By Wendy Parker, FSPA Executive Director/wendy@floridapoolpro.com
Shhh, don’t tell your employees about FSPA! Why not? Because goodness knows, they might actually find something about membership beneficial.
FSPA is a trade association, which means your membership belongs to the company, not just the owner whose name is on the bill. That means that EVERY SINGLE one of your employees is a member too. Yes, every person who works in the field, who drives a truck for the distributor and who answers the phone in your office is a MEMBER! That means their kids can apply for FSPA scholarships, their families can use the prescription discount card and most importantly – they can all take classes for FREE!
When is the last time you told your employees about FSPA? Do they know what FSPA is? Our newest employee recently did a ride-along with a local service company and discovered the tech (of a longtime member company) had little idea of FSPA and what it offers the swimming pool industry. After hearing in detail what the FSPA does, he was interested in attending local events on his own.
Local chapters have all types of classes, social events and opportunities to network. As an association, our distribution of information goes to people we know about. That means unless you’ve provided a roster of employees (been sent with renewal forms in the past) we have no way to tell them about that really cool event at the local baseball game or a water chemistry class which could improve their skills. FSPA relies on companies to pass information along – but that isn’t happening at every member company.
We are getting ready to launch an FSPA app which will serve as a resource for information and events throughout the state. I hope that you install this app on your tech’s work phone, and tell them about it. Would you mind sharing the phone numbers of your phones provided to field personnel? We can send information via text message. Employees who feel engaged with the company and the industry are happier and more satisfied in their positions. Let’s work as a team to “advance the swimming pool industry in Florida”!
