Christmas is over. New Year’s. Crazy busy MLK weekend. The next big holiday week is a month away.

But instead of a welcome breather, the dark, cold days of late January and February more often usher in the winter doldrums at winter resorts. Morale plunges, employees leave or put on a grumpy face, the job too hard, too cold, too long, too demanding. The midwinter blues can stretch into March and kill your resort’s mood.

“Yes, we do see some of the ‘Oh, I have been working so hard, I just need a break’ syndrome,” says Ryan Forbes, mountain manager at Stevens Pass, Wash.

“I tend to believe that it is a snow thing more than anything. If there is good snow and powder to ski and ride, the crew has a great attitude. Big rain events and weeks of hardpack tend to be the driver of bad attitude and burnout.”

Myra Garcia, HR director at Hunter Mt., N.Y., says midwinter employee burnout tends to come in two ways: “One is the brand-new employee who has no idea what they are getting into when they join the industry. The second is the longtime employee who knows what to expect.”

“Our business really ebbs and flows,” notes Roxanne Hoover, HR manager at Arapahoe Basin, Colo. “When you’re on, you’re on. You don’t have a minute to breathe. But you’re not on all the time. You have to mentally prepare yourself for the seasonality of the job. The ebb and flow of business, weather, demanding clientele. It’s not easy.”

Not easy, but avoiding turnover, low morale and burned-out employees is essential.

“We invest a lot in our employees in training,” says Lisa Thompson, HR manager at Mammoth, Calif., which has about 2,000 winter employees. “It’s a challenge to try and do that training midseason. From a return on investment perspective, it’s important to retain employees.”

“Beyond money and investment, employees are the face of the ski resort,” says Hoover at A-Basin.

“Employees interact with guests, they sell your product,” adds Erin Hyder, HR director at Durango Mountain Resort in Purgatory, Colo. “Everyone of those employees guests touch have to be in good spirits. Happy employees make happy guests.”


Preventing Burnout
HR managers say keeping employees happy and avoiding burnout starts long before the season does–-when employees are first hired.

“We pre-warn staff that there will be ups and downs, and they need to save their money for the downs when we’re not as busy, and that’s the time to ski and ride and travel around,” says Thorin Magibie, HR director at Mount Snow, Vt., which has about 1,000 winter employees.

“It’s important to be honest at the time of hire what employees can expect, what they are getting themselves into,” agrees Garcia at Hunter. “Long hours, weather, slow periods, clientele that can be demanding. It’s important to be honest about all of that, and let them know where resources are, HR, other resources.”

Mammoth provides employees one free visit to the resort’s Employee assistance Program (EAP). Employees can be referred to EAP for a variety of reasons—a relationship issue at work or at home, stress, financial difficulty, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, performance issues.

“If a manager sees an employee struggling for whatever reason, the manager can approach the employee and recommend some outside help,” Thompson explains. “There is no cost to the employee if we refer them. We introduce the EAP program at orientation.”

At Mount Snow, managers and supervisors are directed to spend more time with staff in January.

“After the holidays, managers’ natural tendency is to hole up in their offices and try to catch up on paperwork and other things,” Magibie says. “We remind them to get out on the hill, spend time with staff, working side by side. It’s a good time to focus on followup training, safety. It’s an important time to be available to staff, address performance and other issues.”

Mammoth conducts seasonal staff performance reviews in February (year round staff are reviewed in the fall).

“It’s important to check in and engage with employees, gauge morale, get feedback from them,” Thompson says.

Many resorts use flexible work schedules and job sharing to keep morale and interest high.

“We help people move around the resort, see and try something new, give them something fresh and a change,” says Dave Dekema, marketing director at Snowshoe, W.V., which has a winter staff of about 1,000.

Helping employees maintain a healthy work/life balance is the goal at Big Sky, Mont.

“Everybody is here to ski and snowboard,” says Chad Jones, PR manager. “We make sure folks get ample time to do just that.”

Beginning in January, Big Sky offers employees free ski and ride lessons and discounts on other resort activities.

“We want to get people out from their office, restaurant or behind a desk and take advantage of everything we have to offer,” Jones says.

“We’re creating that work/life balance. We want people to work and work hard. We also want them to be happy and smile. They need time to ski and explore.”

Winter resorts know most employees come to them for the skiing or snowboarding, not the job. Indulging that perk is critical to job performance. Besides a free pass, many resorts sponsor employee-only ski and ride events. Durango has an “employee-only” day at the end of the season. Big Sky reserves the tubing hill for a night of tubing for employees, friends and families. Stevens Pass holds two ski and ride nights for employees and families.

“Like all of us who live in a cold, mountainous climate, employees have to get out and try the product or go nuts,” Magibie says.

“We push employees to get out on the hill on their days off, remind them why it is so special to be here,” adds Garcia at Hunter. “We offer discounts to the spa and other mountain facilities, remind them to take care of themselves. It makes them better employees.”

Employees who join the wellness program at Big Sky get points for doing healthy activities and are entered in a drawing for an iPad Touch.

Many resorts offer reciprocal privileges to employees at other mountains, sponsor field trips or discounts to other nearby attractions. Big Sky gives employees free passes to Yellowstone. Snowshoe runs employee field trips to nearby sights.

“It can sometimes feel like an island up here,” Dekema says. “We encourage employees to get out and see some of the sights. It gives them a chance to sight see and be guests for a change.”

Employee parties are another way resorts boost morale and show their appreciation. Parties run the gamut from small department get-togethers to resort-wide band nights, to catered dinners and door prizes to end-of-the-season barbecues.

The grand prize at A-Basin’s big employee bash last year was a free trip to Mexico for two.

“This year we’re going to add more smaller overnight trips so more people will be getting something,” Hoover says.

The resort’s other big employee bash is called Snowlympics. Instead of giveaways, it is more activity-based, with fun races, costumes and a barbecue.

“It’s a chance for employees to let their hair down and celebrate spring,” Hoover says.


Recognition and Reward
Besides parties, recognizing employees when they do a good job is also important. Most resorts sponsor “employee of the month” programs.

Department employees of the month at Durango receive a $50 gift card and are entered into the end-of-the-season drawing for $500. Other resorts feature employees of the month on their websites and in employee newsletters.

“Our employee newsletter comes out once a week, and always has a lot of pictures, employees having a good time, little jokes on people, incidents. Employees love it,” says Chris Duding, marketing manager at Roundtop, Pa.

Garcia says Hunter strives to share positive guest feedback with employees. “It’s important to celebrate those wins, let employees know how big a role they play in creating that wonderful vacation experience.”

Positive guest comments and feedback are posted next to time clocks. If a specific employee is mentioned, he or she receives a $5 gift card.

Department managers at many resorts hand out $5 and $10 gift cards to employees who go “above and beyond.” “It’s a random act of reward,” says Hoover at A-Basin. “It’s a way to recognize, reward people for a great job.”

She says that recognition is the key, not the reward. “We all get so focused on monetary reward. My experience is that heartfelt, verbal praise from a co-worker or manager means almost as much, if not more. The key is recognizing employees.”

Garcia says another key is giving employees the tools to do their job. “It’s unsettling for a lift operator to get a question they can’t answer—‘What’s open today’? ‘Where’s the best place to eat’? We want employees to feel empowered. Communicating with them, keeping them abreast of vacations, hours of operation changes, events, is important.”

Finally, remember the role weather plays in employees’ outlook.

“Ultimately, I think the trick for employee morale is to be able to recognize the weather pattern,” says Forbes at Stevens Pass. “When it is good, make sure your crew is getting ride breaks and early outs so they can be stoked. When it is not so good, be able to point out that it will snow again.”




GUEST EDITOR SAYS
At times, it feels like you are caught in the cross-fire. Staff up, staff down. Staff up, staff down. No wonder our loyal and willing pool of employees tend to drag mid-season. I think Roxanne Hoover, HR manager at Arapahoe Basin, Colo., summed it up best. “When you’re on, you’re on. You don’t have a minute to breathe. You have to mentally prepare yourself for the seasonality of the job. The ebb and flow of business, weather, demanding clientele. It’s not easy.”

The HR departments have all contributed great and innovative ways of supporting and inspiring staff to get over the hump in this article. I am just getting my feet wet in the camp business with Woodward, and have learned that they take a different approach to staff burnout. To keep the staff fresh, they employ people for three to four weeks and then turn staff over. At Woodward, the interest is strong for employment, so they are very successful using a turnover platform.

I’m sure you are all cringing at the notion of training possibly six or more times a season, but the system works, as most of the employees are returning and the retention rate is very high. This probably wouldn’t work in the resort business, but there is a link to freshening one’s staff and having happy engaged employees. I agree with the notion of crosstraining staff and moving them around. It offers the team increased versatility in their job scope, and allows the resort to have more options when business peaks and/or tanks. Another benefit of cross training and moving employees around is it helps to break down department barriers and cliques.

In addition, it’s important to focus on risk management training mid-season, because burnout and employee injuries tend to go hand in hand. The HR staff bears the burden of managing this issue, and while employee morale dollars sit on a line in the budget, it truly is the line that can turn the tides for a tired crew. The best medicine is for management to care for and recognize this issue rather than leave it to the HR staff to get all 500 to 1,200 people over the hump. Anytime initiatives are driven from the top with passion, it motivates people to perform and engage.

—Jody Churich , former SAMMY winner and SAM Guest Editor