A start to a new year is a great time for reflection. Reflecting on my time as a Division Director at Mohawk Day Camp this past summer, here are three things Mohawk got ABSOLUTELY right.
Summer Staff Structure
Mohawk employs hundreds of seasonal staff members each year; training, motivating, and retaining these young adults is no small feat. I admire the intentionality that Mohawk has taken towards its counselor hierarchy, creating “promotion points” every 1-2 summers so that counselors are proud to return to positions with expanded responsibilities and pay increases. Additionally, Mohawk is on the cutting edge of counselor compensation trends, paying counselor wages above market and structuring weekly performance bonuses that encourage the best from its staff. Lastly, Mohawk understands that intrinsic motivation is the key to unlocking quality output from its counselors, leveraging semi-random “appreciation pop-ups” where counselors are reminded of the impact of their work.
Fervor For Innovation
Mohawk is the most technology-forward camp I have come across. Their proprietary app, Mohawk 360, is an absolute game-changer. This app provides increased transparency in transportation (a crucial component for day camps), facilitates easy text and photo exchanges between group leaders and parents, and cultivates communication visibility for Mohawk’s leadership (for example, a division director can see all communications between lead counselors and parents, intervening whenever necessary).
Importantly, Mohawk knows that technology is only a tool – its power is ultimately determined by the actions of the wielder. By this, Mohawk spends extensive time during staff orientation on Mohawk 360 best practices so that counselors across groups deliver consistently high-quality for their parents.
Camp Concierge Program
I was blown away by Mohawk’s commitment to customer service across all facets of the camp experience, and this was best exemplified by Mohawk’s Camp Concierge program. The Camp Concierge Headquarters was located in the middle of camp, with 5+ education professionals serving as Swiss Army Knives across various camp responsibilities.
A Camp Concierge staff member’s central role was handling parent requests sent through Mohawk 360. Let’s say little Sally left the house without sunscreen… Sally’s father would send a text to the Camp Concierge and within minutes a member of the team would grab a bottle of sunscreen, go find Sally at the rock wall, lather on the sunscreen, take a picture, and send it back to Dad.
Camp Concierge staff were always proactive, not just handling parent requests but also doubling as camp photographers or filling in for absent activities specialists.
While not every camp will have the budget for a Camp Concierge team, Mohawk’s commitment to 1) rapid responsiveness and 2) employee cross-training is something all camps can learn from.
These three concepts are only a portion of what makes Mohawk a well-oiled machine, creating countless life-long memories for campers.
Share your thoughts in the comments – what aspects of Mohawk’s operations impressed you the most? I’d love to learn from your experiences too!
-Mario
P.S. This post can be thought of as part 2 in a series, following the structure laid out on my blog about Camp Champions here.
The Camp Consultant 
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