today than just a year or two ago! The same steps you have always taken may not be as effective today as they were yesterday.

These days it would be awesome to have a crystal ball that would show you in advance how your Workamper staffing was going to turn out for the coming season.

Over the last couple of years there have been more and more employers who have turned away from hiring of Workampers!

They are turning back to local resources that originally were the catalyst that pushed them to seek out an alternative resource in the first place. They are replacing one agitation with another in hope that there will be overall improvement. But often times, this is not the reality of their experience.

You know you need a strong staff to support your operation. Your staffing outcome will have a major impact on your economic bottom-line, not to mention your own personal sanity.

Yes, things have changed from the hiring days of the past. It is more of a challenge to develop a strong staff…and going it alone like most employers, makes it even scarier.

But there is hope…in the form of something totally new, totally designed to make a difference for employers hiring Workamping staff. To give them a way out of the days of uncertainty and instead experience more assurance that their staffing decisions are the right ones…

A way to combine tested methods previously used…still viable today…with new systems and channels of communication to improve the odds of a strong Workamper staff for the coming season.

A way to leverage the power of Workamper staffing by combining already existing resources and methods along with new ideas, new systems and opportunities to communicate that will be like having your own crystal ball in your pocket.

I’m talking about a brand new program that’s unique and stands alone from every other program or system you have utilized in the past.

We are calling it “Workamper Agency Services, LLC.” – and it’s my brainchild. It will be a newly developed subsidiary of Workamper News, Inc., that will provide many of the crystal ball resources for your future decision making to ultimately improve your future Workamper staffing.

The decision to develop this new company was seeded from round-table participants over the past year…providing thoughts and ideas of how their staffing would be improved if they had certain resources available to them.

One theme that was reoccurring was the lack of accountability that seems to be more prevalent in the Workamping staff today. There was uncertainty and unrest that employers experienced until the Workamper rolled into their business…even then wondering if they can do the job they were hired to perform.

In the world we live today, close attention to the law is a must, especially in the consideration of personal privacy. The question of how to develop resources that would be of benefit and not be breaking the law has been the challenge in the development of such a resource.

Many employers in the past have asked for a simple “negative” list to be developed. This is not feasible under current law, and when you take a closer look, it would not actually provide the benefit to employers that many think it would!

As I continued my discussion of accountability, employers narrowed the focus down to whether the Workamper would actually show up for the position once hired. Everything else is a moot point if they don’t show for the job!

As Workamper Agency Services, LLC begins operations over the coming months it will be focusing on a system to assist employers with a resource to know if the Workamper is committed to your business operation. It will work within the law and will require input from employers and Workampers.

This resource alone will go far in assisting employers in their future staffing and confidence building that their staffing will be strong for the coming season. This is where we begin…

There will be other resources developed over time that will further assist employers in their recruiting, interviewing and hiring processes…and provide Workampers with the ability to provide employers with more useful information about them to assist the employer in their staffing decisions.

As operations begin over the coming weeks you will be receiving information by email on how you can become an Agency employer and begin providing and taking advantage of the resources that will be available.

Your participation will be very important to the future success of Workamper Agency Services, LLC. It will take time to develop the Agency into a valuable resource. Its strength and value will be determined by the number of employers and Workampers who participate.

Employers have spoken loud and clear about their problems. Now join Workamper Agency Services, LLC in helping us improve your future Workamper experiences.

Watch for new information in your email inbox. Make sure you have workamper.com on your safe receiver list so you are not left behind.