What a Difference the Benefits Make.

The National Recreation and Park Association's next Benefits mentor training will occur this month in Washington, D.C. The training will target those who wish to instruct NRPA's Benefits-Based Management workshops throughout the country. Several more mentor training opportunities will be held in 1999.

Benefits-Based Management involves the integration of the Benefits-based approach in the ongoing internal administrative function and philosophy of an agency and includes such things as the mission statement, agency goals, work plan, budget procedure, personnel training, planning, and public relations. It is the third component of NRPA's Benefits movement.

In some preliminary BBM training programs in Ohio, examples of traditional management functions were rewritten using the Benefits approach. Please understand that these are some of the first examples to be developed -- and certainly not the last.

Benefits-Driven Mission Statements

In Columbus, the director of the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department, Gary Fenton, CLR published a new departmental mission statement explaining the benefits that the department provides:

To create and maintain an enjoyable, safe, aesthetically pleasing and healthful environment for residents and visitors; to divert negative, expensive behaviors by providing positive, economical and convenient leisure opportunities; to promote the preservation and wise use of natural resources; and to enhance the local economy through parks, recreation programs, festivals, tournaments, tourist attractions, and special events.

Here's an example developed by the city of Dayton's park maintenance division:

To create attractive areas that promote individual and community wellness and safe environments that strengthen family bonds, build inter-cultural relationships, and increase property values.

Tom Fattlar, CLP of Rocky River, wrote:

To maintain the bonds of a community by providing the facilities, resources, and facilitators to promote family values, personal growth and the development of lifelong skills.

Do you see a difference between a more traditional mission statement and a Benefits-driven statement? Don't you think that the general public can better relate to these Benefits-based versions?

Look for more examples of Benefits-based job, facility, and program descriptions and budget justifications in upcoming "Benefits" columns in Parks & Recreation magazine. Plan on attending a Benefits-Based Management workshop in 1999 and begin to transition your entire department to be Benefits-driven. It's a culture change!

Michelle Park, CLP is the executive director of the Ohio Parks and Recreation Association.