Building a healthier community is the ultimate goal for a parks and recreation agency. But in the past few years, budget and staff cuts have made it harder to focus on that goal given the time spent on day-to-day recreation management and program management. However, technology can help any p&r agency manage processes better, faster, and easier:
1. Move Recreation Brochures Online
Many parks and recreation agencies have opted to move their recreation guides online. Offering an online recreation guide makes sense for three reasons: cost, time, and visibility. You'll save money on printing and mailing costs, your staff will save time in distributing physical copies, and you'll increase your visibility on your website and through social media.
2. Simplify Memberships
Membership management is another time-consuming task for parks and recreation agencies. With membership management software, you can create and sell many types of memberships, make ID cards, and automatically validate time and access limits. This will help your staff save time creating and validating memberships. Also, you'll be able to see usage rates, revenues, contact information, and more in one place. The membership process will be more efficient, and you'll be able to see how your members are using your classes, programs, and facilities.
3. Go Paperless and offer Online Registration
If your agency manually processes registrations, you know how time-consuming it can be for your customers and staff. A customer will visit the center, fill out a paper form, and then manually enter that information into the system. With an automated activity registration program, you can eliminate double data entry and save time.
To save more time and offer better convenience, consider offering sign-ups online. Customers won't have to call or come in to register for programs. On top of that, your members can set up and manage their own accounts online. This reduces the number of phone calls about receipts, registrations, and changes in information. Your staff will save time, and your customers will have an easier way to register.
4. Use Reporting to Make Decisions
Getting a real-time view of your business (finances, registrations, reservations, scheduling, etc.) is time-consuming when you manage processes manually. However, with a recreation management system, you can generate reports with just a few clicks. These reports help you better understand which classes are filling up, what facilities are being used when, and more. You'll save time making decisions about new classes to offer and how to better serve your community.
As the time and resource crunch continues, it's important for a parks and recreation agency to work more efficiently. Try a few of the recommendations above and see how they help you, your customers, and your staff save time. With the extra time, you'll spend more time building a healthier community rather than pushing paper behind the desk.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why should our agency move recreation brochures online?
A: Moving brochures online reduces printing and mailing costs, saves staff time otherwise spent distributing physical copies, and boosts visibility through your website and social media. It's a quick way to cut overhead while making information easier for the community to find and share.
Q: How does membership management software simplify our work?
A: It centralizes key tasks—creating and selling different membership types, making ID cards, and automatically validating time and access limits—so staff spend less time on manual steps. You also get a single place to view usage rates, revenues, and contact information, which makes the membership process more efficient and provides clearer insight into how members use classes, programs, and facilities.
Q: What kinds of reports should we use, and how do they help make decisions?
A: Use real-time reports across finances, registrations, reservations, and scheduling to see what's happening at a glance. These reports show which classes are filling, when facilities are most used, and other trends, helping you quickly decide what new classes to offer, how to allocate space and staff, and how to better serve your community.
Q: How do these tools help us refocus on building a healthier community despite budget and staff cuts?
A: By streamlining brochures, memberships, registrations, and reporting, technology reduces time spent on administrative tasks and paperwork. The time you reclaim can be redirected to programming and community engagement—so even with fewer resources, your team can focus more on impact than on process across parks and rec operations.
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