Private club leaders continue to face mounting pressure in three critical areas: employee recruitment, turnover, and securing qualified managers. These challenges are not temporary labor disruptions; they are structural workforce realities. Clubs that treat them strategically will stabilize operations and protect the member experience. Those that do not will continue to absorb escalating financial and cultural costs.
Below is a clear look at the numbers, the implications, and the practical path forward.
The Financial Reality of Turnover
Turnover remains one of the most expensive and under-addressed issues in hospitality.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the leisure and hospitality sector continues to experience monthly turnover rates above 5%, translating to annualized rates exceeding 70%. While private clubs tend to perform better than the broader sector, conservative estimates still place annual turnover between 25–30%, with some clubs approaching 40%.
For a club employing 100 team members, a 25% turnover rate means replacing 25 employees annually.
Using current average wage data:
Replacement costs are typically 20–30% of first-year salary, resulting in:
These figures account for recruiting, onboarding, training, lost productivity, and management time. They do not capture the hidden costs: service inconsistency, team fatigue, cultural erosion, and member dissatisfaction.
Turnover is not just a staffing issue. It is a strategic financial drain.
The Leadership Multiplier Effect
Management quality directly influences retention, morale, and operational performance.
In 2025, 41% of hospitality employees report burnout, and 64% of those cite it as a reason for leaving. In many cases, burnout is not caused by workload alone—it stems from inconsistent leadership, unclear expectations, and lack of developmental support.
Poorly matched managers drive:
Strong leadership, by contrast, stabilizes teams and reinforces standards. Clubs must view leadership development not as optional training, but as operational infrastructure.
Becoming an Employer of Choice
Clubs already spend significant resources on turnover. Redirecting even a portion of that capital toward intentional human capital strategy can dramatically shift outcomes.
The following five areas separate clubs that compete for talent from those that struggle to fill shifts.
1. Define and Communicate Culture with Precision
Candidates today are evaluating culture as closely as compensation.
Recent workforce surveys show that mismatched culture remains a leading cause of early turnover. Travel and hospitality’s Employee Net Promoter Scores indicate moderate engagement, but ample room for improvement.
Clubs must:
Culture cannot be assumed. It must be deliberately communicated and reinforced.
2. Strengthen Benefits and Scheduling Stability
Wages have risen substantially across hospitality in recent years, but compensation alone does not secure loyalty.
Employees prioritize:
Private clubs, while operationally in-person environments, can still differentiate themselves through:
Only a minority of hospitality workers currently access full benefits. Clubs willing to structure competitive offerings will widen their talent pipeline significantly.
3. Leverage Internal Advocacy
Employee referrals remain one of the most effective and lowest-cost recruitment channels.
With nearly half of employees nationally considering job changes in the near term, clubs must tap into trusted networks.
Effective strategies include:
When employees become ambassadors, recruitment credibility increases.
4. Accelerate and Professionalize Hiring
In a competitive labor market, slow hiring processes cost talent.
With millions of open roles nationally, desirable candidates will not wait weeks for responses. Clubs must:
Hiring processes signal operational standards. Delays and disorganization undermine credibility before day one.
5. Make Development Visible and Attainable
The next generation of leaders is highly motivated by growth.
Seventy-four percent of Millennial and Gen Z employees indicate they would leave an organization without visible development opportunities.
Clubs should:
Even modest investments in training and leadership development have been shown to reduce turnover by measurable margins.
Engagement is not accidental. It is built through intentional structure.
The Strategic Imperative
Recruitment and retention challenges are not going away. Labor markets will remain competitive. Expectations will continue to rise. The question is not whether clubs can afford to invest in culture, leadership, and engagement. The question is whether they can afford not to. At a conservative estimate of $150,000–$250,000 annually in turnover costs for a 100-employee club, the financial argument alone supports a shift toward structured human capital planning.
Clubs that take a disciplined, proactive approach to recruitment and retention will not just fill roles. They will build leadership benches and secure operational continuity for years to come. The window to act is now.
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About the Author: Paige Frazier