Optimizing Staff Requirements and Addressing Employee Pain Points

Providing recommendations to the Greater Austin YMCA Townlake Center

This information is confidential and was prepared by Texas 180 Degrees Consulting solely for the use of our client; it is not to be relied on by any 3^rd party without Texas 180’s prior written consent

December 4, 2023

Our Team

PATRICK PHAM

Project Lead

patrick.pham@utexas.edu

+1 832-933-5252

SAKET MUKTHAPURAM

Senior Consultant

saket.mukthapuram@utexas.edu

SAI PABBISETTY

Senior Consultant

saipabbisetty@utexas.edu

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SOU VOMA

Senior Consultant

soumilvoma@utexas.edu

​

JOSE JIMENEZ

Junior Analyst

josejimenez@utexas.edu

​

1. Patrick Pham was the lead for the project. Please direct all inquiries first to him.

Agenda

Client Overview

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Project Scope

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Qualitative Analysis: Pain Points of YMCA Departments

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Quantitative Analysis: Optimizing Employee Staffing

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Risks & Mitigants

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The YMCA has been creating impactful change worldwide for centuries

Since 1844, the YMCA has evolved into an organization providing valuable education and resources to local communities all across the globe

The Core Values of the YMCA

Services for Various Communities

Caring: Putting others before yourself, being sensitive to the well-being of others

Honesty: Being truthful, being fair, being sincere, being straightforward

Respect: Valuing the worth of every person, being cordial even if you disagree with someone

Responsibility: Being reliable, trustworthy, and accountable for your decisions

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• The YMCA makes a positive impact on millions each year by fostering personal growth, promoting healthy living, and building strong communities.

Youth Development

• Provide enriching environments for children after school, create immersive summer experiences to promote personal growth, and empower youth to become within their communities.

Healthy Living

• Offer a range of fitness classes for all abilities, enhance water safety awareness and swimming skills, and provide guidance on healthy habits

Social Responsibility

• Connect individuals with ways to give back to their communities, promoting civic engagement, and provide support to underserved communities

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Agenda

Client Overview

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Project Scope

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Qualitative Analysis: Pain Points of YMCA Departments

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Quantitative Analysis: Optimizing Employee Staffing

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Risks & Mitigants

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A promising partnership between Texas 180 Degrees and TownLake YMCA

In August 2023, Texas 180 was engaged on behalf of TownLake YMCA, apart of the Greater Austin YMCA, to optimize their staffing model while ensuring employee satisfaction

Texas 180 Degrees was tasked with:

• Conduct on-site interviews with department heads and part-time shift employees
• Gather intake data on foot-traffic for the TownLake location
• Synthesize the interviews and intake data to create a regression analysis
• Culminate findings and commonalities to create a strategic plan for TownLake YMCA to pursue

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The project scope was constrained by the following:

• Creating a staffing model for variable business units
• Limited to strictly the front desk intake to approximate usage of other services
• Speaking to many, but not all employees working through various hours of the day

Agenda

Client Overview

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Project Scope

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Qualitative Analysis: Pain Points of YMCA Departments

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Quantitative Analysis: Optimizing Employee Staffing

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Risks & Mitigants

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Breakdown of 3 strategic areas of focus for recommendations

• Employee Management Software

• Automated Communication Systems

• Mobile App for Member Engagement

• Data Analytics for Resource Optimization

• Digital Member Feedback Surveys

Employee Morale

• Standardized Assessments

• Comprehensive Onboarding Programs

• Task-Specific Training Modules

• Conflict Resolution Training

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• Feedback & Improvement Loop

• Improving HR Presence (Events)

• Incentivize Employees

• Fostering Operational Flexibility

On November 10th, our team brainstormed three general areas for improvement in each of the four departments that would improve both part-time employee health and productivity

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For YMCA, this area involves the integration of tools and systems into existing processes, with the aim of streamlining operations and enhancing overall efficiency.

For YMCA, this area involves equipping part-time staff with the necessary skills, knowledge, and tools to excel in their roles, thereby fostering a more engaged workforce.

Focus on how YMCA’s HR department can create initiatives, restructure job descriptions, and revamp recruitment to boost employee morale and foster better optimization during work hours.

Breaking into YMCA’s pain points and qualitative analysis recommendation

On-Site Interviews

Part-Time Employee Interviews:

• Fostered open-ended conversations to encourage employees to share their thoughts, feelings, and suggestions about their day-to-day expectations
• Addressed potential concerns from workers to find solutions to increase optimization�

Department Head Interviews: 

• Followed consolidated list of questions to find pain points from the leadership point-of-view
• Toured facilities with each department head to better gauge and understand workspace �

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Discussion-Based Strategy Analysis

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Discussion: 

• Consolidated prominent department specific issues from both sets of interviews
• Brainstormed different general solutions to better workspace and workforce optimization

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Analysis: 

• Researched comparables in the area such as city-specific athletic centers to ideate varied department-specific solutions
• Researched needs of today’s part-time employees to find different avenues of “upgrading” the Y’s part-time workforce

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On October 27th, our team visited the Townlake YMCA to conduct preliminary analysis to find solutions for the optimization problem of workers at the YMCA

Findings from on-site visit with Townlake YMCA Employees

Departments

Pain-Points

Primary Research

Childcare Unit

Need for trainers to engage in facility maintenance tasks while simultaneously providing client services could lead to a strain on time management and job satisfaction; Inconsistent work hours for trainers due to fluctuating demand of clientele

High influx of customers during peak times showcases lack of automation for redundant tasks, inefficient managing, and lower throughput of customers passing the front desk

New scheduling system inefficiency, including prolonged stand times for workers, necessary pool closures, and shortened breaks, contribute to employee dissatisfaction and morale concerns; High turnover rates

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Managing operational challenges during peak times when staffing levels are insufficient; Existing communication gap between parents and department in regards to capacity levels of the YMCA

On November 3rd, our team analyzed our findings from interviews and created a consolidated list of pain points to initiate brainstorming process for recommendations

Recommendations to address pain points for childcare unit

On November 17th, we analyzed specific factors contributing to the childcare unit pain points and constructed our recommendations around these key findings.

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Recommendations to address pain points for aquatics department

On November 17th, our team depicted the specific pain points associated with the aquatic unit and analyzed different ways to combat these issues.

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Recommendations to address pain points for front desk

On November 17th our team categorized the different pain points associated with the front desk area and we consolidated different recommendations to address specific issues.

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Recommendations to address pain points for fitness area

On November 17th, our team discussed our findings from our interviews and we discovered different approaches to take in order to give recommendations for these findings.

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Agenda

Client Overview

​

Project Scope

​

Qualitative Analysis: Pain Points of YMCA Departments

​

Quantitative Analysis: Optimizing Employee Staffing

​

Risks & Mitigants

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​

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Strategic questions were developed prior to building hypothesis…

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What questions is the model looking to answer and how can we best address these questions to drive efficiency?

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Questions

Actions

Primary Research

What are the variables considered in the model? What measures success?

5 models will be created. 4 models will used to assess the current strength between intake and front desk staff. 1 model will be based on historical data, but staffing will be optimized to account for increasing/decreasing business activity. Optimized model will be used for future staffing predictions.

Historical aggregate intakes were used in model creation. Staffing schedules for the month of October were applied for all models. Relative business activity is calculated by dividing daily intakes by maximum weekly intake.

Relative business activity (x) is a common metric used in front-desk optimization while number of front desk staff (y) can be used as the predictor variable. In a linear regression, R² is a measure of a model’s strength.

Hypothesis: Based on qualitative research via employee interviews, front desk staffing will not be efficient. Assessment of current staffing practices will determine that there is a weak relationship between both variables.

An assessment of current staffing practices must be conducted…

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YMCA’s current front-desk staffing does not follow best practices; coefficient of determination is low across 4 seasons

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Minimum standardization of staffing despite variability of intake levels during Spring season…

R² of model is 0.320; 32% of the variation in desk staffing can be explained by the variation in business activity

Current staffing practices are not suitable even when accounting for seasonal intake variances.

Across similar levels of relative business activity, front desk staffing remains constant. Relevant ranges must be instituted to ensure that staffing is adequate. Continued inefficient staffing may cause customer and employee dissatisfaction.

R² of model is 0.32; 32% of the variation in desk staffing can be explained by the variation in business activity

Instituting relevant ranges smoothes the curve…

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After placing relevant ranges at the 30%, 50%, and 95% marks, the coefficient of determination rises to 0.85 demonstrating ideal front-desk staffing practices

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A perfect coefficient of determination is not attainable; staffing is a categorical variable which limits linearity

R² of model is 0.85; 85% of the variation in front desk staffing is explained by the variation in business activity

• Currently, the average increase in relative business activity for a staff change is 76.8% which is too high
• Instead, for every 31.91% increase in relative business activity, staffing requirements should increase by 1

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Data supports qualitative observations; front-desk staffing is not efficient. Across similar levels of relative business activity, front desk staffing remains constant. Relevant ranges must be instituted to ensure that staffing is adequate…

Data suggests that front desk is not adequately staffed, on average, to meet needs of visitors

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There is a 53% increase in coefficient of determination due to implementation of relevant ranges

0.32

0.85

Predictive model can be used operationalize an efficient front desk

Linear regression equations are less impactful for categorical variables but model can be used as guiding practice in addition to qualitative feedback from employees

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Inputs of the model are relative business activity while the output is an estimate of front desk staff…

Required Staffing = 3.133*(Relative Business Activity) + 0.791

Use Cases and Benefits:

• Relative business activity can be used to provide a range of employees needed at front-desk; supplemental factors include Group X classes, higher intake, and employee preference
• Operational expenses will have low variability as average deviation from optimal model is 0.06122
• Having estimated front desk requirements eases HR needs as employee requirements are predicted in the short-term

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Applications of the model will then take into account the existing data on intake to apply it to create an optimal staffing strategy.

• Implement the staffing model into existing YMCA scheduling and management systems
• Gather additional data for each business unit on intake that is seeking to make a similar adjustment in staffing
• Consistently update the model as intake can change with memberships

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Created a flexible front-desk staffing model for YMCA that factors in business activity, intake fluctuations, and employee preferences, seamlessly integrated into existing systems for efficient HR planning and adaptability to membership changes.

Agenda

Client Overview

​

Project Scope

​

Qualitative Analysis: Pain Points of YMCA Departments

​

Quantitative Analysis: Optimizing Employee Staffing

​

Risks & Mitigants

​

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Successful implementation requires acknowledging risks and limitations

Due to limitations on the scope of the project, careful consideration should be given to the empirical data provided

Limitations on Interview Data

Regression Model Limitations

Limited interview slots lead to a small perspective into employee life

• Assumptions were made about the early morning and afternoon shifts based on the interview information gathered from the early afternoon shifts

Non-random selection of interviewees may introduce bias, leading to incomplete or skewed data

• Keep in mind the potential for sampling bias given that many employees during the same shift will share the same experiences and will therefore provide similar feedback

Regression model only accounts for the foot-traffic going into the center

• To account for the distribution of members throughout the various variable services, more information would be needed to predict the optimal shifts for each sector

Creation of the model provides a best estimate of staffing based on maximum capacity

• Maximum capacity could already be met and pushed which would lead to incorrect predictions. Take this information in conjunction with interview data to compile a decision that suits both management and part-time employees best

If you would like to further discuss this topic, please contact our team:

PATRICK PHAM

Project Lead

patrick.pham@utexas.edu

+1 832-933-5252

SAKET MUKTHAPURAM

Senior Consultant

saket.mukthapuram@utexas.edu

SAI PABBISETTY

Senior Consultant

saipabbisetty@utexas.edu

​

SOU VOMA

Senior Consultant

soumilvoma@utexas.edu

​

JOSE JIMENEZ

Junior Analyst

josejimenez@utexas.edu

​

1. Patrick Pham was the lead for the project. Please direct all inquiries first to him.