Trader Joe's, a quirky specialty grocery store from Southern California, is setting a new standard for service-based companies. This $3-billion-a-year national chain received the Customer First Award from Fast Company magazine for Joe's ability to listen and respond to customer needs. With more than 2,000 eclectic (and bargain priced) gourmet-style food and wine items on the stores' shelves, Joe's employees work hard to get it right.

Trader Joe's views front line employees as the soul of the business. These smiling, friendly, fun-loving and knowledgeable employees set themselves apart from the rest in this highly competitive industry. Their ability to listen to customers and respond with feedback lies at the heart of the company's success.

How does Trader Joe's attract and retain the best employees? It uses a carefully crafted system of hiring and training and performance reviews, which it conducts every three months (even for part-timers). This system drives profits that enable Trader Joe's to offer generous compensation and bonuses packages.

Ski areas, too, can create innovative programs that boost employee engagement and performance, enhance communication and improve guest service. Some have already taken steps to do so.

Cutting Edge U.S. Resorts
At Crystal Mountain, Mich., engaging the hearts of employees starts with the recruiting process. Crystal holds an internal job fair in mid-October for current and returning employees only. "This exclusive event creates a strong sense of 'I belong' status and sends a positive message to our core group that we recognize and value their contributions," says Lisa Smith, personnel services director. "Our philosophy is to treat employees like we would treat a guest in our own home." She believes that building strong employee relationships boosts the company's potential for business success.

Crystal then holds an open job fair a week later to fill remaining positions. However, it is much more than a "meet and greet" session. After an initial applicant screening, potential employees complete a pre-employment survey (60-70 questions) to determine if they have the qualities the area is looking for. Top candidates then speak directly with department managers. This process streamlines the hiring process, lays out performance expectations clearly, and presents only qualified applicants to the managers.

To encourage open and honest communication up and down the organizational ladder, every employee attends an "all hands on deck" meeting as part of the orientation process. "Employees are given 3x5 cards to write down any questions they may have during the orientation," says Smith. "Then we collect the cards for the executive committee to answer. We openly answer questions ranging from financial health and employee benefits to requests for extra lighting in the parking lot. We've found this process creates employee trust, which is a fundamental key to our success."

Killington Pride: HR Service Center
This past season Killington, Vt., launched Killington Pride, an initiative that encompasses a new brand marketing strategy, capital improvements, future development prospects and tactics to improve both the guest and the employee experience. The linchpin for this last effort was the design and construction of a Human Resources Service Center. With more than 1,900 employees, the intake process during a ramp-up was often a daunting and frustrating task. The Human Resources Service Center has changed all that. It expedites the hiring process, assimilates employees into the culture quickly, and improves communications.

Diane Davis, VP of HR for Killington, describes this on-boarding program as a simple, easy and hassle free "one-stop shopping" hiring process. Supervisors still interview and select employees for their departments. But then the new hires (and re-hires) report for their first day of work at the HR service center. "All new and returning staff is initially considered employees of the HR department. It's now the responsibility of HR to complete all the paperwork and execute the orientation process," Davis says.

The staff at the HR service center has sole responsibility to issue the employee ID cards that also serve as the employees' ski pass, discount card and time badge. HR's goal is to have every employee on the payroll system by the end of the day. Davis notes that employee orientation costs hit the HR budget, not the individual departments, thus alleviating pressure on these other departments to reduce training expenses. Upon completion of orientation, employees join their home department.

New employees are impressed with Killington's organized approach to the hiring experience. Returning employees are impressed with the hassle-free experience, improved communications and the ability to talk face-to-face with the management team. Supervisors no longer spend operational hours chasing employees down for I-9 documentation, and HR knows that every staff member has documented proof of training on key policies, such as sexual harassment and OSHA regulations. "You get immediate results when you give everyone the same message," says Davis.

How well did the program work? A near-perfect 95 percent of all employees completed orientation last season, up from only 17 percent the previous year. And that record promotes a sense of teamwork and belonging. "We are able to send a unified message concerning our values and expectations, as well as clearly communicate on a wide range of topics from our Killington Pride initiative to safety and guest service," Davis notes.

Teamwork, Hard Work, Fun Work
The orientation meeting provides a forum in which resorts can win the hearts and minds of their internal guests. This often involves showcasing a resort's values and culture in addition to perks and benefits. Last year, Angel Fire, N.M., literally drummed its message into employees' consciousness.
"This first year as GM for Angel Fire challenged me to find a way to energize the staff and to show them the importance of teamwork and what it is really all about," says Jon Mahanna. "I also wanted to communicate our commitment to fun work, along with the reality of hard work."

To demonstrate the point, the executive team received a crash assignment: form the first-ever Executive Team Band, and perform their first gig in front of employees at the annual orientation meeting. Mahanna chose the musical instruments, assigned one to each team member, and then challenged the group to write two songs they would perform for the general orientation program-which was just two weeks away.

Since most of the execs didn't play an instrument, they enlisted the help of the local high school music director. And they met the challenge. "Not only did they pull it off, they had a blast in the process," says Mahanna. "New employees were not quite sure what was going on, but they quickly grasped our culture and values. Returning employees were simply blown away. They actually started dancing in the aisles.

"Our goal is to convey a strong message that every employee is valued and welcomed. We want employees to understand that we will give them the tools and training to get the job done, and that having fun in the process is a value-added benefit. The bottom line is that if the executive team can do it, they can do it, too."

Positive Attitudes Breed Success
The best companies to work for are also the most successful companies. That's a fact, not a theory. The Gallup Organization interviewed more than one million employees worldwide to determine the correlation between employee perceptions (employee engagement) and business outcomes. The data clearly confirmed that within successful companies, employees: