May 23, 2025

Background

Since 1947, the Ontario Recreation Facilities Association (ORFA) has strived to assist recreation facility professionals develop new operational skills, enhance supervisory knowledge, and educate the sector on emerging issues and trends impacting recreation facilities in Ontario, and beyond. Like many other organizations, the ORFA continues to try and keep pace with change that reflects the original vision and mission of a not-for-profit Association. To meet that mission and vision in providing leadership to the recreation facilities profession, the ORFA has tried to keep pace with rapid change in technology, equipment and members wants and needs. Not so long ago, ORFA housed a comprehensive library of industry printed resources where members would contact our office and wait to receive paper copies of relevant information to sort through. Now they can receive the information instantly in the palm of their hands or ask a program to write a report, policy, or other work-related document.

Current and Future Challenges in Recreation

Recreation remains primarily a person driven industry, meaning that it will always require a live interaction between users and the providers of the recreation experience. Technology will continue to evolve and offer opportunities in operational efficiency. However, there will remain a need to utilize and maintain these assets and investments as people and technology work together. Finding the proper balance of innovation and traditional skills will be the next evolution in recreation facility operations and management. As many look forward to these changes the real challenge will be dealing with aging recreation infrastructure. Community leaders will want to adapt older investments to newer equipment and technology which will create another level of difficulty in operational and managerial staff responsibilities that may not have been forecasted as part of the planned evolution of change.

Today's practitioner will need to be prepared to adapt as the marketplace evolves to offer new choices of traditional products and services. For almost 50-years, the Canadian ice sheet industry had basically two choices in ice resurfacing equipment and traditional refrigeration equipment systems needed to make sporting ice while designed with the same key pieces needed to collect, move and extract heat. This consistent design allowed ORFA to focus our attention on membership education and training. However, given the constant investment from manufacturers in the innovation of new equipment and systems, we are working to remain current to assist our members in their needs, but it is a challenge.

ORFA is tracking recreation investments in projects across the country and beyond and finds the price tag of even the most traditional community recreation facility to be significant. However, what has remained constant is the lack of comprehension of senior staff making decisions on recreation facility construction on the importance and difficulty of attracting and retaining "competent staff" required to efficiently operate and manage these assets. Once built, the reality of the costs associated with operating and maintaining these investments comes to light that often results in an objective of staff reduction, or “staffing efficiency” as well as other reduced investment to try and control the operational costs.

The Future of the Industry - Where do we go?

ORFA members are experiencing the same issues as other provincial regions in attracting and retaining qualified staff. Offering competitive wages and lucrative benefit packages comes with work life balance challenges as generation Z (1997-2012) and generation Alpha (2013-2024) is replaced with generation Beta (2025-2039). On the other side, a mix of Gen Y (1981-1996) and Generation X (1965-1980) will eventually be phased out of the workforce. ORFA members are turning to the Association in anticipation of finding a solution to the attraction and retention challenges they face, only to discover that there is not one fix for the industry. Each operation will need to customize a plan specific to meet their infrastructure and service delivery expectations. This generation of recreation facility manager will be forced to research and develop data that clearly identifies what is needed to provide service, maintain safe levels of cleanliness and meet or exceed lifecycle estimates of equipment and other capital assets. It will often be information that senior administrative staff will resist, as it will come with identified costs that will be difficult to generate support. However, when communicated effectively, this data will best position recreation managerial staff to defend their operations and be an opportunity to explain the internal issues and challenges including attracting and retaining competent recreation staff.

Through the years, ORFA has often received feedback from frontline staff on their frustration of facility supervisory staff failing to respond to their issues and operational problems. The reality was that managerial staff were often already overwhelmed with bigger issues, or they lacked the ability to properly address the concerns, so they went unmanaged. Amongst some of the challenging factors impacting operations are the changing attitudes of users and the public, with many of them increasingly more demanding and aggressive towards recreation staff. Work schedules associated with frontline positions, both full time and part time, finds them working shift work and requires in person attendance which impacts personal lives. A silent but important challenge is not having sufficient staff to cover sick leave, vacations or high use periods requiring overtime, often simply because of lack of budget to properly recruit and retain staffing levels. Each of these issues are highlights pressuring the attraction and retention of the next generation of a recreation worker.

Where to start is always a key question. Many recreation managers have inherited established facilities that were operated with skills and experiences of long-serving staff. Much of the essential information retained by these individuals was held by staff with no real record of activity or approaches being used. Recreation was often funded by non-users of the service or program, with the primary users being heavily subsidized by taxpayers This support is and will continue to be under attack. Regulatory compliance has never been more aggressive, making it difficult for supervisory and managerial staff to keep current and informed on changes of legislation that impact their operations. The previously discussed shifts in innovation and technology only add to the managerial challenges being faced in the industry.

With these key areas identified as current and future industry issues, the ORFA offers the following suggested investments that can be considered and customized to meet each operations need. It will be a plan that requires constant review and updating based on internal and external influences.

ORFA Attracting and Retaining Competent Staff Checklist

As stated in the OHSA a “competent person” means a person who:

(a) is qualified because of knowledge, training and experience to organize the work and its performance,

(b) is familiar with this Act and the regulations that apply to the work, and

(c) has knowledge of any potential or actual danger to health or safety in the workplace; (“personne compétente”)

#	Facility Management Attraction & Retention Considerations (Yes/No)	Comments/Action Items
1.	Are job descriptions current?	Keeping job descriptions current that identifies shifts in skills and requirements. Action: Hiring staff should continually invest in reviews of a job description, including but not limited to a review of compensation (hourly or salary), scheduling (hrs. of work, location, hybrid/remote work), employee benefits and ongoing professional development (PD) resources can assist in attraction to a position.
2.	Is there a workplace specific training plan that matches the stated skills in the job description?	Often staff are hired with some stated skills in the job description, but there is no set plan on how the other missing skills will be obtained. Action: Supervisory staff should prioritize ongoing professional development as part of the budget process to support employees in continued education and skills development. This should be looked at as an investment vs an expense.
3.	Are there current, up to date and applied policies and procedures?	Facility policies and procedures are the lifeblood of the operation. If they are not current and being applied the operation will struggle. Action:  Investing in the ongoing creation and monitoring of policies and procedures can be achieved through a collective approach, include staff members as part of the review/creation of these as part of ongoing learning and skills development.
4.	Does facility management understand the legislative obligations associated with the operation and strive to exceed these requirements?	Knowing what specific legislation guides the workplace is critical to developing operational business cases for financial support. Action: Supervisors must invest in remaining informed and where unsure, seek professional advice from governing agencies and/or qualified professionals to support operational compliance and enhancements. Aiming to exceed can engage staff through continuous improvements.
5.	Does facility management understand the unfunded staffing liability of their operation?	Every year staff remain with the operation, they earn more benefits they obtain – vacation, personal days, time off in lieu of over time payment all have an expense that is often not identified. Action: Assess your staffing levels to ensure that adequate staffing is in place to support service levels and tasks. Where required, identify gaps with senior staff through budget processes as an effort to improve your operation. Paint the picture and tell a story, back it up with data and information on what the impacts are.
6.	Does facility management share the known operational gaps with their supervisors and staff?	It is critical that managerial staff openly share what is challenging their department with elected officials, senior staff and operational teams. Action: Encourage open and transparent communication will instill quality leadership and collaboration. Solicit feedback to support employees through engagement. If they are not informed, they are more likely not to be engaged.
7.	Is there a detailed asset management plan for all infrastructure?	Operational asset management planning will be the most important tool this generation of facility practitioner will have. This data will drive the industry as planning today will impact the future of recreation spaces in communities. Action: Invest in planning proactively, create projects and programs that will help support staff in providing safe and effective operations.

Conclusion

There are many potential contributing factors as to why a facility is experiencing difficulty in attracting and retaining competent staff. Managers conducting a self-evaluation of the provided leadership must be the first step in determining the root cause(s) of the issue. This next generation of industry leadership will pioneer the future of how we will operate and manage some of the most important infrastructure in every community - recreation facilities. ORFA’s role includes a Mission to “provide leadership in the development and delivery of innovative professional development, value-added services, and quality products for the benefit of the recreation facilities profession”. Visit the ORFA profile to learn more about the strategic goals and investments of the association to support you as ORFA members in advancing the recreation facilities profession.