The age old problem...getting members and keeping them...
MARRC has a distinct disadvantage right off the bat, we don't pay people to work. We have a committee that is responsible and they do a good job at bike shows but I've always thought there were other ways we could get new workers. The hardest part, in my opinion, is explaining (and showing) people who we are and what we do. When people ask me what a corner worker is I tell them that we throw the flags and pick up the bikes when they crash. I know it's a little over simplified but people have short attention spans.
The club is only as effective as our members. If we have less than a good turn out it's going to mean we have to work harder to do the same job.
So, maybe we can learn from other organizations. How do they get and more importantly retain workers??
I think many org's actually kidnap people out of their homes.
Quote from: Gixxerblade on June 26, 2007, 10:40:54 PM
I think many org's actually kidnap people out of their homes.
no way!
Midwest Safety Crew pays $50/day (after the training day), free lunch and free gate. But yet even now we are slightly hurting for workers. Last BHF we were announcing over teh PA that we NEED people to work. No one volunteered. :(
We lost a couple quality long timers due to lack of a way to get to the track (gas prices I take it as one reason). Also some people just get burned out and take off for a while.
Racers. If you know someone that would be interested in helping, get them out here to work. Its not like they will be tossed on a corner alone for their first time. Just need a white shirt, gloves, hat and sunblock and want to help out (and at least 18yrs old). Remember, if theres not enough workers, theres no racing. We cant do trackday style staffing from what I understand. We need a certain number of workers to get the races going.
Quote from: Gixxerblade on June 26, 2007, 10:40:54 PM
I think many org's actually kidnap people out of their homes.
:lmao: :lmao: :lmao:
I really don't have any good suggestions with regard to recruiting (retention is a different matter, but I won't go there for now...). As much as I love being a corner worker, I don't know how EVERYONE wouldn't love doing it :thumb: I know I have left our MARRC cards numerous places, and of course talk at length with lots of people. As many of you know, Lori was working corners and trying to recruit me for a number of years, and you can't get more enthusiastic about corner working than she did!!!! However, getting up at the crack of dawn on a weekend, working in the heat/cold, rain,etc., and running around a "dirty" track picking up bikes and peeing in the woods just wasn't appealing to me. I also didn't think I would be qualified to do such! On the other hand, all it took was ONE DAY and I was hooked!!! The training we received from MARRC, classroom and trackside built my confidence in my ability, and I think the race fumes are addictive because I can't stay away!!! Not to mention the commaraderie with the other workers and the fun they are! So after all that :blahblah: I don't have any really good suggestions ::)
Kumi
~MARRC Corner Worker
maybe rob has something...
maybe we should be hitting the racers harder...
I think being more active on here is one beneficial way. The more we show that we are actually an active organization on boards the more response we may get. I have a few suggestions in the mix already and I'm always open for more. I mentioned handing out flyers to all the vehicles that come in the gate that aren't towing race bikes. Some spectators may be too shy to ask how to get involved, think we may be too busy to bother, or for any other number of reasons just don't ask. The announcers at the track always thank us it seems and mentions the website but honestly unless you are somewhere with a PA speaker (and it is actually turned on) do you hear anything else except from fellow cornerworkers? I say more advertising at the actual place we play. I know of atleast one person that got tired of sitting in the pits and actually jumped into MARRC feet first.
Quote from: Woofentino Pugrossi on June 27, 2007, 02:01:14 AM
Midwest Safety Crew pays $50/day (after the training day), free lunch and free gate. But yet even now we are slightly hurting for workers. Last BHF we were announcing over teh PA that we NEED people to work. No one volunteered. :(
We lost a couple quality long timers due to lack of a way to get to the track (gas prices I take it as one reason). Also some people just get burned out and take off for a while.
Racers. If you know someone that would be interested in helping, get them out here to work. Its not like they will be tossed on a corner alone for their first time. Just need a white shirt, gloves, hat and sunblock and want to help out (and at least 18yrs old). Remember, if theres not enough workers, theres no racing. We cant do trackday style staffing from what I understand. We need a certain number of workers to get the races going.
yep, I agree, and I am also trying to bring in new people, and they don't seem interested (other plans, lack of motovation, etc. :blahblah:), but like me, once I got to the track and tried it, I thought it was great. ::)
so how do we get them hooked? lol
free passes to the next bike show?
I don't know to be honest. One day at the track for me was all it took and I was whipped. :spank: I admit it. I don't know why everyone wouldn't react the same way. Sometimes it makes me wonder if they are the sane ones, :lmao:
I think that there is no magic bullet to solve this and that there are 1000 reasons to do this and 1000 reasons not to do it. Each person has their own variation on what compels them to do this. For many it is a passion for the sport and the up close and personal view the corner worker gets. I have worked in the midwest and while the $50 is a nice recognition it is not going to attract someone who doesn't have other reasons for doing it.
I think the MOST important aspect is a well run and likeable team with good leadership. The reason I mention leadership is that it will solve many issues like;
preventing or mitigating petty bickering between workers
fighting to get them the best equipment/training
pushing the tracks and organization to think about the cornerworkers (an example is the maintenance and repair of the cornerworker stations) (or even having decent ones AHEM Autobahn comes to mind as an offending track)
Well the good leadership and advocacy for workers is VERY evident in MARRC. Everyone knows I can be "difficult" :boink:, and I am not sure I ALWAYS agree with EVERYTHING going on ::), but bottom line is that I feel like they do a good job of "having our backs" and that's very important for what we do. Again, it's a matter of getting people out there and showing them a good time, and maybe sometimes observing how things are run at other tracks/races where there is no good organization/leadership, in order to appreciate what organization, leadership and training can do to "advance motorcycle racing" in the form of both quality and quantity of corner workers.
In my eye's the problem is two fold. One, you have to get people to the track. Two, once they are there you have to make sure they have a good time and so will keep coming back.
I don't have any brilliant idea's for the first problem and the second one is very, very touchy. The longer I have worked for MARRC, the more responsible positions I keep getting. Every position is absolutely crucial to the way the Safety Crew is run from the pick up people and Flaggers, Corner Captains, Associate Safety Directors (ASD's) and Safety Director.
Once you get to ASD or higher is when things get really tricky, because you have a great deal of influence on how the crew's expiriance is on any given day. The Safety Crew is ultimatly responsible to the sanctioning body for the way track safety is managed. Consequently, among a ton of other things, you have to make sure that everyone is doing their job and if there is a problem or conflict you have to straighten it out as diplomatically as possible so that the affected parties don't feel slighted. Every one has to feel they are valued (which they are) and you have to balance the needs of the crew with the demands of the sanctioning body, which I can tell you can be a real SOB to get right.
I personally dislike the ASD position, (fortunately we get to rotate, so I don't have to do it all the time) it takes a lot of the fun out of what I got into Cornerworking for, but someone has to do it because of the effect it has on the cornerworkers having a good time.
Don't even get me started on the Safety Director position. It is THE most miserable job. In this position you have to worry about the entire crew, including the ASD's and Control, the Sanctioning Body and the Track Management. It is without doubt the most mentally exhausting task at the track, before, during and after the racing.
Ok, after this ranting I guess my point is that retention is very difficult to get right and an absolute killer if you get it wrong, so you'd better have excellent structure throughout your organization to make peoples expiriance exciting and worthwhile, if you want them to keep coming back.
:biggrin: So remind me again why I said yes to becoming an ASD??? :biggrin:
Because you have "the sickness"
Quote from: Simon on June 28, 2007, 03:00:35 PM
Because you have "the sickness"
That is Simon's nice way of saying I'm crazy too. :ahhh: :cheers: :lmao:
Exactly right.
Most people I talk to think we are all mental :ahhh: anyway when I explain exactly what we do and exactly where we do it.
I'm always met with a headshake and a "No way I'd do that."
I don't have to think about it.....I know I'm mental. To much Jager when I was a child.
According to the Army I'm fine (mental evalutation when I got out). I know there are at least a couple few people who would beg to differ big time!!!
Quote from: EmerWil on June 26, 2007, 10:26:54 PM
MARRC has a distinct disadvantage right off the bat, we don't pay people to work.
So, maybe we can learn from other organizations. How do they get and more importantly retain workers??
Yeah, I'd dare to guess that if you started paying some money and added a benefit or 2 beyond that money retention would be improved.
I know that is stating the obvious, but I guess it NEEDS to be said. MW Safety Crew has some great benefits as well as being paid, but those are creative things that have to be decided upon by your local crew.
For A LOT of folks the weekend is a mini-vacation nowadays as we/they work a regular job 30-80 hrs a week and may have children to boot. So, the weekend is a time to kick back and relax, not take on more responsibility. That being said it has to be made a fun experience.
What does MARCC stand for anyway?
Mid Atlantic Road Racing Club.
Madly Addicted Road Racing Cornerworkers :biggrin:
Although we don't get paid we do get some good benefits. Hats, Shirts, Jackets, Food and we get looked after on the turns with drinks and breaks if we need them. Occasionally we have raffles for stuff donated by racers and vendors.
Maybe put a small ad on the weekend race schedule or hand out cards in the spectator area & paddock.
Paying workers may increase turnout, but then you'd get some people who'd just be there for the money. I've been to some tracks where I could tell that some of the crew couldn't wait til quitting time. No passion or sense of urgency.
What I've noticed, when I talk to younger people about why I do what I do, and the hours I put in at the track, they think I'm crazy. It comes down to the almighty dollar, and some people value the money more than simply helping out. I work for CCS because I enjoy it; it's as simple as that. AND I've worked corners, as well. Why does everything have to come with a price tag?
[quote Why does everything have to come with a price tag?
[/quote]
Because these days people are very self serving. They don't think about others just themselves.
I was thinking about an ad in one of the bike magazines maybe. I just checked Sport Riders rates and it's $3700 for a 1/3 page ad!! Motorcyclist was so much money it made my eye's water!
That is pretty freaking insane. Maybe a letter to them would bring that rate down. Post up in the racing mags though, Road Racer X, Roadracing World. Hell Chris Ulrich posts up on WERA. Could just PM and ask I suppose.
Quote from: barb_arah on July 06, 2007, 10:35:23 PM
I work for CCS because I enjoy it; it's as simple as that. AND I've worked corners, as well. Why does everything have to come with a price tag?
Usually the ones who come out for the money, dont last long anyways. Its nothing you can live off. It pretty much is gas money. Most of us out there enjoy it either way. Since I'm not racing right now, it keeps me at least involved or else I may end up going insane.
I can't afford to race either. Hopefully someday I'll be able to put something together. :whine: But until then the next best thing for me to do is study and learn the track I intend to try to race on inside and out. Maybe that was too ambitious but atleast a track I intend on doing a track day at. While gas money would be nice I'd probably spend just as much running around doing other things on the weekend anyway. :thumb: