Long Term Staff Planning & Support
March 13, 2026
A common problem I encounter when assisting many organizations is that a key staff member (often the aquatic supervisor or manager) has departed (or is off on leave) and there is no one waiting in the wings to fill in. This is especially true in smaller organizations or those located in smaller population centers. Having a gap to fill results in a scramble to maintain operations, and very often any warm body who even half-way meets the needs of the post is drafted to fill in. Sound familiar?
This scenario is unfortunately still far to common in the aquatics sector across Canada. Individuals with little experience or training are thrown into a supervisory or management position without adequate training, and expected to make operations run smoothly. Of course, generally, the end result is not a smooth operation. Rather it often ends up that the person has a long learning curve ahead of them, and they end up making many mistakes during the journey. Sometimes the individual quits in frustration without ever gaining competency in the field. Other times the individual is a poor fit for the post but they are seen as the only available choice by upper management and therefore limp along in the job for an extended period of time. The end result is essentially institutionalized mediocrity (or worse), where the efficiency of operations is impaired by the key staff member lacking competence. And this mediocrity flows downhill to all of the other staff who report to this key staff member, as the example they see is not what the facility needs. In a worst case scenario, the dysfunction created by this type of situation leads to a drowning fatality or other serious injury situation occurring in the facility.
So, how do you avoid this happening in your organization? Maybe you already have things in hand with a robust HR department that has succession plans set out for all your key positions, including aquatic manager/supervisor roles. But if that is not the case, here are a few suggestions on how to be prepared for a key role becoming vacant.
1) Evaluate & Promote Talent
Continuously evaluate and promote talent, knowing that in most cases those individuals will move on from your organization. Over the course of my career I have worked with a large number of quite talented individuals who would have made excellent aquatic managers, but who moved on to other things in their lives. On one hand, this is a loss for the industry when talented people do not stick around. On the other hand, having so many talented people flow through an organization can be an illustration of how well managed and structured it is. If you only hire the best and brightest possible, only accept the absolute best work ethic possible, and promote those who excel, you will always have a committed pool of individuals ready to step up when your facility is in need.
2) Provide Training Beyond Legal Minimums
Over-train your staff in anticipation of future vacancies. Do not accept just the minimum legal requirements for your staff, provide them the opportunities to expand their training (and push them a little bit if needed). Your lifeguards may only require Swim for Life Instructor, National Lifeguard Pool and Intermediate First Aid to work, but offering them the chance to take Lifesaving Instructor, National Lifeguard Instructor, Aquatic Supervisor, Aquatic Manager or other training lets you see who has additional talents that your organization might need in the future. It may cost your organization a bit more to send staff to these training sessions, but having a few staff with these qualifications in reserve certainly helps when your key staff member is suddenly gone.
3) Provide Skill Development Opportunities
Provide staff with the opportunity to use their additional skills. If you have been over-training your staff as per my last suggestion, make sure those staff then have a chance to use the skills they have gained. That might mean making them shift supervisors. It might mean inviting them in to assist with programming for the facility. It might even mean that they fill in for your aquatic manager when the manager is on vacation (perhaps not the whole job, but significant parts of it). Without the chance to use the skills they have learned, those skills will atrophy, so even if it means rotating which staff members run specific programs every six months, make sure they have a chance to grow.
4) Invest in Mentoring
Mentor, mentor, mentor. Staff need support to develop, even if they say they require no help (perhaps most often when they say they need no help). Being a leader and manager means being a life-long learner. Our job never ends when it comes to staying on top of developments in the field, and new and ever-changing needs of our staff. Aquatic leaders need to set aside time in the schedule simply to check in with subordinates and provide them with ongoing feedback in-between formal appraisal/annual review sessions. It might be 15 minutes after swim lessons, or a standing weekly appointment, but it needs to be there.
Of course, there are many more ways to help support and develop you staff. Have your say in the discussion and chime in on our social media channels or by dropping us an e-mail.
Christopher Love
President
Wavecrest Aquatics Inc.
