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Y O U A R E O N LY A S G O O D AS YOUR TEAM Lissa Oliver
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major challenge facing trainers throughout Europe is the attraction and retention of skilled riders and grooms. Trainers are competing with many other industries, and fewer people favour the type of work offered in a racing yard, which means that trainers need to be more innovative and proactive when it comes to staff management, retention, and recruitment. Entries for the Lycetts Team Champion Award in Britain closed on 1st December, but for those who didn’t enter, and for trainers in the rest of Europe, it is not too late to examine the aim behind the inaugural award and use the judging criteria to establish a team of excellence in your own yard. The idea behind the Lycetts Team Champion Award is to reward the stables with good employment practices in place creating the best team ethos, and it is an initiative that will hopefully combat the long-term stable staff crisis affecting many yards. The award is judged on the methods trainers use to attract and retain staff, plus the safe working practices employed. The winning team receives an item of infrastructure or equipment that will improve working life within the yard. It is hoped that the stories emerging from the award will publicly celebrate the benefits of teamwork and demonstrate that racehorse trainers provide rewarding and well-supported jobs, and this is an ethos that can be easily extended beyond the award itself. Win or lose, every team that took part will move forward all the better for the experience, and it’s likely we may see the positive results on the racecourse and hopefully even in increased orders at the sales for the participating yards. Whether or not you intend to enter for the 2018 Lycetts award or similar awards elsewhere, there is a lot to be gained from considering the advice offered by the judging panel and putting this into practice in the coming year.
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Adopting The Winning Approach
Behind the concept of the Lycetts Team Champion Award is an original idea by the National Trainers Federation in Britain, which has created an industry standard for the best ways to engage and motivate staff and maximise retention. This standard is called “The Winning Approach.” By adopting The Winning Approach, trainers will find fewer employees leaving the industry and there will be positive evidence to show that for anyone who wants to work with horses, racehorse trainers provide the best, most rewarding, and best supported jobs anywhere in the equine sector. Many trainers already operate in a way that meets the desired outcomes. The Winning Approach allows trainers to recognise that many of their informal practices, regimes, and routines already go towards meeting those goals.
OUTCOMES
• The Winning Approach should be underpinned by the core values of: • Effective recruitment and induction systems • Ensuring a safe environment • Creating a positive working environment • Development and training • Reward and recognition
Tips from Lycetts Team Champion judges
The Lycetts Team Champion Award judges each have outstanding experience of the working environment in a trainer’s yard and firstclass expertise in human resources and team management, so we have asked for their advice in helping you to prepare a plan for 2018, or simply to put ideas in place to benefit and improve your yard.