Employee Housing Manager, Copper Mountain Resort, Colo.

Age: 28

Education: B.A., Management; Southwestern College in Winfield, Kan.

First job in the industry: employee housing specialist, Copper Mountain

Super power: Teleportation. I love to travel [and while it] would cut out the long lines and interesting smells at airports, I’d probably miss the people watching.

Six-word bio: "A genuinely sarcastic, adventurous, Warrior Dash champion."

THE NOMINATION

One might not initially think of employee housing as making an impact on our industry, but Dallas has proven that it can, and does. In less than four years, Dallas has been promoted three times and has taken the helm of our onsite employee housing, which includes a seven-story building with over 500 beds and over 300 rooms. Not only has he increased occupancy by 40 percent in the past two years, he has also leveraged the building as a low-cost option for race teams and groups. All of this while maintaining some of the highest employee engagement scores in our history.

—Kelly Renoux, director of employee experience, Copper Mountain Resort

The Interview

How would you describe your approach to leadership and employee engagement?

Just as we request our staff to provide the best possible service to our guests, I aspire to serve, support, engage, celebrate and challenge my staff and the employees across the resort. I believe that investing in staff, engaging them with projects, empowering them to make decisions, and challenging them develops a commitment to the company and strengthens the bond of trust within their department.

I also believe having fun is an important component to leadership. I recently challenged the Employee Experience (HR) staff to the Polar Plunge. Most staff accepted the challenge, and we all put on wacky costumes, jumped into freezing water and made a video. We then posted the video to our Employee Experience Facebook page. Why? Because moments like these impact the employee experience, build morale, and pull us through the busier, tougher portions of the season.

Does the quality of the housing environment impacts staff morale on the ground?

I do believe the housing environment and roommate assignments can make or break an employee’s morale and performance. Our office uses a basic housing application to assign roommates based on cleanliness, day or night shift, snoring, smoking, etc., but no application will tell us whether or not two personalities will mesh—it’s a shot in the dark. We hope for the best, but when issues are brought to our attention, we act on them to remedy the situation. By troubleshooting issues with the employees directly, it establishes confidence that we are here to support the wellbeing of staff, on and off the clock. In return we often see a boost in morale and overall performance.

What accomplishments are you most proud of in your career to date?

It would be too easy to say, “the revenue targets I have met or exceeded.” In the past three and a half years, I have played a part in some major building renovations of the employee housing facility. Despite construction chaos, time crunches, project delays, and curveball maintenance issues, we’ve taken strides to improve the overall experience within the facility, and have done so with minimal impact on employees and guests. I attribute this success to a phenomenal team that I work with and am proud of our accomplishments. Nothing beats the positive feedback and encouraging comments that come from our returning employees, or seeing an employee from a neighboring resort walk through our doors to visit a friend and inquiring about housing.