Just a little respect
Crew can often be tempted away by other yachts going to more exotic destinations or with higher wages, contributing to the high rate of crew turnover in the industry. With some mutual respect, can captains work together to stop this?
The problem of crew turnover is a headache for most superyacht captains and has been a much-discussed issue in the industry. At the American Superyacht Forum 2012, the idea was discussed that perhaps captains themselves were partly responsible for the rate of crew turnover and that, by working together, they could also help to significantly reduce it.
“Crew turnover is very hard to control,“ explained Dean Du Toit from National Marine Suppliers, “Sometimes a yacht pulls into a marina or a shipyard and the guy next to him is leaving to Alaska and suddenly there are three or four deck crew who decide they want to go to Alaska with him.”
It is entirely possible that captains can help to stop situations like these occurring. “Captains have to have a mutual respect amongst each other,” said Du Toit, “Enough respect to not poach crew and the respect to not offer other crew more money to switch vessels.”
Crew jumping ship to join another boat is something that Graeme Lord from Fairport Yacht Support also thinks can be tackled by the captains. “I think there is a far greater need for self-policing,” explains Lord, “If a crewmember walks from one boat, right next door to the next boat, I firmly believe those two captains should get together and say, ‘What do you think you are doing?’ There needs to be more monitoring of it.”
“The same is true shore side,” says Lord, “If a yacht is doing business with a vendor that they know is bad, there is a responsibility to find the accountable person within that yacht’s operation and say, ‘You have got a problem here, the supplier is bad,’ Not to just sit back and say, ‘Well, they will find out.’ That won’t solve the long-term problem.” It is the same with unsuitable crew in the industry and captains should warn each other about unreliable employees.
The Crew Report spoke to Captain Steve Janzan about his opinions on the matter. “This is a reality that every captain has to deal with,” explains Janzan,“But it isn’t as bad as it sounds. If a captain hires correctly, they shouldn’t be having a large turnover. It is a matter of instilling a sense of team loyalty.”
But the problem is achieving this sense of loyalty amongst a crew. “There are many ways to accomplish this,” Janzan tells The Crew Report, “But the main way I have found is to choose people who get on well together and then they will be encouraged to remain as a team. Of course, you must hire mature crewmembers not backpackers. They are the ones travelling and so jumping ship is just another adventure.”
Through interviewing and selecting stable crew for their yacht, captains can certainly reduce the possibility of crew turnover for the future. But the suggestion that captains should take an active role in working together to deter crew from switching vessels so easily is one that the industry should act on.
“Crew turnover is very hard to control,“ explained Dean Du Toit from National Marine Suppliers, “Sometimes a yacht pulls into a marina or a shipyard and the guy next to him is leaving to Alaska and suddenly there are three or four deck crew who decide they want to go to Alaska with him.”
It is entirely possible that captains can help to stop situations like these occurring. “Captains have to have a mutual respect amongst each other,” said Du Toit, “Enough respect to not poach crew and the respect to not offer other crew more money to switch vessels.”
Crew jumping ship to join another boat is something that Graeme Lord from Fairport Yacht Support also thinks can be tackled by the captains. “I think there is a far greater need for self-policing,” explains Lord, “If a crewmember walks from one boat, right next door to the next boat, I firmly believe those two captains should get together and say, ‘What do you think you are doing?’ There needs to be more monitoring of it.”
“The same is true shore side,” says Lord, “If a yacht is doing business with a vendor that they know is bad, there is a responsibility to find the accountable person within that yacht’s operation and say, ‘You have got a problem here, the supplier is bad,’ Not to just sit back and say, ‘Well, they will find out.’ That won’t solve the long-term problem.” It is the same with unsuitable crew in the industry and captains should warn each other about unreliable employees.
“If a crewmember walks from one boat, right next door to the next boat, I firmly believe those two captains should get together and say, ‘What do you think you are doing?’ There needs to be more monitoring of it.” – Graeme Lord
The Crew Report spoke to Captain Steve Janzan about his opinions on the matter. “This is a reality that every captain has to deal with,” explains Janzan,“But it isn’t as bad as it sounds. If a captain hires correctly, they shouldn’t be having a large turnover. It is a matter of instilling a sense of team loyalty.”
But the problem is achieving this sense of loyalty amongst a crew. “There are many ways to accomplish this,” Janzan tells The Crew Report, “But the main way I have found is to choose people who get on well together and then they will be encouraged to remain as a team. Of course, you must hire mature crewmembers not backpackers. They are the ones travelling and so jumping ship is just another adventure.”
Through interviewing and selecting stable crew for their yacht, captains can certainly reduce the possibility of crew turnover for the future. But the suggestion that captains should take an active role in working together to deter crew from switching vessels so easily is one that the industry should act on.
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