HANDLING CONFLICT

Katie mentioned her first challenge was retention rates.  When offering work for only seven days out of the year it can be difficult to know who is going to be dependable and who isn’t. We try to address this by offering incentives such as gift cards, rewards for referral, additional bonus pay for attending all games, and creating personal relationships with staff to help create an environment where they feel valued.  In addition, donor satisfaction with game day is a never-ending task, trying to please all people is nearly impossible. If one person is happy with one thing, another person will be unhappy with it. My boss said she tries to address this by being proactive when planning. For instance, if you know a certain guest will not be happy with something then try to plan ahead ways that can help to make the situation better. Her example was a guest who wanted sprite zero, which is not provided in the fountain machines. Now we have cans available for them to drink since Sprite Zero is not able to be added to the fountain options. She said she also learned that not everyone can even be happy with the service they receive. It’s important not to take it personally and to continue to offer your best service possible.

Lastly, she brought up the challenge of catering for almost 200 skyboxes and 6 club levels.  To produce high quality food for every plate and coordinate the timing of delivery requires a lot of planning. She said it is always necessary to have back up plans for every scenario and be able to provide a solution should something go wrong.  I value all of Katie’s experience when it comes to game day at Bryant Denny.  I have seen her maneuver some incredibly tense situations with a smile on her face and leaving the guest singing praises. 

MOTIVATION 

For our game day employees, FANgineers, our main motivator is pay.  We try to entice with rewards as previously mentioned, but when I was a FANgineer my motivator was getting to be a part of the action.  I think we need to do better recruiting to find the kind of fans that are just happy to be there.  Perks like getting photos on the field and feeding them during the game can help, but we need to really emphasize how important they are to our entire operation.  They are the men in the trenches, I think it is easy to get caught up as a manager when your responsibilities can be drowning

As for the management team, like myself and the directors, I think the motivation factor is lacking.  My first year I came in eager and ready for any and all tasks, but as I have grown within the company, there are definitely times I feel undervalued.  Sadly, I think that stems from my directors feeling the same way.  This job and most of our industry is not full of money hungry people because you won’t find much of it.  So instead of deeming pay enough to keep people, I think we need to emphasize rest days or more time off after a long game weekend.  We may be service hearted individuals, but it does no one a service to burn the candle at both ends and run out of wax.  If not given the proper time to recuperate, burn out will come for us all, and fast.    

COMMUNICATION

            Communication is the most important parts of any kind of event.  There are so many moving parts when it comes to game day and so many different people responsible for them.  As for inter-departmental communication, I would say we are mostly successful. Our team is incredibly supportive of one another and willing to help.  That being said, communication could be better between interns and directors.  I don’t always know my schedule or when they really need me until short notice. It leaves me in the position of feeling like I’ll be leaving them hanging even though I’m told it’s okay if I can’t. In addition, they work with my school schedule, but sometimes it’s hard to balance both school and work.  There are definitely times I should’ve communicated better and prioritized my personal life when I didn’t.

            Intra-departmental communication is a large problem in my opinion.  As much planning and as many meetings as we do, it still seems like there’s a gap in the distribution of information.  Many times, I can find the right person and ask all the right questions, but they still won’t have the answer because some other department didn’t tell them.  It is difficult to be at the mercy of another department to get something done.  We all have different priorities, but communication should be the first.  I don’t feel like it is.

HIRING

            Right now, our company focuses on numbers when it comes to hiring.  We have a lot of positions to fill and not a lot of time to do so.  When students start returning, our games are usually a week or two away.  That isn’t a lot of time to recruit the numbers we need.  We end up accepting anyone that will commit to all seven games.  Other than that, as long as you can come up with answers to interview questions and seem to have interest of any kind, you can work with us on a game day.  Not to sound like a broken record, but our FANgineers are such an integral part of gameday, we need to focus on finding dedicated people.  Although, I know that is easier said than done.

            As for interns, that process is much more selective. I like to think I got lucky, or made a great first impression.  I worked A-day my freshmen year and the current intern asked if I was interested in applying for the internship that day.  After another interview with the entire team, I was brought in as Katie’s intern and manager of the South Zone.  The biggest part of being an intern with CTH is the willingness to show up each day with a smile on your face to do the dirty work it takes to run premium seating.  It seems glamorous at first, but for the most part it is nothing of the sort.  The trick is making it seem glamorous to everyone walking through those doors, and for that, it takes a certain type of individual.  The ability to think on your feet and anticipate needs is huge.  As we interview for new interns that’s what they’re looking for.  Someone willing to work long hours, but for the sake of others.

SERVICE

Beginning before you even walk in the stadium, there are guest service personnel stationed to help with any questions that may arise. Our FANgineers at the gates do a great job of welcoming fans and helping the flow of traffic go smoothly as people enter. Our whole FANgineer staff is a main part of our focus on guest service. They are strategically placed in order to assist with any guest issues and to offer an inviting atmosphere. I think the game week preparation is also a large part of guest service that we provide. All of the services guides, newsletters, and email communication that is sent to donors, prior to the game, helps to prepare them so that their game day experience is smooth.

The entire 2020 season was an example of bringing guest service to a pretty extraordinary circumstance, that being COVID-19. Every aspect of our service was geared towards helping our guests have a safe and enjoyable experience. Signage, catering processes, blocked seating, do not disturb signs, door hangers, and mobile tickets were all utilized to help make sure guests were comfortable. Without the help of all departments working together to make changes to their processes, it would have been impossible to pull off welcoming fans into the stadium for football season. Although there were many difficulties and much of the planning had to be changed last minute, guests were extremely pleased with the outcome and were happy to be able to enjoy the season safely.