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Back to Facility Manager
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By Brian Ohl We have all heard stories about how unreasonable or irrational a tenant is at this or that facility. It was interesting to me to hear some hockey owners talk about how unreasonable or irrational their building managers were. It seems that both sides view their relationships as difficult; each side believes the other side is at fault. At the John Labatt Centre in London, Ontario, we have a great relationship with our tenant, the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League. But it took a few years to develop a relationship that contributes to the success of both organizations. The Knights are owned by former NHL players Mark and Dale Hunter. In addition to owning the franchise, Dale is head coach and Mark is general manager. Both won league honors last year for their respective roles. If you followed the NHL when these guys played, you know they were tough, hard-working, persistent and not afraid of a fight. Believe me, they still carry all of these qualities into their business dealings. There are five important concepts to remember when you are attempting to establish or improve a relationship with your tenant: communication, honesty, respect, support and consistency. Once you understand and embrace these concepts, you are on the path to a healthy and productive relationship that will benefit both the tenant and the facility. Before gaining an understanding of these concepts, it is important to note that you have to have total organizational “buy-in” to the concepts or it will erode your efforts and jeopardize your results. These ideas are simple and easy to adapt. If staff cannot, or will not, embrace them maybe you should look at whether you have the right staff. For example, early in our relationship with the Knights’ organization, one of our staff members cursed at Mark Hunter. Fortunately, no bones were broken in the aftermath, but our relationship suffered a major setback and that employee found other work. Mark and I are able to laugh at that incident now, but it wasn’t too funny at the time. Your staff has to buy in to these concepts in order for you to succeed. The first essential concept is communication. Mark is fond of saying “no surprises” and I couldn’t agree more. We meet on a weekly basis to talk about everything that is going on with the team and the building, regardless of whether either has a direct impact on the other. We also invite the Knights’ management team to our weekly staff meeting, where we talk about all Knights’-related topics first and then invite them to stay as we discuss non-Knights’ issues. They typically stay to hear what is going on and many times bring a perspective that is helpful to our plans. Sometimes other issues we are dealing with have a carryover effect with the Knights that we may have overlooked, so it is important that they have input. Communication should be timely. If you are working on something that may have impact on the team six months in the future, give them a “heads up” now. They will appreciate the time to respond and plan. By effectively communicating on a timely basis you avoid surprises that create distrust. The second concept is honesty. It is an idea we all subscribe to, but generally don’t follow. Tell them how you feel and why. Stretching the truth to get what you want will backfire. Once a “lie” is exposed the damage is nearly permanent. Be honest in your dealings. Honesty will generate trust in your relationship. Respect is the third concept and goes hand-in-hand with honesty. Find something to respect about your tenant and the relationship will grow. When I first met the Hunters, I didn’t know much about them other than they were former NHL players. I soon found out that they knew the game of hockey, they were successful farmers, and they were passionate about the Knights and winning. It was easy to have the respect grow from being former players to being about their knowledge and love of the game and their work ethic. Having genuine respect for your tenant is healthy for your relationship. Respect also means showing that respect in public. We let the community know that we are proud to be associated with the Knights’ organization. Both Mark Hunter and I are quick to give credit for successes to each other. Public respect shows the sincerity of sentiment. The fourth concept is support. This means make things easy for your tenant. We try to create an environment where the team only needs to worry about the players on the ice, while we take care of everything else. In reality, we don’t do everything for the Knights, but we are there to assist or support them if they have any needs. As an example, if we have to move a practice out of the arena due to a scheduled event, we arrange for ice and transportation, so the team doesn’t have to worry about it. This works both ways, too. When we hosted the Philadelphia 76ers in a preseason NBA game last October, members of the Knights’ staff volunteered their assistance on game day. The easier you make it for your tenant, the easier it is to build a foundation on which to develop a positive relationship. We honestly believe that our businesses are connected. Both the building and teams’ successes lead to higher attendance, higher sponsorship rates, and higher concession per caps. With this view, why wouldn’t we support them in all areas? It actually benefits the facility in the long run. The final concept is consistency, the one that ties it all together. You need to be consistent in your actions, message and attitude. We have never wavered in our message that we consider the Knights to be partners in the success of the John Labatt Centre. Our actions and attitudes echo that message (except that one incident of cursing). Early on in our relationship, outside influences tried to create some controversy between the two organizations, but we stayed consistent in our message and beliefs. That did not go unnoticed or unappreciated by our partners. Remember to communicate regularly, be honest in your dealings, show respect in public and in private, provide support whenever you can and be consistent in your message. This does not mean that you won’t have disagreements or issues from time to time, but it does mean that you will have a mutual trust that those issues will be resolved in the best manner for both the tenant and the facility. Brian Ohl is general manager of the Global Spectrum/ John Labatt Centre in London, Ontario. He may be contacted at bohl@ johnlabattcentre.com. |
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2002-2005
International Association of Assembly Managers |
