The corporate world isn’t the only place where employees are demanding a better work-life balance. The superyacht crew market is, too. Thankfully, junior superyacht crew rotation is increasing. Still, though, yachts without competitive rotation and leave policies risk losing out on talent.
These are among survey findings from the crew-recruitment company Quay Crew. Quay Crew regularly assesses the state of onboard working relationships, including a current mental-health crisis. Recently, it surveyed 170 captains, who shared details about salary, leave, and benefit packages for upwards of 1,500 crewmembers. Those crew spanned all onboard departments, too.
Among the promising facts uncovered, rotation is the most common form of leave for 11 of 18 crew roles. Specifically with junior superyacht crew rotation, one in three deckhands and stewardesses get it aboard 230-footers (70-meters) and larger. Regardless of yacht LOA, 15 percent of deckhands have at least a 3:1 rotation. This means working onboard for three months, followed by one month’s leave. Among stewardesses, meanwhile, the figure is 23 percent. Additionally, 19 percent of yachts have created better leave packages over the past 12 months. Better yet, a further two-fifths of yachts are in the midst of rolling them out or are planning to do so within the next year.
Separately, Quay Crew discovered that 41 percent of all crew rank more leave as the top priority. However, their employers don’t all seem to have the same mindset, Tim Clarke, a Quay Crew founder, notes. “It’s disappointing to see how many yachts continue to only give 60 days or less leave,” he says. Despite this, he continues, change is ongoing. “I believe 3:1 will increasingly be seen as the norm for junior roles onboard 50-meter-plus yachts, and those who do not review their leave packages will become far less appealing employers for the most talented crew,” Clarke asserts.
Superyacht crew rotation is just one aspect of job retention and turnover, too. According to the survey, yachts with training and career development budgets have fewer issues. Similarly, ones offering healthcare coverage, and even bonuses and crew vehicles, see more satisfaction. Covid has convinced many crew, and yachts, to take a hard look at work-life balance. The bottom line for Clarke is pretty simple. “With the superyacht sector experiencing an extreme candidate shortage and increased competition to secure the best crew in the fastest possible timeframe, yachts need to evolve their offering.”
Quay Crew quaycrew.com
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