Habits of Connection

How has this idea enhanced your club's operation, etc.?

Baltimore Country Club leaders selected their 2025-2026 annual staff theme, “Stacking Habits, Delivering Excellence.” Building on this theme, our Director of Member Experience saw an opportunity to transform our existing but underutilized preference collection process into a behavioral training system.

The preferences we track capture members’ known likes, routines, behaviors, and service expectations, enabling staff to anticipate needs and deliver more personalized service. While BCC had been collecting member preferences since 2022, engagement was inconsistent and largely transactional. We needed a repeatable framework that taught staff how to connect, not just what to record. In turn, we created daily micro-habits that help to build more genuine relationships between staff and members.

How was this idea implemented, and what have been the club members' reactions?

In September 2025, we introduced the Habits of Connection, a framework designed to translate emotional intelligence into daily action. These habits include Build Trust, which focuses on creating warmth and psychological safety; Discover, encouraging thoughtful questions to uncover member preferences; Remember, Reflect, & Record, emphasizing the importance of circling back and documenting what matters; Anticipate & Surprise, shifting service from reactive to proactive; and Celebrate, recognizing moments that transform service interactions into meaningful relationships.

Each habit serves as a monthly training focus and is supported by multiple engagement tools. These include weekly manager toolkit emails featuring micro-lessons, videos, tips, and challenges, integrations into department meetings, preference collection challenges, and notepads placed in high-touch service areas to encourage real-time documentation. The initiative is further reinforced through a club-wide online member preference submission process and quarterly “Top User” brainstorming sessions that leverage POS data.

All submitted preferences feed into a centralized member preference library, with department-specific preference modules within our POS system. This structure supports personalized outreach initiatives such as Green Folder Stories and on-site Surprise & Delight moments, ensuring that collected insights are actively used to enhance the member experience.

To reinforce the habit loop, staff contributions are tracked by department and celebrated through recognition, gift cards, and team rewards. Between October and December 2025, staff submitted 377 new member preferences. Our front-of-house departments now participate in friendly quarterly competitions, and teams have independently developed micro-spreadsheets and creative workflows to drive engagement. As a result, staff report increased confidence in member interactions, while members are experiencing a higher level of proactive and personalized service.