When looking for an effective way to motivate the Gen-Y workers on his maintenance crew, superintendent Jason VanBuskirk of Stow Acres Country Club in Stowe, Massachusetts, leveraged the power of social media.
The solution was surprisingly simple—and inexpensive. VanBuskirk created a digital job board on the television in his shop and linked it to a Twitter feed. Now, when he rides the course and sees an employee doing a good job mowing a green, raking a bunker or any other task, VanBuskirk will snap a photo and send out a tweet. The photo appears on the television in the maintenance shop as well as the club’s website, and also goes out to members and others who receive the Twitter feed.
Since implementing the program, productivity has increased and staff morale has soared. Employees look forward to seeing their photo on the screen and often ask VanBuskirk when they’ll have another picture in a tweet—or why they haven’t been featured yet.