Recreation students improve staff retention for Outdoor Adventure Center in North Carolina

Photographer: Ben SiegelRecreation & Sport Pedagogy’s Dr. Danny Twilley tasked his class with helping alumnus Steven Foy find solutions to retain staff for the Nantahala Outdoor Center where he is general manager.

In Fall 2016, The Patton College of Education students Kate Vancouver, Tim Yurmanovich, Aaron Schoonover, Aubrey Teas, and Devon Danger worked with a professional partner – Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) – that was trying to improve staff retention. To that end, the students proposed a quality solution. It was so good, in fact, that NOC, located in Bryson City, North Carolina, implemented the solution this year.

“Identifying a problem is just the first step, but figuring out the why is much more of an involved process,” said Vancouver, who graduated in 2016 with a B.S. in Outdoor Recreation and Education. “It was very interesting – and much more fulfilling – to be working on a project that had the potential for actual implementation.”

The students worked with NOC through a project in REC 4490: Recreation Administration, which Dr. Danny Twilley taught for the first time.

“I decided to throw all caution to the wind and experiment,” said Twilley, associate lecturer in Recreation & Sport Pedagogy. “It’s a senior-level class, so I wanted to give students a chance to work with each other – and alumni – to solve a real-world problem.”

Twilley divided his class into small groups and tasked them with providing solutions to a specific problem, as identified by NOC. Students worked directly with Patton College alumnus Steven Foy, NOC General Manager, to find ways to improve staff retention among outdoor recreation guides and instructors.

(NOC) is one of the largest outdoor-adventure and whitewater-rafting outfitters in the world. It has outposts in North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee, and employs guides who help outdoor enthusiasts experience mountain biking, whitewater rafting, whitewater kayaking, zip-lining, and stand-up-paddling, among other activities.

NOC, however, was looking to retain guides beyond a few seasons. With the problem identified, students sought a solution. In partnership with Dr. Bruce Martin’s Research and Evaluation class, they created and administered a survey to 100 NOC employees to assess job satisfaction and found that most guides were seeking more recognition from the company. Fifty-seven percent of respondents, in fact, said they were dissatisfied with compensation.

The students’ solution? NOC Bucks, a staff-recognition program that allows employees to earn more money by demonstrating the company’s core values.

“We did some research and found that increased staff appreciation and recognition improved retention,” said Vancouver, who worked as a photographer at NOC in summer 2014 and knew Foy and other staff members. “A member of our team mentioned a system similar to NOC Bucks that had been in place at one of his previous positions. Knowing that NOC has an outfitter store and that staff are always trying to find deals, it seemed like a perfect fit.”

NOC Bucks, available as $1 and $10 “bills,” are a way to reward guides who, for example, go above and beyond required duties or receive an excellent guest review. NOC managers and executives can award NOC Bucks, which can be accepted as cash at several NOC-owned locations, including Wesser Outfitter Store, Gatlinburg Store, Grove Post Inn Store, Outpost stores, and Adventure Deck.

Staff response to the program has been overwhelmingly positive.

“We were able to implement a simple program that our staff found value in and connect it back to our mission statement and core values, which are foundational in our culture,” said Foy, who received his master’s in Recreation Studies from the Department of Recreation & Sport Pedagogy in 2012. “Thus far, our guides are taking to the program very well. There was some hesitation about the seemingly minimal amount of money that a NOC Buck represents, but we’ve seen quite the opposite. The guides have taken more to the idea of having a common language around recognizing excellence than analyzing the monetary value of the award.”  

Twilley wasn’t surprised. Neither were his students.

“Research shows that money is typically not a motivator for many people,” said Twilley. “There’s something about being able to do what you love. NOC employees have a love for the outdoors and love being guides. They need to make a living, sure, but NOC Bucks aren’t about money. They are about recognition. People just want to be recognized and appreciated.”

Students, meanwhile, want a quality learning experience – and Twilley provided it. Aside from performing research and developing ideas, students were required to write a 5-to-10-page executive summary of their work and complete a 30-minute presentation to the professional partners. They were evaluated based on the quality and professional nature of the executive summary and presentation, as well as the professional partner’s assessment of the resolution.

Twilley’s guidance proved pivotal, as he stressed research and analysis throughout.

“I wanted students to know that they can’t just randomly suggest something and say, ‘This is a good idea,’” Twilley said. “You have to research it. That was a big thing – to be able to make recommendations based on literature and to have a theoretical framework behind it. They had to understand the issue on a pragmatic level, sure, but there needed to be a theoretical foundation for their solutions.”

Foy, one of Twilley’s former graduate students, knew from experience that Vancouver and the others would be prepared. He was thoroughly impressed by the students’ communication, ideas, and professionalism – from their initial e-mail correspondence to their final presentation.

“Their solutions and suggestions were pretty practical, which is key when implementing change in a large organization,” said Foy. “The purpose of this project wasn’t to prepare students to tackle a specific issue; it was about developing a method to identify the root causes of an issue and determine how to go about testing solutions.”

Twilley praised each student involved in the project – Vancouver, in particular.

“She really took charge,” he said. “She was the leader in that group. Whether she’ll admit it or not, she was.”

Vancouver, who grew up in Athens, enjoyed working for NOC, both as a photographer and again with this project. She lives in Seattle and works for a nonprofit specializing in habitat restoration.

“I am incredibly grateful for the education I received through the Recreation & Sport Pedagogy Department and the fluidity with which I am able to transfer those lessons to my workspaces,” said Vancouver.

Foy could say the same. He and Twilley have remained friends and professional peers over the years, as Foy will often use Twilley as a sounding board regarding any number of topics, from regulations to risk management to systems implementation.

“From my perspective, this is a huge benefit as an alum,” said Foy. “I know the caliber of faculty at The Patton College and the education that they deliver. I feel that I am adding value by keeping the department attuned to what is taking place in part of the industry.”

Ultimately, both Foy and Twilley benefitted from this project, as did the students.

“For me, it was all about giving them real-world experience while connecting them to our alumni,” said Twilley. “The students did very well. At the end, I asked the professional partners if this was worth their time, and they all said, ‘Absolutely. We’d do it again in a second.’”