Yacht owners, particularly those who use their boats frequently, like to see the same smiling faces each time they come aboard. Crew are a pretty footloose breed, however, tending to jump ship whenever a better offer or a more exotic itinerary beckons. The challenge that captains and owners face is creating a crew program that provides incentives for crewmembers to stay a few years before moving on.
Surprisingly, savvy captains find that spending the boss’s money on higher salaries is not the answer to retaining crew – or at least, it’s not the whole solution. Rupert Connor, president of yacht management firm Luxury Yacht Group in Fort Lauderdale and Antibes, says that captains who listen to their crewmember’s goals and aspirations typically enjoy better retention rates.
The most successful captains, Connor reports, are the ones who, ‘Come in at a review stage and the first thing out of [the captain’s] mouth explains where the crew are on [their] career path and what [that captain] is doing to train them, rather than just saying, “Johnny wants $500 more a month.” If the conversation opens with money, he’s not building a loyal, long-term crew.’
Career Training
Captain Robert Corcoran of the 77m Devonport_ Samar_ firmly believes in on-going professional training for his 23-person crew. Samar’s crew package includes two onshore class courses per year for everyone. Leave to go take the class, which is granted according to the boat’s schedule, is unpaid, but the crew receive a per diem during the course.
‘Fifty per cent of the course fee is reimbursed upon successful completion,’ he says. ‘The other fifty per cent after six months.’
In order to take advantage of this perk, Samar’s crewmembers must sign an agreement saying they will stay with the yacht for at least one year after taking the class.
Crew education aboard Samar doesn’t stop there, however. The yacht also provides on-board training for junior crew.
‘We hold classes in the morning during the off-season. The officers put together a curriculum that includes rules of the road, celestial navigation, things like that,’ Corcoran says. ‘The [officers] really put a lot into it, so there are consequences if [the junior crewmembers] don’t pass.’
On the other hand, crew who pay attention in class can gain real benefits. ‘We had a deckhand who went for his Yachtmaster, and he was the only one of twelve who passed,’ Corcoran reports. ‘Anyone who’s serious about moving up… it gives them a good leg up on their studies later on.”
When it comes to the senior crewmembers, he says, ‘I have no problem teaching the chief officers and the second officers how to run the boat – both the accounting side and taking it on and off the dock. They’ve got to learn sometime, and it’s a great safety feature for both the owner and myself.’
Nurturing the crew’s ambitions to move up in their careers can be a double-edged sword, however. ‘If an opening comes up, we always look to promote from within first,’ Corcoran says.
However, that’s not always possible; sometimes when a crewmember is ready to move up, the next position in rank is filled. As result, after seeing 100 per cent crew retention in 2011, he lost three senior officers this year.
‘The top people get to a place where there is nowhere for them to go,’ he admits. At that level, money can’t match career advancement as an incentive. ‘They all got good jobs, partly due to their longevity on Samar,’ he reports.
Captains who stay in touch with their crew’s career goals also tend to get more notice when a valued member decides to move on.
‘It’s much easier to replace a stewardess if you know three months in advance of when they are going to leave,’ says Connor. ‘Owners don’t mind transition if it’s planned.’
Work Rotation
For boats that can afford it, rotation programs provide captains with the ability to offer highly competitive vacation packages, as well as compassionate leave, without needing to bring unfamiliar, temporary crew onto the boat.
Samar, for example, operates with roughly 19 full-time crew (plus the owner’s personal staff when he is aboard), but has 23 crewmembers on the payroll.
‘Everybody on the boat except the captain is on rotation,’ Corcoran says.
Samar’s junior deckhands, stewards and stewardesses work five months on and one month off. The chief officers and the chief and second engineers work two months on and two months off.
Beyond that, if any crew want to take extra leave during the off-season at their own expense and the boat is covered, the captain will consider granting that as well.
‘It’s a freer system,’ he says, adding, ‘Crew are paid up all the time on their holiday pay. It’s a very precise formula.’
Another benefit of crew rotation is that the captain doesn’t need to wait until the boat is idle to grant leave.
‘The owner’s not looking to cut back on off-season work. We keep a full crew year-round,’ Corcoran says. ‘It meant hiring an extra deckhand and stew, but they get a month’s holiday after five months of hard work.’
In his experience, crew rotation leads to crew retention.
‘The owner likes having the same people around,’ explains Connor. ‘All these programs cost the same or less than we were paying in [crew] placement fees.’
Living Conditions
On many yachts, particularly smaller vessels, rotation and extra vacation time are simply not an option. However, captains can still boost crew retention by improving their living conditions on board.
Private entertainment systems, such as individual TVs, DVD players or access to the yacht’s movie library and iPod docks mounted in each bunk (complete with headphones, of course), can make a big difference in a crewmember’s enjoyment of his or her time off.
Today, free Wi-Fi is also important to many crew.
‘We’re seeing more and more interviewees ask, “What speed Internet does the boat have?”’ says Connor.
While captains and crew are stuck with the physical dimensions of the yacht’s crew quarters, it helps when you make the best of the space allotted. Assigning a couple to a cabin with a double bed or a large lower bunk they can actually share can be a big incentive to stay with the boat longer, for example.
Food also provides an incentive for crew to stay loyal.
‘We have a really good crew chef, so the food is outstanding, and that helps,’ Corcoran says. ‘We’ve cut out a lot of junk food and buy good quality meats and fish.’ He laughs. ‘They sometimes complain it’s too good.’
Luckily for those weight-conscious crew, Samar’s owner allows the crew access to the yacht’s gym when the guests are not using it.
Although Samar is a dry boat when it comes to the crew, her owner encourages them to get off the boat on evenings when they are off-duty and in port. Corcoran says that more often than not, his crew will hang out as a group ashore.
‘Keeping crew morale high is the key to longevity, and having crew outings like go-karting, paintball, diving, etc., is very important,’ adds Rewi. ‘You want to make the job as enjoyable as possible when can give the long hours requested of them.’