Give me a choice and I stay at Marriott Courtyards. At every location I feel I am in a familiar place. They all have complimentary hot beverages in the lobby. The room décor is similar and the staff is very friendly and helpful. Basically, it is predictable. You might not stay at Marriott Hotels, but you get the point. Predictability is important.
Take tennis. You join a club. The club has numerous teaching pros. Over years at the club, you will speak with all of them about tennis, take lessons from several of them, and get to hear their opinions on your game in drills and practice sessions as well. The only problem is that, at the vast majority of facilities across the United States, your experience will be unpredictable, the opposite of what makes people feel comfortable.
It's a question of continuity
The issue is that most programs do not have a continuity-based instructional program. Starting in the mid-1970's Peter Burwash successfully started an entire company on this premise. For 30 years PBI has intensely trained new staff for 30 days before they are allowed to teach a paying lesson. And these are not all new teachers; many are seasoned veterans. The reason? They have a continuity-based teaching program. In other words, just like Marriott, Peter reasoned that customers want predictability. There may be many ways to teach a forehand, but pick some basics to agree upon and get your whole staff to reinforce those fundamentals. In fact, Peter was not alone; Dennis Van der Meer also successfully introduced his "standard method" concept to thousands through the Professional Tennis Registry. And, to a large extent Tennis Corporation of America works hard to train their staff at dozens of clubs as well. Still, as an industry, continuity-based programs are few and far between.
What lack of continuity can do
Example #1: You send your daughter to a summer tennis camp at your club. One of the pros emphasizes a particular grip on the serve, right from the start. She works on it all summer. Then, in the fall, a different instructor changes things completely. You are the parent. It appears that time and money have been wasted and, worst of all, your daughter is frustrated and thinks she has to learn something over. Not a good scenario, yet it happens all the time all across the country.
Example #2: You play recreational league tennis and your team has been taking drill sessions with one teaching professional for months. He tells you that, in doubles, the receiver's partner must call the serve and must intently watch the service line for their partner. Then, that pro goes away for the summer. The replacement teacher says something totally different. "No," the new pro says, "Don't watch the service line at all. Watch the server's partner at the net to be ready in case she is going to poach or hit the ball right at you." My point is not to state which of those instructions may be right or may be wrong. But, imagine how you feel. For months, you are drilled to focus on one thing and then, all of a sudden, you wonder if you were taught the wrong thing by the first pro and wasted a lot of time and money. Not good.
What you can do about it
The good news is that staff training, although it requires a significant amount of effort, is not that complex if you don't get overwhelmed thinking about it. Keep in mind that you are not trying to write a computer-programming manual. You are just trying to establish key points of continuity or agreement on which all staff will base their teaching. It is not about all teaching the same way with the same drills and progressions. It is just about agreeing on certain issues. Here are some steps to get you started.
1. You must become enthusiastic that you are establishing a foundation that will pay big dividends over time.
2. Sit with your existing senior staff and get everyone on the same page that this is a critical issue that needs to be addressed.
3. Set up a committee of two or three to break down the game into each stroke and strategy and list all the possible points of contention (i.e. loop or straight-back forehand backswing recommended for beginners?). The committee makes written recommendations that are then distributed to all concerned for evaluation and comment. Then, a final meeting is set up to discuss any points of contention and to achieve a consensus.
4. Next, put it all clearly in writing with a date at the top. This guide for staff teaching and training should be fluid and updated at least every quarter. Have one person in charge of the task, and review any possible updates in staff meetings.
5. Find resources (books, videos, etc.) that you all will agree are in line with your guidelines and share them at regular staff meetings.
6. At least once or twice a year have guest speakers at your staff meetings to augment their training. Just make sure in advance that whomever you invite is on the same page as your staff on critical issues.
Maintaining the standards you set
If you want to enjoy the benefits of a continuity-based program, you have to invest the time to maintain it. When new teachers are added to your staff, whether in year-round or summer camp positions, training is essential. Generally speaking, I would recommend an initial one-week training program that includes study and review, along with many hours observing private and group instruction. Then have the new staff member give free lessons and clinics with critique by existing senior professionals. For some of our readers, this will sound reasonable. Others may scoff at the amount of time required to accomplish this level of training. If you are on the fence, trust me. Invest now and benefit later.
The benefits outweigh the cost and effort
Every successful business chain, whether it be Marriott Hotel Corporation or a large high-end department store trains all staff in a similarly meticulous manner as just described. We're reminded of it on name badges all the time. "John Doe - manager-in-training." School teachers have student teaching requirements to get their degrees. Medical students have months of intense training as "residents" in order to become doctors. If we want to be part of professional programs that excel, we don't have a choice. What are the specific benefits to your tennis program? Here is a handful:
1. Higher retention of students due to more satisfied customers.
2. Fewer managerial worries when a teaching professional has to take off in the middle of a series of lessons due to illness or vacation.
3. Greater improvement among students, leading to increased word-of-mouth advertising.
4. Improved team spirit, retention, and dedication among staff members, since they are part of a program that is committed to excellence.
5. Increased revenues on a facility-wide level since a well-promoted and well-executed continuity-based program leads to increased participation levels and higher player and member retention.