Staff Newsletter | Tuesday, September 27, 2022
“Greater love has no one than this; to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” – John 15:13
For the past few weeks, our association has been focusing on the 2023 budget. Even in the best of conditions, the budget process is challenging, but with the uncertainty we face in projecting membership growth and managing inflation, building next year’s budget has taken “challenging” to a whole new level. I have been impressed with the entire team, particularly how well Megan Sala, our operations directors, and our executive directors are working together to achieve the targets set before them. Toko Thompson has been expertly guiding the process and establishing the framework, recognizing that we have certain objectives defined by the bank and the board of directors. As Toko points out, many of the expense lines in the budget are locked in since we know what the cost is to operate our business; the most challenging part on the expense side is the cost of personnel. Michelle Rose has been closely following the information coming from our local and state governments, anticipating the determination of the new minimum wage for both hourly and exempt employees; the new minimum wage is scheduled to be announced on September 30 and is expected to increase by over a dollar for hourly personnel.
Over the past year, we adjusted our wage structure in an effort to keep up with the market, and most staff have received two cost-of-living increases since July 2021. In addition, we made necessary market adjustments to positions that were determined to be well below the market rate as defined by the market analysis we conducted earlier this year. We are committed to continuing work on this strategy in order to compensate our employees fairly and remain competitive in the market. In October, we will make another market adjustment to a group of positions that are significantly below the market standard. Michelle and her team have been working alongside the leadership throughout our association to determine which groups need to be addressed first; we will make that determination shortly.
Many of our leaders have expressed the desire to return to an annual schedule of wage adjustments, which was our way of work prior to the pandemic. Navigating the forces of inflation and the labor market instability has forced us to respond in a different manner, adapting to conditions that have been extremely volatile; making adjustments throughout the year seemed like our only alternative. This strategy, however, came with its own set of challenges, raising uncertainty among our staff as to when their own increase might come. In addition to returning to a predictable schedule, there has been a strong desire for us to build back the concept of rewarding staff on the basis of merit. Again, the disrupting forces in the market have forced us to find different ways to adapt and look at compensation more comprehensively. Bringing staff wages up to market has compounded the pressure of compression, something we take into account before making any wage adjustment. It has not been a perfect process, and Michelle points out that this process will have to continue in order for us to achieve fair and equitable compensation for our staff team. We remain committed to that goal, as challenging as it is.
In addition to adjusting wages, we are working hard to grow our organization, which means strategically adding staff to our team in order to expand our operations. Throughout the pandemic, we have been carefully assessing when to add positions that will best advance our organization. Included in that calculation is trying to understand the best timing of introducing new positions onto our team, trying to stay a little bit ahead of the process in an attempt to anticipate the growth we are desiring, balanced alongside the additional cost of adding staff. This is not a perfect process. We recognize there are a number of positions we would like to add back and we know there is a lag time that has become a big part of recruiting and onboarding new employees. Brian Flattum has been masterfully leading this process, working with the leadership cabinet to ensure that all voices are heard in the process.
The increase in wages and the need for additional staff has significantly impacted our association, especially since revenue has not necessarily been tracking at a corresponding pace to keep up with the increased cost. In one week, we will be increasing our membership rates, primarily by $4 per member per month (youth membership was increased by $2, and there are other unit adjustments that differ slightly). We have not increased our fees in three years, and we were very thoughtful in the amount we selected for the increase. We felt it was a fair increase, and yet we wanted to be sensitive to the impact inflation is having on people’s lives. This has led us to dig into how we can build the budget plan for 2023, which entails balancing revenue growth with expense control, not something any of us is very comfortable doing. The entire team has worked hard to establish realistic targets for 2023, but there is still a degree of discomfort in the stretch that needs to occur.
Though the process has been challenging for all of us, we are reminded of the factors we must face: paying off our bond that funded the construction of the Tom Taylor, Haselwood, and Gordon Family YMCAs, as well as the cost of maintaining our centers and camps. (The pandemic has impacted our ability to invest in the upkeep of our centers, only being able to do what is absolutely necessary. The work of Loren Johnson, Ed Bressette, and the maintenance teams throughout our association has been extraordinary, maintaining our facilities under extremely challenging conditions.) The discomfort we are all feeling in building the budget is a clear reminder of the impact the pandemic has had on our organization. We are still digging out of the enormous hole created by the six-month closure and the many subsequent months of the mask mandate. Membership has been growing, buoyed by the recent promotion campaign, but, unfortunately, the revenue generated by membership is still not able to keep up with the increased expenses we are facing. Child Care and Early Learning are demonstrating growth in September, with the hope of further growth into 2023. There is also tremendous excitement surrounding the rolling out of the Virtual+ membership and the addition of the $25/month fee for people who are wanting to experience the Y without a full center membership. Virtual programming represents two and half years of hard work by the team of Annie Doyle, Michael Marquez, Bruce Caudill, and so many others. Adding Daniel Ly to the team has elevated the quality of the product, and there is still the work that Janele Nelson has been leading that will include the Community Café and the connection of people that is such an integral part of the YMCA.
The success of the September promotion and the positive results from Child Care gave our organization a huge lift. It also allowed us to feel a bit more confident in building the 2023 budget plan. Growing our revenue allows us to strengthen our organization, compensate our staff, maintain our facilities, pay on our debt, and build the new Names Family Foundation YMCA. (FYI, Jessie has been working with the Names family, and it is their desire to select this as the new name for the Y). For the past nearly three years, we have been working to strengthen our Y so we can once again be the organization that can best serve our community. Our Y is such an important part of the health and well-being of our community; we are getting stronger every day and are able to serve more people. I know we would not be in this position without the extraordinary work of all of you. You are the heroes of the Y. Thank you, all. You are amazing!
#OneY #StayStrong #StayWithUs