Taking your riding centre to another level

Posted: 9th May 2017 | Back to news feed

For over 15 years I have helped riding centres to implement change.  People management, business planning, strategy and technology all fall into this bracket: but one thing is sure – Change is Inevitable!

 We’ve been in business for over 25 years

The list of comments a proprieter will give you can go on and on but they all have one connecting factor – change is needed in some form.

It may not be something too radical, but no business can sit still and hope it will last forever: Evolution is only natural and so the thinking and mindset of those within the industry must follow suit.

So where do you start

Change needs to be born, considered and then put into action with a documented strategy that will make sense to all those it affects.

Your most valuable asset being your staff (not horses) must buy into the concepts of change for it to be successful as without their support, change will fail.

Proprieters

Change starts here.  For whatever reason, maybe feedback from the team or customers, you’ve decided to make changes and evolve.

• This is not the time to simply hand it over to your yard manager and say get on with it, this is your business and you need to know what’s happening, how and why.
• Take time to have a brainstorming session with your yard manager.
• Use the feedback you’ve gathered and embrace the negatives as well as the positives.
• Once you’ve thrashed out the ideas engage those thoughts with your team and use their ideas and feedback to further your plans.
• Don’t be so narrow minded that only you knows best.  It’s hard to take but sometimes we become blinkered in our own perfect world and looking in from the outside is the only way to see the cracks.

Managers

• Work closely with the boss, but initially keep all discussions and idea private until it is agreed to spread the word.   Rumours can cause mayhem.
• Be 100% supportive of the bosses plans and don’t have private discussions with other belittling those ideas.
• Your job is going to be to act as a link between the team and the boss so setup regular weekly team meetings to create a sense of collaboration and cohesiveness.
• Use this experience to better your own career path.
• Change is complicated so be totally committed and ready to support the boss and team who might be sitting on different sides to a final decision.

Yard staff

• Let the boss and manager go through their strategic planning before any backroom discussions start knocking the new ideas.
• Be willing to give feedback and get involved in the process of planning as and when asked.
• Be totally supportive of the new ideas even if they don’t always make sense as this way you will have more chance of manipulating them as they evolve.
• If there are changes that will affect your work on the yard it would be useful to produce your own time and motion sheet to prove how time consuming and effective the things you do are and then maybe test the new ideas to show what difference this will make.
• Change can be very costly and if the team are not behind you problems can arise so be professional about your own thoughts.

Receptionists

• You’re a cornerstone of the business, supporting customers and the office processes so any change that will affect you needs to improve your life and not make it harder.
• So many yards have run old paper diaries and methods for years and so change may be a big jump, but not something to be scared of.
• Be part of the decision process and put forward your own ideas, but be “willing to learn”.   The business cannot sit still because staff aren’t willing to learn.
• Ask for training and support.

Support crew

• The maintenance crew are probably going to be the least affected by change.  Your work is generally independent of the running of the lessons etc.
• Saying that you may be affected by the timing of task such as harrowing etc. so be part of the change process when invited.

 

 Why is change a scary thing

Many of you will have been doing the same thing for years so change can be a big jump. 

It may be you’re feeling like you cannot fit in with the new ideas, especially when they involve technology, but this is the time to be positive and ask for training and help.

• You’re the most valuable asset the business has so your own personal development is important to them.
• Learning new skills adds value to your own CV.
• New skills that aren’t horse related make you more useful to the business.
• By rejecting the change and being in denial of your own personal development may make it harder for you in the long run.

 

It’s inevitable – change has to occur in any business so embrace it no matter who you are within the business.

The business supports you, so your job is simple: Support the business

 

Stable Management specialises in helping riding centres to implement change through technology.

www.stable-management.co.uk

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