The Redwoods Group Honored in Power Issue

When an aquatics professional is stumped, he or she will likely solve the problem by reaching out to a colleague for some problem-solving and commiseration.

Risk-management firm The Redwoods Group knew this, so when the impacts of the pandemic hit, management put together some of the biggest get-togethers to take place in 2020.

Every week for the first few months of the pandemic, professional both inside and outside The Redwoods Group network could meet with hundreds of peers once a week to swap ideas and techniques.

Standing date

Normally, the company brings its members together once a year for its annual State of the Market meeting, so it was set up to congregate everybody in quick order. While the meetings focused on topics related to business and operations, there clearly was an emotional component to the gatherings,as well.

“From a once-a-year type thing, we quickly transitioned to meeting the needs of everybody at that time, which was ‘Let’s do something weekly. Let’s come together and have some consistency in a very inconsistent and unsure world,’” says Tonya Roy, chief consulting officer for the Morrisville, N.C.-based company. “We knew that you’d be able to find … people who were like you struggling with the same thing, trying to find ways of doing things differently in this new world.”

The hour-long meetings took place every Thursday. At first, they addressed issues specific to COVID-safe facility operations and what to do when your pool is shut down. But, over time, they took on other topics, such as diversity after the George Floyd murder and subsequent protests.

Toward the end, some of the Redwoods’ Group’s clients would take a camera to the pool and show their team doing drills or performing other tasks.

In addition to Roy and other Redwoods staff, expert associates of the company provided their counsel. Two outside consultants — former Redwoods Group President Gareth Hedges, who has since started his own company, called H2O Safety Consulting; and Michael Oostman of Oostman Aquatic Safety Consulting — would add their expertise when discussing techniques for drowning prevention and working under COVID’s impacts.

National conversation

Between 200 to 800 people sat in on these meetings at a time. And this wasn’t a webinar, where everybody passively looked at a screen of Powerpoint slides.

“It was almost like you were just sitting at a table listening in on part of the conversation,” Roy says. “Individuals could scroll through and see the others. It was the social connection that we were missing at a time when everybody was forced to be physically distant. I think there’s so much beauty in that.”

A whole other dialogue would take place in the chat function, where people asked each other questions — sometimes related to the meeting topic, sometimes not.

To adapt to the larger groups, they would occasionally do break-out groups, so most attendants would have a chance to share.

After about four months, as facilities were reopening and professionals were becoming more busy, the meetings went to monthly, where they’ve remained.

Because of the get-togethers, some of Redwoods Group’s clients have become more helpful to one another. The company now must conduct its on-site inspections virtually, with the client walking them through the property on camera. Now, if another company is looking for ideas, Redwoods staff may ask if that third party can observe the walk-through, or part of it. More often than not, the operator is game, Roy says.