Training Manual

2131 Ayrsley Town Blvd

Ste 200

Charlotte, NC28273

704-499-9160

Table of Contents

I.Company Organization Chart & Job Descriptions

II.Company Mission Statement & Employment At-Will Policy

III.Employment Policies

Work Schedule

Appearance/Uniforms

  1. League Administrative Operations…Page 7
  1. Website
  2. Sports Arena Management (SAM)
  3. Customer’s Management (MySAM)
  4. Registrations
  5. Customer Service
  6. Inter-Office Policies
  7. Processing Transactions
  8. Waivers
  9. Rosters & Game Results
  10. Player’s Cards
  11. League Schedules
  12. Part-Time Staff Schedules
  13. Part-Time Staff Procedures
  14. Pay Details & Payroll Processing
  15. Player Eligibility
  16. Championship Prizes & Procedures
  17. Rainouts
  1. League Operational Policies…Page 21
  1. Granite Street SportsLink Operations
  2. Off-Site SportsLink Operations
  3. League Preparation
  4. League Equipment
  5. Coordinator Responsibilities
  6. Referee/Umpire Responsibilities
  7. Part-Time Staff
  8. League Rules & Policies
  9. Injury Protocol
  1. Book of Nuances…Page 30
Owners
Christian Crute

Office Staff

Amanda Brooks – General Manager

Matt Richards – Director of Offsite Leagues

Bethany Jahn – Office Manager

Janelle Lavoie – Event Director

Cory Mendat – Youth Sport Director

Sub-Contractor Staff

Officials and Coordinators – Onsite staff for all leagues.

Job Descriptions

General Managers

Each General Manager is a full-time employee that is responsible for specific areas of the company and collectively are in charge of all sales and operations of SportsLink. All General Managers are accessible by cell phone and email and generally do not have set hours, but instead work the “job,” not the “hours.”

Assistant Managers/Office Staff

Assistant Managers are full-time employees that are responsible for managing Full-Time Staff and all Programs and Activities. Assistant Managers are responsible for all Staff, Activities, Programs, Cash Drawers, Opening and Closing Procedures, Interviewing etc. The Assistant Managers are scheduled to be at one or more SportsLink locations for 40-45 hours per week, but may be needed to work more hours based on the activities and staff scheduled for each week.

League Coordinator/Referee

SportsLink offers and manages many sports leagues around the Charlotte area. Each sports league usually has a League Coordinator and many leagues will have paid referees. These coordinators and referees are part-time employees or subcontractors working less than 35 hours per week and paid either on a per-hour or per-game basis. Coordinators and Referees clock in and out if working at one of our facilities, or email their hours to the administrative office if working off-site. They are also responsible for making sure any equipment needed, is provided at the location.

MISSION STATEMENT

SportsLink is the premier organization in Charlotte for adult sports leagues, tournaments and activities. SportsLink is dedicated to providing safe, social and quality competition for everyone from the weekend warrior to the elite athlete.

Our goal is to be transparent in the policies and procedures we set forth. Improved transparency results in well-informed customers, which in turn improves their experience and our efficiency. Internally, we strive to communicate more efficiently, balancing details that need to be documented with those better handled by verbal communication. We value the opinions of both our customers and our staff, while searching for simplicity, fairness and mutual respect in our operations.

STAFF TRAINING

Full-Time Staff working for SportsLink must know all aspects of our company: Adult Sports, Social Events and Races, and Youth Sports (JuniorLink)

EMPLOYMENT AT-WILL POLICY

Employment with the company is "at-will." This means that you may terminate your employment at any time with or without notice or cause. It also means that SportsLink can terminate your employment, at any time, with or without notice or cause. While SportsLink generally adheres to progressive discipline, it is not bound or obligated to do so. Again, in SportsLink’s sole discretion, you may be terminated at any time, with or without notice or cause. In addition, SportsLink may need to alter your employment status, employment hours, schedule or demote you at its own discretion with or without notice or cause.
As an at-will employee, you are not guaranteed, in any manner, that you will be employed for any set period of time. No one in the company, except the Owner, in a written, signed contract, may make any representation or promise to you that you are other than an at-will employee. Any employee, manager or supervisor who makes such a representation or promise to you is not authorized to do so.

Work Schedules

Full Time Staff

Amanda will create the next month’s schedule at least 1 week prior to end of month. Staff Schedule is located in server. Occasional changes may be made a week or so in advance. Staff is responsible for finding fill in if they can’t work there office shift.

SubContrators (Officials and Coordinators)

All Subcontractors onsite and offsite are responsible for checking their work schedule every week. SL Managers will have the schedule completed for each month prior to the first day of every month. Each week there will be revisions and changes to staff schedules based on league needs, disciplinary measures, requests and emergency situations.

To check the work schedule, go to our website: and click on the tab called MySAM. Then click on “Password Lookup” to have a password emailed to you. Once you have your password, you can then log on to MySAM. (You can change this password once logged in). Once logged in to view the work schedule click team “Your Name-Outdoor/Indoor” (Example John Doe-Outdoor or John Doe-Indoor). If you would like to see other staff scheduled at any fields at anytime, view Facility Schedule, then fill out the correct Facility, Date and Event Type.

Appearance

Proper dress is required to work at SportsLink. Full-Time staff should be wearing an approved SportsLink shirt. There should be no undershirts below shirt-tails. Men’s shirts should be tucked in and shirt buttoned except top button. Closed toe shoes are required, no flip-flops. Neat hair and presentable pants or shorts are required. Any facial hair should be neatly groomed. No hats should be worn when interacting with customers. Please dress and present yourself in a manner that is consistent with other employees in our company.

Officials should be wearing designated sport-specific apparel. They are as follows:

Softball & Kickball: Black/Grey/Khaki pants/shorts & Blue SportsLink collared shirt

Soccer: SportsLink approved ref jersey, Black pants/shorts (with black socks if socks are visible)

Football: SportsLink STAFF shirt, Black/Grey/Khaki pants/shorts

Coordinators should be wearing SportsLink STAFF shirts with presentable pants, jeans or shorts. Athletic pants are allowed as long as they are presentable. No sweatpants. All outdoor staff are allowed to wear a SportsLink-designated sweatshirt when necessary.

League Administrative Policies

I.Website

  1. Editing in FrontPage
  2. Very few staff have the ability to edit the website.
  3. Philosophy – Internal & External
  4. Internal – We want all staff able to find necessary information on the website, whether it’s up-to-date information on registering, playoff schedules, rules, etc.
  5. External – We want our customers trusting the accuracy of our website, referencing it for all their questions and supporting our expectations & actions.
  6. Staff Manual Online
  7. The SportsLink Training Manual will be live on a page not linked to our website, but provided to our employees for up-to-date reference of training topics, changes, etc.
  1. Sports Arena Management (SAM)
  2. Calendar
  3. When preferences are sorted correctly, the calendar allows staff to see all leagues/staff operating on any given date.
  4. Customers/Teams/Classes
  5. SAM allows us to create, search, document notes and manage accounts for each of these categories.
  6. Navigation & Shortcuts
  7. Navigating through SAM and learning shortcuts will come with practice.
  8. Processing Payments
  9. Any league payments should be rang up in SAM.
  1. Customer’s Management (MySAM)
  2. How it works
  3. What you list in SAM will appear in the customer’s MySAM version. Be accurate.
  4. SAM  MySAM
  5. Once something is published in SAM, it shows up in MySAM.
  6. Customer Features
  7. Customers can register, make payments, see schedules, standings, email teams, etc.
  8. Troubleshooting
  9. Know how to set-up a customer, see their MySAM experience, find duplicates, etc.
  10. Most issues stem from a wrong letter in name/email, duplicate entries, incorrect/incomplete birthdates and incomplete/non-legible forms turned in.

IV.Registrations

  1. How to process
  2. Print emailed submission, enter in SAM, contact person, document and file.
  3. When to cut off (varies by league) & steps taken
  4. Using SAM reports & the leagues spreadsheet, identify if a league is full, update website and create waitlist.
  5. Best report to see the # of teams registered in a league vs. maximum number is under Administration heading, then “Leagues.”
  6. Anything approaching a maximum # of team should warrant an internal discussion.
  7. Team vs. Individual
  8. Teams are invoiced.
  9. Individual players are added to “Wait” teams, then once enough players are registered to form a team, we’ll contact players, ask for payment, them form a House Team.

V.Customer Service

  1. Phone numbers, procedures & policies
  2. SportsLink & Sports Connection phone numbers
  3. Proper way to answer phone: “Hello, this is ______. How can I help you?”
  4. How to transfer calls, AFTER trying to answer question
  5. Educating caller to prevent future repeat of questions
  6. Email accounts, procedures & policies
  7. We never email customers from personal emails.
  8. Never read an email, then not act on it.
  9. We prefer calling customers, but email may be more suitable at times with information that needs documenting, is lengthy or as part of combined effort.
  10. Each person’s log-in defaults to either . Please make sure if sending an email, you understand what the default email is you are sending from, and change if needed.
  11. When using Customer Search Tool to send an email, be sure the “From” email is correct. The system will also default to attaching the name of the person logged in. Change your name to “SportsLink.”
  12. Complaints
  13. The general rule of thumb is the customer is right, especially in “opinionated” situations. When matters of “fact,” do not hesitate to point out the facts. Always take complaints seriously and involve a manager if possible.
  14. Always copy complaints into a customer’s record in SAM, as well as document under the appropriate feedback section for the employee/topic.

VI.Inter-Office Policies & Procedures

  1. Transferring calls
  2. Do not transfer a call without trying to help customer first.
  3. League Emails
  4. Staff will email Office and with results & notes in one email and hours in another. League scores and notes get entered by office staff. Hours get forwarded to Bethany.
  5. Injury Reports should be entered as a Medical Note in a person’s SAM record.
  6. Documenting communication & important information
  7. All communication with customers or important information regarding customers should be documented in customer records. The same applies to teams and classes. You may talk to person or leave a message, while someone else takes their call at another time. All staff should be on the same page and informed of what others have communicated.
  8. When documenting notes in a Team Record, keep in mind those are printed on the rosters for coordinators to view. Sometimes you may just want to put that a note/email regarding a topic is saved in the captain’s record.
  9. For soccer, we document both yellow & red cards in both the team and personal record, as they affect the team and establish a trend with the player.
  10. For football, we document Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalties in both the team and personal record, as they affect the team and establish a trend with the player.
  11. For most other sports, there is fewer contact and “fouls,” but situations of note and ejections are always documented.
  12. Email & Phones (work vs. personal)
  13. If it is of immediate importance when a fellow staff is not working, contact them in person, on their personal email or cell phone. If it can wait, compile a list of things to discuss in person or send to their work email/phone.

VII.Processing Transactions

  1. SAM
  2. Difference between cash/credit cards/checks.
  3. Attaching customers, assigning invoices, team payments, personal payments, etc.
  4. On-Site / Off-Site
  5. All forms of payments can be accepted on-site (cash, check, credit cards).
  6. For off-site leagues, we like to avoid using cash or accepting payments at the fields, for safety purposes. We encourage players to call our office from off-site to make payments over phone. However, we don’t turn down payments made at the fields, but receipts must be given and proper documentation made.
  7. Refunds & Credits – When & How
  8. No staff should be processing refunds & credits until approved by a General Manager.
  9. We typically avoid giving straight refunds, but do issue credits for errors on our part or weather-related issues. We do not issue credits/refunds for things such as being out of town, most injuries or rain-shortened (not cancelled) games.

VIII.Waivers

  1. Paper vs. Electrical
  2. There’s a place on the customer record to update a paper waiver. A “W” by a person’s name indicates they’ve never logged into MySAM, as an electronic waiver is the first thing they’ll be asked to fill out.
  3. Necessary Information
  4. Waivers must be LEGIBLE. If we can’t read, we can’t enter. They must also be signed and dated, with team name filled out. If we don’t know what team to add them to, they’ll miss game updates from a team roster. Always look for duplicate records when entering someone.

IX.Rosters & Game Results

  1. How to create & print
  2. Create team, create/find player, then “Add to Team.”
  3. When printing from SAM, go to “Reports,” then “Facility Usage Report.” Select the specified dates/resources. Hit Search. Click “Printable game sheets for the games listed below.” Then select Page Break, Picture, Card # and Team Notes. In some age-specific leagues, we may select age.
  4. When entering results from a league, click “Reports,” specify specific date/resources, then click “Show/Enter scores.”
  5. How to manage
  6. Look for Balances, Expired Memberships (EM), Cards not issued (#), Pictures (denoted by a smiley face) and Suspensions (S).
  7. Pictures need to be a picture of the person. This is used to verify their identity, so they should be clear and close (above shoulders).
  8. Policies
  9. See our website for roster restrictions.

X.Player’s Cards

  1. Reasoning & FAQ’s
  2. PC’s are both common in the industry and favor the loyal player. FAQs on our website.
  3. Options
  4. Individual, Family (Married Couple & Kids under 18), Single-Season Indy or Team
  5. The single-season team fee is $150 and must be paid in full, along with the deposit. The normal team fee is paid as normal, that being full payment is required in order to be placed on the full-schedule or before taking the field on Week 2 (whichever comes first).
  6. If someone has purchased an individual Player’s Card for $25, then wants to add another $10 for a Family Membership:
  7. Reverse out the $25 and re-ring as $35. The customer will be responsible for paying the $10 difference at that time.
  8. When reversing out the $25 and processing the $35 Family Card, the system will automatically extend the 1-year expiration from that date. However, the initial expiration date is still in effect. As such, staff processing the Family Card will need to edit the date to the original expiration.
  9. What to look for in SAM and on rosters
  10. SAM/Rosters will show an “Expired Membership” for those without a valid membership. Having a card does not mean one has a membership.
  11. When issuing a card, enter the CID and 5-digit number on the back of the card in the “Card ID” field of the customer’s profile. This will print on the rosters
  12. Policies
  13. They are required before stepping on a field.
  14. Guest Passes
  15. Each team is allowed 5 Guest Passes to use during the season. Guest Passes are noted in Team Notes on Game Sheets. No actual passes are handed out.
  16. A guest player should be recorded on the roster, with “Guest” written beside their name.
  17. Admin staff will enter the Guest’s Name & Date attended on the Team’s Record in SAM.
  18. A guest pass CAN be used during playoffs, provided that player also played in one of the first five games and fills out a waiver (if not already on file).
  19. One player could also use all five passes.

XI.House Teams

  1. Forming & Scheduling
  2. As player’s register, they should be added to a WAIT list specific to a league (Example: WAIT Softball – Tues Nevin Coed) and sent the appropriate standard email.
  3. When attempting to form teams, we contact players listed on both the specific league’s WAIT list and the WAIT GENERAL lists for that sport.
  4. Once there are enough players to form a team, we contact all players to get their payments. Once there are enough paid, we export to the season and name the team with “House” listed first in the name. Everyone on roster should be designated as a captain.
  5. To form the team, there needs to be at least 4 subs (2 guys/2 girls for coed) for all sports other than…
  6. Volleyball (0 subs)
  7. 11v11 (6 subs 3 male/3 female)
  8. If a team cannot be formed each season, we remove players from that list and add to a WAIT GENERAL - (Sport Specific) list. We then send the associated email.
  9. Getting them Started
  10. When the team is formed, a staff member should call the team to review rules, answer questions and organize for the first game. If possible, SportsLink can provide old shirts for the team. If so, gather sizes, assemble & distribute. Note in SAM with a block & deliver on the first night.

XII.League Schedules