With ski and snowboard season running full tilt, your patrons are smiling, happy and rosy-cheeked as they ride your chairlifts, slide on your slopes, and enjoy apres-ski bevies and snacks at your food and beverage outlets.
But as the demanding and busy holiday season takes off, and into January when the post-Christmas blues often strike, will the people who run those lifts, deliver those lessons, and cater to hungry and thirsty patrons, also be cheerful, excited, and enjoying their jobs? Let’s hope so, because a sunny disposition among employees is crucial if your ski area is to win favourable reviews and attract new and repeat customers.
“Employees who are comfortable and happy are key to running a successful resort,” says Claude Peloquin, Vice-President and General Manager at Bromont in Quebec’s Eastern Townships. “Happy employees equal great service and satisfied customers.”
“The resort is nothing without the staff,” says Michael J. Ballingall, Senior Vice-President at Big White ski resort in Kelowna, B.C.
Recognizing the need to bolster workers’ morale over the holidays and beyond, most Canadian ski areas employ strategies to keep their employees engaged and looking forward every day to helping customers enjoy their on and off the mountain experiences.
At Bromont, Peloquin’s supervisors keep a close eye on the moods of staff and use various tools to keep them happy because a disgruntled workforce, and employees skipping shifts or calling in sick without reason, is the last thing Peloquin wants. As at most resorts, Bromont staffers get free skiing and boarding. In addition, they’re given hearty $5 meals and 50% discounts in all retail outlets on the mountain. Free coffee, treats and handwarmers help outdoor staff ward off the cold, and regular 10-to-15-minute breaks recharge their batteries.
At Big White, where Ballingall says morale is generally high during the holiday season but can slide in mid-January, each department is tasked with caring for individual employees’ well-being. Whenever possible, supervisors take staff off-mountain to a hockey game, bowling alley or a movie and a variety of outdoor events are offered including ice skating, tubing, cross-country skiing, hot-tubbing, and bonfires – some arranged by employees with full support of management. Should the need arise, Big White also offers one-on-one counselling.
“If we are constantly seeing unhappy staff, there’s probably a bigger underlying problem,” says Ballingall. “Our counsellors help with that. Food is also important: nutritional food is recommended, and we have a fruit program in all departments. Plus, we discount food by 40% in our cafeterias for our staff. We also have free lessons and discounted accommodations, and we encourage staff who have new ideas and want to influence what goes on in the resort to speak to their managers. Many customer service programs have come out of these conversations.”
Blue Mountain in the community of The Blue Mountains, Ontario, offers a variety of employee communications and activities to keep teams engaged, says public relations manager Tara Lovell. These include weekly emails to keep employees in the loop about goings on at the resort. “Any big announcements and updates are shared with our employees before sharing publicly,” she says.
Blue Mountain also works hard to create a sense of community for workers. Leading into the ski season, management hosts a “stoke” event to encourage new team members to socialize and get excited for the coming season. It’s seen as a great way to introduce workers, especially international employees, to ski season in Ontario. Understanding that the resort runs 24/7, the HR team makes sure all employees can engage in team building by organizing activities such as a 4 a.m. BBQ for overnight employees and holiday dinners for those working on Christmas Day.
Employees are also a part of Blue Mountain’s ongoing charitable giving. “We have started surveying our teams to better understand where they would like to see us give and have partnered with local charities based on our employees’ interests. Employees are also invited to host their own fundraising efforts in their departments which will be matched by the resort.”
Do these and other morale-boosting efforts work? Definitely, says Ballingall of Big White. “The biggest compliment we receive is when a guest brings a gift for their central reservations booking agent, takes their housekeeper out for dinner, or invites their ski instructor on a future holiday,” he says. “It’s the staff who make all the difference in the world – you just have to stay out of their way, understand what they’re capable of, advertise and amplify it.”
