Good work is as hard to find as good workers are to keep. Anyone that works in a Human Resources role can attest to the difficulty of attracting workers, keeping workers happy, and making sure employees are motivated. This can be even more true when talking about yacht crew members. Crew members are constantly moving from one ship to another for many different reasons. The following tips can help you formulate a plan to help keep your crew on your vessel. They can also help to motivate crew in general, as workers may work harder knowing that they are being ‘taken care of’ or feeling grateful for the position they are in on board.
Salary
The most obvious thing that can motivate someone to work for you, or to work harder, is money. Are your wages competitive in within the industry? Depending on what someone’s title is, they can make anywhere from $30,000 to almost $500,000. By offering competitive salaries, crew members may be more inclined to come work for you and may think twice before deciding to leave.
People They Work With
One aspect of employment that can be considered priceless is the people that work with you. While this applies to many jobs, it carries even more weight with yacht crew members. One reason is because crew are essentially family. Would you want to live and work closely with someone you didn’t like?
Itinerary
Many crew members decide what yacht they may want to work on by looking at the itinerary. One of the benefits of being part of a crew is getting paid to sail around the world, and visit places you may have otherwise never even considered going. Also, some crew members may only want to stick to certain areas they are familiar with, or places they consider safe.
Vessel Size
The size of the yacht can be a deciding factor in where someone decides to work. After all, the larger the yacht, the better it looks on the resume. Not to mention there are more positions to fill, giving you the opportunity to work with more people. Let’s not forget also, that a larger yacht can also mean a higher salary. Some crew prefer the environment of a smaller yacht, where there are often less personalities to work with and sometimes a less strenuous work environment.
Insurance Benefits
The last tip, and probably most important one, is offering a complete insurance benefit package for you crew. While money is important to sustain your life, without your health you won’t have a life to live. Sailing around to world, going from country to country, leaves those who work on board at risk if something ever happened to them. Where would they go? Who would they talk to if they didn’t speak the language? Not having to worry about paying what could be thousands of dollars for an emergency medical situation can be the ultimate benefit for a yacht crew member. Having other coverage such as benefits for lost wages, routine care, dental and vision are also key components to providing a complete package.
Having proper insurance is important whether you are at sea, or docked at a shipyard. MHG is your specialized broker when it comes to crew insurance. Our insurance specialists have the knowledge and experience to find the policy that works best for you. If you are interested in purchasing, or have any questions about yacht crew insurance or travel insurance, please contact us at +1 954 828 1819 or +44 (0) 1624 678668 or visit us online at mhginsurance.com.