San Jose Country Club
2024-2029 Strategic Plan
2024-2029 Strategic Plan
Following is the background and details surrounding the formation of San Jose Country Club’s 2024-2029 Strategic Plan:
BACKGROUND
The Board of Directors of San Jose Country Club commissioned Club Benchmarking, a private club industry consulting firm, to facilitate a strategic planning process intended to create a roadmap for the Club over the next five years
Steve Mona, Club Benchmarking’s Director of Governance & Leadership, led the process, which included the following:
10 Board members and the GM/COO participated in virtual individual interviews between January 17 and February 2.
20 members participated in virtual Focus Group sessions on February 1, 2 and 5.
Six staff members participated in a virtual Focus Group session on February 6 99 members (out of 307 invited, a 32% participation rate) completed a written survey. Those invited to participate were chosen randomly, with all membership categories represented in proportion to the number of members in each category
Of those who participated:
83% were male, 17% were female (current overall membership: 80% male; 20% female)
The average number of years as a SJCC member was 16 6 (current average membership tenure: 17 years).
The average age of participants was 52 8 (current average age: 58)
The Board participated in a strategic planning session on February 15 and 16
The Strategic Planning Committee participated in a review of the strategic plan on April 2 and 16.
The Board reviewed and approved the strategic plan on June 27
2024-2029 Strategic Plan
SWOT ANALYSIS
SJCC’s Board evaluated the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats confronting the Club.
After reviewing input and feedback from members and the four focus groups, following is the primary area(s) from each category that will be focused on initially.
STRENGTHS
Strength: What San Jose CC excels at that is within its control and what separates it from its competition.
The golf course
The welcoming, family-friendly, inclusive atmosphere.
The golf course and the welcoming atmosphere should specifically be emphasized, as they are what make SJCC unique and successful.
WEAKNESSES
Weakness: Areas within its control that prevent San Jose CC from performing at its optimal level.
Transparency/communication
Lack of an understanding of our optimal membership size.
Too many membership categories.
A cohesive strategy, including communications, and determining our optimal membership size, including our membership categories, should specifically be emphasized, as both directly impact the experience and satisfaction of virtually every SJCC member.
2024-2029 Strategic Plan
OPPORTUNITIES
Opportunities: Favorable external factors that could give San Jose CC a competitive advantage.
Focus on facility improvements beyond golf, such as the pool area
Capitalize on the population growth of the Jacksonville metropolitan area.
Change the way members perceive the Club from customers to owners.
Focusing on facility improvements beyond golf should specifically be emphasized, as these investments can have a significant impact on the success of the Club. Capitalizing on the growth of the Jacksonville metropolitan area and changing the way in which members perceive the Club from customers to owners should also be long-term areas of emphasis.
THREATS
Threats: External forces that may adversely affect the success of San Jose CC.
Competition for our sports members, often at a lower price point than SJCC
Our competitors are upgrading their facilities, which could lead to a loss of golf members
We should focus on being the best version of SJCC we can be, as we are losing members because of a perceived lack of value.
2024-2029 Strategic Plan
WHAT DO WE WANT TO BE?
“A high-quality, family country club with an outstanding golf experience.”
MISSION
Mission: Why San Jose Country Club exists, what we offer, and who is our market
“To provide a high-quality, family-oriented, golf and country club experience.”
VISION
Vision: An imagined future that helps define San Jose Country Club over time.
“To focus on facilities improvement and the golf experience to become the most soughtafter family-oriented country club in Northeast Florida.”
CORE VALUES
Core Values: San Jose Country Club’s fundamental beliefs that drive its behavior.
Welcoming – We are an inclusive country club that creates genuine camaraderie by ensuring all members, their families and guests feel at home
Family – We seek to provide a family-centric approach to the programs and amenities we offer our members, and view our staff as an extension of our family
Service – We seek to consistently deliver a hospitality experience that is beyond expectations and rooted in our staff’s sincere desire to serve.
Quality – We are committed to delivering the highest quality service and amenities, striving for excellence in all that we do.
Experience – We seek to create memorable experiences across all aspects of our operations and interactions with our members
2024-2029 Strategic Plan
BRAND
Brand: The way San Jose Country Club is perceived by those who experience it.
“We are an historic, high-quality, family-oriented golf and country club.”
STRATEGIC PILLARS
Strategic Pillars: The broad areas around which San Jose Country Club’s Board and senior management lead and manage the club.
Governance – Our Board of Directors, supported by diverse and engaged Committees, governs the Club in a forward-looking, data-driven manner
Facilities & Campus – We are committed to the improvement and expansion of our facilities, consistent with our long-range plan, which is reviewed and updated on an annual basis
Membership – We maintain a high-quality, full membership, with a robust waiting list for both our full golf and social membership categories.
Finance – We judiciously manage and steward our financial resources
Management & Staffing – We attract and retain an optimized team of high-quality staff members through respect for work-life balance, a competitive compensation & benefits program, and professional development opportunities
Programming – We offer innovative and compelling member experiences that appeal to a wide variety of Members and create superior Membership engagement.
The Board agreed that the areas of Governance, Facilities & Campus, Membership and Finance should specifically be emphasized.
2024-2029 Strategic Plan
GOALS
Goals: Specific priorities that advance San Jose Country Club’s mission and vision.
FACILITIES AND CAMPUS
Create a campus-wide land plan
Utilize our Capital Reserve Study and Capital Strategies Modeling in determining obligatory capital needs and planning for aspirational capital improvements, including the following:
Exterior landscape/parking:
2024-2029 Strategic Plan
FACILITIES AND CAMPUS GOALS (CONTINUED)
Clubhouse:
Replace the Clubhouse roof
Evaluate the maintenance requirements of the historic tower
Paint the exterior of the Clubhouse
Golf Course:
Engage a golf course architect to develop a plan for a full golf course restoration
Develop a golf course landscape plan
Upgrade the club and golf course maintenance equipment
Acquire homes adjacent to the golf course and communicate to the membership the vision for the
acquired land
Pool/Fitness:
Upgrade the pool
Tennis:
Upgrade the tennis courts
2024-2029 Strategic Plan
PROGRAMMING
Determine the club-wide marquis events we wish to subsidize
Focus on fewer events done very well
Evaluate Easter, Mother’s Day, Thanksgiving, Santa brunch and Christmas banquet service and programming
Evaluate our dining offerings, including offering a more formal dinner service in the historic dining room
Evaluate the streamlining of our merchandise and food & beverage offerings to achieve consistency across all outlets
Evaluate our communication strategy, including communication vehicles, for our events
Communicate the financial performance of events
Reinstitute the “happy happy hour”
D l dditi l t i
2024-2029 Strategic Plan
GOVERNANCE
Establish and adopt best practices in Governance, including:
Review our Bylaws to ensure alignment with our proposed governance changes
Evaluate the proper size of the Board
Develop an annual Board self-evaluation and track progress over time
Develop succession plans at both Board and Committee levels
Delineate and communicate Committee roles, responsibilities, goals and communication
Consider creation of Leadership Development Committee, or morphing of present Nominating Committee into LDC
Conduct an annual Board Orientation for new Board members
Create a Board Policy Manual
Create and publish an Annual Report
Define and segregate sources of income for operating expenses and capital investment
Ensure and support enforcement of Club rules and communicate such to membership, while also reviewing Club rules on an annual basis
Develop clear reporting and evaluation processes to ensure full adoption of strategic plan, including:
Implement an annual review and approval of our strategic plan and ensure alignment with the work of our committees
Develop clear metrics to measure progress toward our strategic plan on an annual basis
2024-2029 Strategic Plan
MEMBERSHIP
Evaluate our membership categories, including:
Streamline our membership categories, including evaluating our Legacy and senior membership categories (in process)
Establish maximum levels for each membership category and ideal mix between categories
Establish a proactive membership marketing plan, including:
Create a membership growth plan
Create a membership retention plan
Understand allowable marketing activities for a 501©7 nonprofit organization
MANAGEMENT AND STAFFING
Conduct a comprehensive evaluation of our human resources strategy, including:
Evaluate our communications function
Evaluate our long-term employee strategy
Evaluate and benchmark our staff turnover rates
Evaluate and benchmark our competitiveness in the marketplace
Evaluate our policy of the employment of members’ children and communicate it to the membership
Evaluate, then create a staff development policy, plan and annual budget.
Ensure that staff at the department head level have a knowledge base and understanding of the bylaws to serve as a resource to the committees they support.
Evaluate how we manage, staff and structure our facilities team
Develop a clearly delineated list of management staff
Publicize achievements of our employees (as well as members, the Board and Committees)
Delineate HR relationships with the Board and GM
2024-2029 Strategic Plan
FINANCE
Develop a comprehensive operating and capital financial strategy, including:
Develop a plan to retire our debt
Define and segregate sources of income for operating expenses and capital investment
Develop initiation and dues levels that fit the needs of the Club and are congruent with similar Clubs in the surrounding area
Update our 10-year capital plan
Evaluate dues levels of all membership categories
Upgrade our financial practices, including:
Ensure greater transparency with the membership
Create a dashboard of key finance metrics
Develop a procurement strategy