HIGHLIGHTS
The district wanted a low- to no-cost way to benefit from third-party audits and assessments.
It developed the Professional Associate Assessment Program, whereby facilities offer their services to each other for free.
The program is best used in combination with audits from private and for-profit specialists.
Goals and challenges
Performance audits and assessments bring obvious benefits, such as identifying areas for improvement and preparing staff as much as possible for a catastrophic event. But they also offer less-direct advantages, such as developing individual confidence and, by extension, creating a performance culture.
However, not all facilities can afford to pay $1,000 for each of the audits and assessments they would like, says Jeff Fryer, aquatic/fitness director at River Road Park and Recreation District. “Many smaller facilities find these fees to be cost prohibitive,” he says. “As a result, aquatic managers/facilities that desire to have an audit, review, or assessment of their facility by an independent professional cannot do so.”
How they did it
In response, Fryer and his team developed the Professional Associate Assessment Program.
Through this program, participating facilities exchange auditing services. Each can receive an independent assessment or appraisal of their entire facility or certain aspects of it, such as management, operations, staff performance, emergency action plans and response readiness, at little to no cost.
“It is open and available to any aquatic facility wishing to participate,” Fryer says.
He is quick to note, however, that the program isn’t meant to replace professional third-party auditors. River Road, for instance, continues to undergo reviews from a paid third party.
“The [program] has been designed to supplement its current relationship with the third, private party it uses, not replace it,” he says.
The facility being audited must fashion its own evaluation program, including scope, specific areas to be considered, format (such as video or non-video) and a scoring system.
River Road developed eight assessment worksheets to apply to its own facilities. They employ a simple “yes/no” grading format supported by video evidence. Some are wide-ranging and cover the overall facility or management; others target specific areas, such as unresponsive casualty protocols and suspected spinal injury protocols.
For all participating facilities, worksheets must include a space for identifying unsatisfactory behavior or performance, and another area where assessor and assessed can agree on corrective measures and a deadline.
The assessments are then carried out by like-minded peers or associates free of charge. As more facilities in a region join the network, more evaluators become available. For instance, if four facilities sign on in a region, then each of those partipants has access to representatives from the other three. This could mean three individual assessments in a 12-month period.
“The greater the number of local, state or regional facilities participating, the greater the opportunity … to glean invaluable information from professional peers,” Fryer says.
All this would be available for the cost of travel, he adds.
Another added benefit: The system helps facilities comply with several state and national standards, Fryer says.
So far, cities in Oregon and Colorado have participated.
Two for-profit evaluation firms documented improvements at River Road Park and Rec, which Fryer attributes to the Professional Associate Assessment Program.
