Software vendors, by providing users with real-time business intelligence, have helped to reduce the amount of time it takes to get an answer. That period of time can make a world of difference when it comes to club operations and member service. But what are the expectations and how long do you have to wait to make informed decisions?
Consider the software you use for your own personal online banking. Most banks now offer real-time overviews of your account transactions, payments, etc. This real-time access capability, likely because it is so useful, is now increasingly seen as a necessary component of any software that might log financial transactions.
When we return our attention to the club industry, we find most vendors lacking in this regard. Think about real-time access to data as it relates to your club. We have spoken to many club professionals, general managers in particular, about how constricted they feel by a lack of quick access to operational insights. A lack of real-time access to information can really hinder club operations. How many times have you encountered a problem similar to one of the following scenarios?
1. An event takes place on a Friday night at your club, and it draws a good deal of activity at your bar. You and your staff have to wait until the following Monday or Tuesday for everything to be posted before you know how your club performed at that event — and even once the batch is posted you have to possibly reconcile this information further.
2. You have to wait until the middle of the month to know the financial performance of your club, because of the lack of real-time access to data and the lack of integration between software systems cause continual delays. Your department managers are often not on the same page as the general manager, in large part because neither group is able to access business intelligence when they need it.
3. You want to conduct some kind of campaign directed towards your at-risk members. Yet, these members are hard to identify not only because it takes so long to find this information, but it also has to be compiled across several different sources.
4. A member arrives on your property. You want to deliver a high-touch, personalized experience for them, but cannot easily recall their individual preferences; you might not even know when they arrive.
It is important to evaluate your club management software – particularly your accounting and POS software – and ask whether these programs provide quick answers about your club’s operations, or whether they force you to wait before you can perform any kind of analysis in a timely manner.
If we look towards another part of the hospitality industry - specifically hotels and resorts - we see two closely-related trends: one being the consolidation of platforms in order that data might be uniform, and another being the continued need for operational software to provide real-time insights. While software vendors in the hotel and resort markets create a distinct type of operational software, the impetus behind these trends can teach a valuable lesson for private clubs.
Key Considerations for Real-time Management
A common refrain we hear from club professionals is that they want each person on their team to have “one version of the truth”. Having this single version of the truth, and the ability to call it up at a moment’s notice, both promise to be two of the defining features of how clubs re-evaluate their software and systems in the next several years. Something to consider, then, is whether the software used by your club creates data silos, which only compound the hours your staff spends in the back-office, or whether your software allows give you a fuller picture of your business that empowers you to make data-driven decisions with the goal of delivering a high-end member experience.
Learn More in our Guide for Club Executives - Keys to Evaluating Your Club Management & Back Office Software
Photo Credit: Quentin Dr on Unsplash