Turning insight in to actions: Tennis Operational Health Check

Have your tennis venues completed the Operational Health Check (OHC) in the last 12 months? Tennis Australia in partnership with the University of South Australia have been benchmarking the performances of tennis venues across the country for over 8 years. Industry benchmarking is carried out through the OHC and is one of the ways we recommend local governments stay abreast of the performance of local tennis venue management. The OHC can provide local governments an opportunity to work closely with their venue managers and clubs to identify key areas of performance across the areas of income, expenditure, management and usage.

The Operational Health Check for tennis venues is a national survey of facilities that measures performance in the areas of management, usage and financial sustainability. The survey data is used to produce industry benchmarks and medians enabling facilities to annually compare results against both individual performance and other venues of a similar size.

Clubs, organizations or businesses that either directly operate or use a tennis facility are able to access the survey online. Survey participants will receive a completion certificate and individual summary report within 2-4 weeks of submitting their data.  Clubs also receive an Operational Health Check bulletin at the conclusion of each survey period. This information can be used to:

• Learn how the facility performs against national medians
• Compare the facility’s results to previous year’s performance
• Track areas of strength, areas to monitor and priorities to address
• Support strategic and business planning
• Evidence reporting and performance to stakeholders.

Tennis West seek to have as many West Australian facilities as possible participate in this initiative.  The collation of information regarding tennis facilities and clubs will aid the participation team at Tennis West and Club Development Officers working in local government authorities to assist clubs to achieve their shared objectives.

Involvement by clubs in the Operational Health Check is a prerequisite for the Tennis Australia National Court Rebate initiative.

Increasingly, local governments are including OHCs in the conditions of lease or management agreements as a way of proactively working with clubs. This provides a platform for local governments to build a better understanding of the ways in which their venues operate and enhances the accountability of the operator.

To participate in the 2017-18 OHC,  complete the OHC survey by 30 June 2019.

Further enquiries regarding the Club Health Check program can be made by contacting Lauren Costa, Places to Play Coordinator at Tennis West on (08) 6462 8311 or [email protected].