Post on 23-May-2018
Session Overview
• Recipe for a Paradigm Shift
– Organizational changes, mandates & definitions
• Case Studies
– Increasing revenues
– Creating efficiencies and reducing expenses
– Making mistakes and moving on
• Questions and Answers
What does it mean to Run it Like a Business?
The application and integration of best business practices on a daily basis.
The mandates of Carmel Clay Parks
• 100% cost recovery of our community center and water park
• 100% cost recovery of our before and after school program
• 100% cost recovery of summer camps
• 80% cost recovery for the entire park system
What are the benefits?
• Funding that was used for subsidy now goes to new development and capital maintenance needs
• Reduced expenses because of increased efficiencies
• Confidence of elected officials
• Continued growth while other departments were/are flat lined
Adopting an Entrepreneurial Spirit
• Business rewards risk and allows failure, Government penalizes risk
• Fail fast and move on
• Tweak success cautiously to improve – make very small changes
• Seek innovation from all sources
• Listen to everyone especially your customers and staff
What must change
• Your Culture
• How you measure success and failure
• Staff compensation
• What you do and how you do it
• How you make decisions
• Marketing & Promotion
• Customer Service
Three Criteria for Decision Making:
Creates cost recovery? Enhances customer service? Improves efficiencies?
Human Resources
• HR department
• Payroll
• Compensation based on performance
• Regular performance reviews
• PTO
Business Services
• Centralized purchasing
• Budgets
– Prepared at the lowest supervisory level
• Financial reports prepared – in a business format
• Real time data on attendance, cash receipts, and account payables
Creating greater efficiencies and reducing expenses
• Reduced turf in Parks and replaced with native prairie
• Reduced size of landscape beds and replaced with turf or native prairie
• Replaced landscape material with more sustainable plantings
• Outsourced mowing
More efficiencies and cost reductions
• Outsourced landscape maintenance
• Janitorial services
• Business functions
– Financial systems
– Centralized purchasing
• Continued evaluation of all services
Finding Your Way
• Embracing your community’s values and recognize realities
• Creating a culture
• Bucking tradition while working within the system
• Facing challenges as opportunities