The notion of developing career paths has become a much-talked-about notion of late.
The idea is to bring new employees on board with a picture of how they can fit in the company in five years, 10 years, or more – what skills they can gain, how they can accumulate their nest egg, and how they can work to build the life they want.
And it’s not just about the money, these professionals say. It’s also about job satisfaction, a sense of belonging, and feeling like today’s hard
work will yield benefits tomorrow.
And, to a certain extent, it’s about respect and selfimage.
“For far too long, the pool service industry has been treated like a second-class industry: ‘He’s just a pool boy; she’s just a pool girl.’ ‘I fail at something else, so I become a pool guy,’” says Stephen Little, CEO of Claropool Maintenance and Repair, in Palm Desert, Calif.
With pools costing more and more to build, he adds, customers want qualified professionals caring for their substantial investments.
“They’re saying, ‘I’m not going to let the minimum-wage guy take care of it anymore,’” Little says. “So I think the [pool service] industry, by and large, was elevated by the increase in the cost of construction.”
Proper pool/spa care and repair involves so many disciplines and such a broad knowledge base that many believe it’s time that be appreciated.
Developing career paths within your company provides one avenue for doing that.
It’s really a win-win proposition, Little says. “For the business it’s important to create a career path, and for the employee, it gives them a vision of what they can become.”
Follow these tips for laying out long-term career plans with your staff.
Start at the bottom
Especially when it comes to integrating relatives into your company, try to have them begin with an entry-level position. Little employs several of his relatives – some now manage, some are on track to run the business one day. But they all started by cleaning pools.
Not only does this ensure that they learn how to provide the core services that your company offers, but it also sends a message to non-related employees.
“My employees see that there’s always a way up,” Little says.
Begin talking about it before the hire When interviewing job candidates, Little is already thinking in terms of their potential long-term future with the company.
“One of the first questions I ask is, ‘Where do you see yourself in five years?’” he says. “Then I take away that information and ask, ‘Is there any overlap between where this person wants to be in five years and where [my company] is going to be?’”
Document that information, he adds. That way, you can refer to it in the future when the new hire’s strengths become apparent, when it’s time for reviews, or to draw out a specific career plan for the employee.
And the planning should begin from the start. Once he hires a new person, Josh Henderson of Adcock Pool & Spa places the new hire on a 60-day probationary period. He clearly outlines the requirements to show the required proficiency and what pay increase they an expect at the end of the two months.
Lay out a detailed org chart with specifics Show the path of progress, and specify the requirements to reach each step.
When Henderson purchased Adcock Pool & Spa in 2023, it didn’t have documented paths in place. “I think there may have been [career paths], but not a deliberate plan,” explains the general manager/owner of the Ellisville, Tenn.-based company. “It would happen by happenstance. I’ve had to be more deliberate in defining what that clear path to success is: You start off cleaning pools, then you manage a
couple other cleaners, then you can move over to be a mechanical tech. We had to be more deliberate.”
In Little’s case, he likes to compartmentalize his staff by specialty, then has a tiered system for each specialty. Service technicians, who are called “pool tenders” at Claropool, have five different levels they can achieve. Once a tech reaches the fifth and highest level, he or she enjoys perks such as the better assignments, trucks, and days off. Then they explore whether to progress through the hierarchy of repair techs, seek a management job, or other avenue. They are told what sign posts they must reach, such as what education they must take, before reaching the next level.
Include other perks
When outlining career paths, don’t just state requirements and pay structures, Henderson recommends. Explain and even document other
kinds of perks that go along with the promotion, whether it be a company phone, a vehicle, extra personal time off, or priority in choosing time off.
Find ways to incentivize those without a career path
Some positions don’t invite a long-term career path, whether it’s a seasonal position, or an employee who isn’t looking for doesn’t plan to remain with the company for long.
If that’s the case, find other ways to show your appreciation and make them feel like part of the team, Henderson advises.
“Not every employee is looking to move up, but from what I’ve seen of this younger generation, that’s how they’re motivated,” he says. “We’ll do things like adjust the PTO allotment they get on an annual basis. Some things are a little more [immediate] like getting them Yeti coolers on their trucks — just things to incentive them immediately if a long-term proposition isn’t there for them.”
Don’t try to push somebody into building a career path for themselves, he advises. In his experience, that ambition has to come from within.
“I think when you want something for an employee more than they want it for themselves, that tends to be a recipe for disaster,” Henderson says. “You know the saying, ‘You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink’? Sometimes you can lead a horse to water, and they drown in that water.”
Account for the non-technical aspects of the job
For service technicians, nobody questions the need for education and training to gain a competency for managing water chemistry or maintaining equipment. However, some skills tend to be overlooked. For instance, a promotion often means the person will become more customer-facing. Just because a tech can backwash a filter like nobody’s business, doesn’t mean they can work with prickly customers, or iron out the aftermath of a snafu.
“I think oftentimes an employee will get promoted because of an act of attrition, but haven’t necessarily had formal training in business or customer service,” Henderson says. “They get promoted, and then the customer-service part becomes a dominant force in their job. Or you get a promotion to manager, and you’ve never had experience in statements and profits and loss.”
Think about and outline requirements for education and training in customer service, management, and business basics as they become applicable.
When somebody is seeking out a managerial position, make sure that they’re in it for the right reason, Henderson advises. “Managing people isn’t easy,” he says. “Oftentimes we have employees who want that management position, but they’ve never had any experience in management. Then once they get there, they find themselves [overwhelmed] because they have to manage people more than do the job. So anytime an employee asks to move up, I ask, “What is the appeal to you? Is it a monetary raise?’”
Don’t wait
For Little, it’s simple: Fail to provide career paths at your peril.
“I would absolutely say it’s binary,” he says. “If you don’t do it, they’ll do it for you – and it won’t be with your company anymore.”
