How do you train 500 people in four days who are going to work in 25 different retail shops, selling about 93 different brands? This is a perennial question that used to face Whistler/Blackcomb, B.C. Todd Friesen, director of retail and rental for the resort, came up with an answer last year: create a Website for the task.
Starting last season, once a person is hired, he or she is encouraged to visit and begin their training on the Website. There are direct links to specific store locations where a new employee can “meet” store managers and familiarize themselves with the products the store carries. Sections of the site, which was designed in-house to complement the renewed classroom training, go into detail on things such as ski construction, the origin of the DIN standard and how women’s boots differ from men’s.
As a result, when it comes time for the hands-on training sessions, the resort can spend more time working on selling techniques, customer service, merchandising and policy and procedures instead of product knowledge.
Then, after initial training, staff is given a written test on product knowledge, based on information found on the site. Upon passing the test, each employee receives a “Welcome Package” full of goodies (worth about $600 CDN) mostly donated by suppliers. It provides staff with many essentials to survive the winter (clothes, footbeds, backpacks, etc.).
Free Internet stations are made available to employees throughout the village of Whistler to ensure everyone has access. Last year’s inauguration of the site resulted in 1,600 visits that lasted an average of 28 minutes during the months of November and December.
The ski area noticed that use of the site led to a more knowledgeable staff who started the season with the tools to do the job and a built-in excitement about the products they were selling.
Feedback provided from the first year has made the site more user friendly and easier to navigate. The goal for this season was to encourage staff to check the Website daily throughout the season for product updates and news items by incorporating an interactive element and product incentives. Management also feels it can be a tool for suppliers to communicate what they feel are the advantages of their product and they are encouraged to go on the site and work with the designer on their messages.
“Times are changing and so is the way we do business,” says Matt Davies, a retail operations manager for the resort. “The site has clearly become an effective and money-saving tool for our staff.”
You’ll find a link to an example of the Website, set up by Whistler, at www.uwb.ca.
