Call it the ignorance tax. The ignorance tax is when a company or organization spends excess money or loses revenue because its personnel do not have enough knowledge, experience or educational background to make appropriate decisions.

That’s exactly what’s happening with the waterpark resort industry as demand for managers outpaces growth. This gap puts owners in the position of having to hire less-qualified people to run their parks. And it creates a risk in service and safety that can lead to the kinds of tragedies we’ve seen this summer.

Current staffing
To gain a proper perspective regarding the scope of this problem, it’s important to begin calculating what is already known. Research shows the indoor waterpark industry increased eight times from 2000 to 2006. Management is structured so that one waterpark manager usually is supported by three supervisors. The only exceptions are the large waterpark resorts (parks whose square footage exceeds 30,000 square feet, of which there are 15 facilities with aquatic teams of three managers and five to 10 supervisory positions, not including general managers, executive level waterpark directors, or waterpark maintenance managers). Therefore, during the six-year span, the indoor waterpark industry has hired, at minimum, 174 waterpark managers with 507 supervisors.

If you include general managers, executive-level waterpark directors and waterpark maintenance leaders to this calculation, the indoor waterpark industry employed an additional 720 positions, totaling 1,401 total people who were hired to work for indoor waterpark industry as of 2006. Is it safe to say that all 1,401 people who worked in the indoor waterpark industry have the proper knowledge, experience and education necessary to protect guests and the company? We would hope so. But based on the enormity of growth over the previous five years, and the number of incidents occurring at facilities, probably not.

Insurance companies are already coming to this realization. They will soon begin asking questions about who is operating the facilities. They will charge higher insurance premiums for a waterpark until the company’s leadership team has proven itself qualified.

Furthermore, as developers open larger and larger facilities and use management and leadership structures similar to those of current large resorts, the need for aquatic leaders will grow exponentially. If the industry doubles in size over the next five years, it will add 2,300 leadership and management positions. Universities would need to graduate 460 students every year for the next five years just to meet the demand for waterpark leaders.

However, the industry cannot rely on universities, considering there isn’t a single program in the United States designed to develop individuals in this area. As a result, indoor waterparks will be hiring leaders in the future who will not necessarily be qualified to operate their facilities. This could increase risk at facilities, provide poor guest service, create unnecessary spending, and reduce vast amounts of revenue that support the operation.

University programs
Why aren’t universities and colleges taking the lead in educating young professionals in the indoor waterpark field? Here are five reasons:
1. Because of the indoor waterpark industry’s newness, universities are unfamiliar with its growth.

2. Those who are aware most likely do not know what curriculum is needed to create successful professionals.

3. Universities are unsure how to categorize indoor waterparks to decide which college department this area should be placed. (Is it Exercise Sports Science, Commercial Recreation, Business Administration or Hospitality?)

4. Many professors would prefer to teach in areas they are most familiar.

5. Universities and colleges are supported by state governments and educate people for areas in which they receive the most funding.

Another problem is classification. Classifying indoor waterparks for development is a difficult endeavor. Are they theme parks, amusement parks, hotels, public recreation facilities, therapeutic recreation facilities, or traditional waterparks? While indoor waterparks definitely fall into the category of amusement, public or private, the current trend reveals vast overlap with the hospitality, commercial recreation and public recreation.

For example, a person working in an indoor waterpark resort requires hospitality training, business administration, marketing, government regulations, management and leadership. On the other hand, individuals in a public recreation setting need programming, government regulations, business administration, exercise sports science, psychology, leadership and public recreation training. Already the two similar parks require vastly different background and education. Such curriculums are currently not in existence, and no universities are working on developing these areas in the near future.

Though this information is alarming, waterpark resorts still will need to make sure they are up to the standards established by their insurance providers, state governments and lifeguard certifying associations.

However, there is considerable ongoing difficulty in obtaining the personnel to keep the facilities at those standards. Without universities from which to draw, organizations will be forced to look for people with knowledge and experience in this arena. Mistakes are going to happen, and those mistakes could cost the industry millions.

Design and build
One mistake that’s already costing owners money is hiring professionals after the facility is built. Organizations should start their managers during the building process, not after. But many resorts begin designing and building their facilities long before hiring their waterpark leadership personnel.

The owner’s common response is to hire a consultant. That may help some and is a good idea, but many consultants only have experience in the development and building of the facility rather than the leadership and operation of a facility; those who have worked with a lifeguard certifying agency only have working knowledge of the aquatic operation and facility. Hiring an experienced waterpark manager and waterpark maintenance manager can save time and money, and help solve issues that come up during the design and build phases.

The time of design is one of the most important moments. Why? Many building companies don’t take into consideration the types of pumps and motors required for operation. They simply take the engineers’ and architects’ word on what’s needed. A person on their team with a little understanding of electrical motors and simple mechanics can save a company hundreds of dollars in energy savings annually.

For example, consider the development of a lazy or adventure river. Owners know they need features that can hold many people at the same time, but they do not understand how expensive such rivers are to build, maintain and staff. Design issues such as the number of curves can create blind spots that require additional staffing. If a facility is open 12 hours a day, 365 days a year, a company must pay one lifeguard in excess of $35,000 annually to cover that water. Thus, should a company design a river with too many curves, it may need staff members to cover two or three additional locations that would not have been an issue if they simply put in a straight edge instead of the curve.

It is often difficult to determine labor and energy costs of a facility until construction is almost complete. One river could cost an upstart organization more than $200,000 by year’s end as a result of this simple, but common, mistake. Every mistake made during design that requires an additional staff member will cost a company at least $35,000 annually. If a company makes four mistakes during design and build, it will cost the organization approximately $140,000 the first year and the same amount plus cost of living increases for every year after.

However, by hiring smart and timely, many of these issues can be curtailed with the following tips.

1. Hire your key waterpark manager and waterpark maintenance manager prior to the design stage of your project.

2. Hire a person with a history of education, knowledge and experience in aquatics and management.

3. Be aware that individuals with public recreation background aren’t entirely prepared for a privately owned indoor waterpark.

4. Get your management and leadership personnel educated in all areas they may encounter.

5. Continually look for ways to provide more advanced learning for all manager and leadership personnel.

6. Ensure that the manager or leader is ready for the pace of your operation.

7. Make sure the potential management team’s aquatic or leadership style of management or supervision reflects that of the company.

8. Don’t settle for just any job candidate because you do not think you can find anyone better.