I don’t think anyone that has been involved in Major Match administration will argue that the single largest cost to any match is the staff and related expenses. Let’s dig in to something that is rarely considered by looking at it from the other way round and see what working a match costs our staff.
Before we get too far down the road here: This article may sound like I am whining; I am not. I am simply trying to shed some light on a part of the overall equation that a whole lot of folks forget about or never even consider.
Unless you are doing a small Level 2 match that can draw all the necessary staff from the local area, you are faced with staff that are incurring travel, housing, per diem, etc. as part of their match cost. Few to no matches compensate at 100% but without enough of a compensation package in place to defray some of their costs, attracting good staff, or any staff, gets difficult. Even if you are using all local staff you likely are feeding them lunch, providing shirts, and giving them free match entry. While the free match entry isn’t actual dollars out of pocket, there is opportunity cost there (i.e., that same slot could have been sold to a paying customer) that affects the bottom line.
Okay, all that is a given. And if you aren’t doing ANYTHING for your staff; good luck staffing your match. A number of years ago, a large match was considering setting up a tent city at the range for the staff to live in because that was cheaper. I suspect they would have been mighty short on staff had they tried it.
According to US Government data, the median income in the US in 2023 was $48,060. Median means that half of the earners in the US earned more than that and half earned less than that. The average cost of benefits for an employee in the US in 2023 was 29.4%. Benefits include insurance, retirement/pension, and also leave. Leave is a liability that is carried in dollars on the company balance sheet as it is real money. There were 260 working days in 2023. That works out to the median employee’s value for a year’s work was $62,140 or, $239.19 per working day.
We often hear people talk about “free paid days off”. There is no such animal folks. Yes, small business owners often need to close to take time off and thus directly lose revenue and therefore income. But a day of leave for any employee has a value. It isn’t free; it is part of the overall benefits package an employee receives in exchange for their service. You, as a match organizer, hope that employee elects to spend this benefit helping your match.
While it is true that most matches occur across a weekend and “leave” is not being consumed, travel to/from the match, staff match, etc. is likely consuming leave.
For example at a typical Level 3 match, staff will shoot the match over two days (or one very long single day which likely won’t be popular) and then competitors shoot over three days. Yes, there are variations. We are speaking in generalities here not specifics. Any staff person traveling in will likely burn a minimum of three, probably more like four, days of leave to shoot and work the match.
Thus, using our Median Income numbers; that staff member donated between $956.76 and $1,195.95 in personal value to your match, based on our median numbers example. This is value that could have been used to take the family on vacation or whatever else, but it was used to help at your match. And this is above and beyond their travel expenses which may or may not be being reimbursed by the match.
A free match to the staff does have value; but really only if the staff member was going to shoot the match anyway or this is the only way they can afford to shoot it. And some matches do not have a staff match. I worked in excess of twenty Nationals before the Staff Match returned a few years ago which means all the staff working those same matches did as well.
Often there is a small gift given to staff and frequently there is a staff dinner and often a staff only drawing for a gun certificate or two. All these things do help build out a reasonable staff package.
Okay, so that’s nice but what does it mean?
First, let’s address some assumptions I made in the numbers. I seriously doubt the average, or even median, USPSA/SCSA shooter is at the median income level. Most are probably substantially over that. So I low balled the numbers and that was on purpose. Even using low ball numbers, every staff person is essentially making a rather large donation to your match in the form of their leave time, which we established does have value.
I also didn’t take into account the retired contingent. They are an outlier and difficult to quantify. We also know that this is the age group where physical abilities start to flag a bit and so staffing an entire match with the “Legion of Gray”, because they are more available and maybe less expensive, might not really be a great idea long term.
The other assumption is that everyone works Monday thru Friday which is NOT the case. Weekend matches for those that normally work weekends means they are potentially burning more leave than the rest of us. Those that engage in shift work doing swings or graveyards might need to burn more, or perhaps less, leave. Again, we are working in generalities here.
The takeaway message here for all MDs is this: While you might grouse about how much a single RO costs to the match, please realize that you aren’t going to have a match without them and that they are basically donating to you far more value than they are receiving in compensation. Treat them appropriately and they will continue to do so. Treat them in a manner which they perceive as “poor” and you will be hurting for staff next year.
What does “poor” mean? Expecting unreasonable amounts of effort beyond what was advertised is one item that often generates comments. Staff not specifically on the setup crew expect to show up to a match that is essentially built out and ready to go except maybe hanging cardboard and a few tweaks. Showing up to a pile of materials at the end of the bay and being expected to stand up the stages and then shoot the entire match on a short schedule is beyond poor into unreasonable…yet we hear stories like this every year. Promising staff lunch on the range and then telling them “wasn’t in the budget, you are on your own” is poor treatment. Running out of water for the stages and expecting staff to supply their own water without advance notice. Sending them bills for lodging after the match because “the match didn’t break even” when they were promised a room for working the match is poor…but has happened at least once that I know of.
And the prize goes to promising a staff dinner and then serving it in the dark on the range after a long day of running shooters, with substandard (much of it was burnt) food and only water to drink…yet it actually happened at large very well known MG match many years ago because the MD forgot to plan for the promised staff dinner and threw something together at the last minute (literally the afternoon before the dinner was scheduled) with the lunch caterer who basically served lunch all over again, only worse. Think the staff was happy? Think again.
Okay, how do you make your match break even and still fairly compensate the staff? Simple economics. Figure out what the match is going to cost (including a contingency fund). Then calculate revenue at various attendance levels from 100% full, 90% full, and on down. Where do those two lines cross? Need to move that point? Your only choices are cut cost or increase revenue. Cutting costs rarely works out very well because, in my experience, most matches have built out on a minimal cost basis already. Cutting costs here means cutting something that is going to have a negative impact. All too often the cut goes against staffing levels.
Increasing revenue is either increasing sponsorship dollars; and this is cash, not goods, unless those goods defray other match costs; like donated targets instead of purchasing targets, or raising the match fee. If you’ve already gone out and signed folks up that isn’t going to be an option. Or you drive match attendance closer to 100% of capacity if that is where you are failing. Helpful Hint: If your match is running on a very tight budget and yet sells out within hours of registration going online, then the capacity to raise the match fee a bit is absolutely there. Simple supply and demand economics.
So why do “we the staff” do it? From a pure dollars standpoint it makes absolutely no sense. We do it to support the sport and because we love the sport. Some of us really do enjoy running shooters and helping put matches on the ground. Watching the “best of the best and all the rest” from what is easily the best seat in the house is a very enjoyable venture. And so we choose, willingly, to expend our leave days to participate in and support the event. Thus it is with every sport that is volunteer based like ours is.
Am I saying that matches need to house staff in the best hotel in town, feed them high end cuisine, provide limo transportation to and from the range, hand them large amounts of cash, and so on? Not at all.
What I am advocating here is that as match administration you take into account what the staff is giving you and instead of griping about what the staff cost, just realize you need them and need to treat them fairly. It is the responsible thing to publish what the staff compensation package will be when you post the match and open recruiting for staff. No one likes surprises. And then you have to stick to that compensation package as a minimum. I see a lot of matches these days asking for staff and making no mention of what the compensation package is. And they wonder why no one is applying.
I hope that I have managed to raise some awareness about some of the realities that are too often ignored. Treat your staff fairly and they will give you an honest measure and will stick with you if the going gets tough. Treat them poorly and don’t be surprised if you wake up after a storm has taken down the match to find you lost most of them in the night. It happens.