A career onboard superyachts can be extremely rewarding. It provides the opportunity to save money, travel the world and form long lasting friendships. However, it brings unique challenges for crew such as being away from family and friends for extended periods of time, living and working in close quarters with fellow crew, a highly pressurised working environment, high guest expectations and unpredictability. To foster a team culture where people can flourish amongst these challenges, an enhanced approach to managing and leading your people is crucial, and ultimately the best thing you can do for your crew.
Organisations globally have recognised that there are proven Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) activities, policies and practices that lead to superior team performance. When these activities are aligned with the organisations objectives, substantial performance enhancement is observed. Crew onboard a superyacht are no different to other teams or organisation. They have objectives that they need to achieve, such as running successful charters over summer or ensuring all projects during a shipyard period are completed on time and within budget. Therefore, SHRM practices onboard superyachts are crucial and can make beneficial impacts to your team.
Impacts of SHRM on your crew:
- Drive overall team performance: Effective HR practices that align crew with the vessel’s objectives, show individuals how their contributions matter. This can boost productivity, reduce operational costs and foster a high-performing team culture.
- Increase crew engagement and retention: When HR practices connect individual goals with the overall team’s objectives it fosters a sense of purpose and belonging. Crew will be more engaged in their roles and productive which ultimately improves the performance of the team.
- Enhance crew adaptability and agility: In superyachting, change is inevitable. We see rapid change in itineraries, owners or leadership. SHRM can ensure that the right people are onboard with the right skills at the right time. This can allow teams to effectively respond to rapid or unforeseen change.
When crew are performing, engaged and adaptable you will have a team that is unstoppable. Interested to know how you may get there?
Here are three insights from the world of Strategic Human Resource Management:
1. Develop a Recruitment Strategy
A recruitment strategy is a comprehensive plan that you will attract, hire, and onboard the best crew for your vessel. It is more than just posting ads or using recruitment agencies. Instead, it is a proactive and strategic approach to finding the right people for the right roles at the right time. This can be extremely useful for a new build or a vessel during a yard period prior to a new season.
2. Implement Performance Management
Performance management is an ongoing process of communication between a leader and a crew member that occurs throughout the year. The communication process includes clarifying expectations, setting objectives, identifying goals, providing feedback, and reviewing results. By implementing a fit-for-purpose performance management system your crew’s development will enhance, communication will improve, and performance will flourish.
3. Increase leadership self-awareness
Increased leadership self-awareness is about deeply understanding your own strengths, weaknesses, beliefs, and motivations as a leader. You will understand how these things impact your thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. Leaders that are self-aware can leverage their strengths and address their weaknesses, improve their emotional intelligence and build better relationships. By investing in leadership development, you will ultimately make better decisions and be more effective.
Interested to hear how People at Sea can help you to enhance your Human Resource Management practices onboard?
Get in touch [email protected] or book a time to talk to us.
