The airline industry learned long ago that they needed a sophisticated staff to care for their aircraft. The airlines also found that to operate planes safely they needed a training program to prepare pilots, navigators, and cabin personnel to handle any eventuality. This training was done by both rote practice and education in the principles of each component’s operations.
We in the ski lift industry have, in fact, reached the same point. Our manufacturers have done a good job designing reliable ski lifts which operate safely under all sorts of conditions. But individual ski areas often fail to take that big step beyond good maintenance. We have, in many cases, failed to create the needed training programs for our ski lift operating personnel which would develop their levels of capability and reliability. Competent ski lift operators and attendants are just as critical as competent aircraft pilots — and for the same reasons.
Today’s skiers are accustomed to manicured golf courses, lighted tennis courts, and well run recreation facilities of all sorts. These same skiers demand a high level of professionalism in all their recreation activities. The ski lift manufacturers have helped local ski areas with maintenance clinics which have raised the level of professionalism among the ski lift maintenance crews; but none of the manufacturers have come forward with operations seminars and clinics for the ski lift operations crews. This may be due to the larger numbers of personnel involved who need to be trained during a short period; to the costs; or to the differing procedures and sorts of lifts at each ski area. All the current attention being focused on ski lift safety and professionalism may require that your ski area develop a comprehensive system for training your ski lift attendants and operators.
Developing a professional and thorough system for training ski lift attendants and operators involves a major commitment. It is a commitment of both energy and money. It takes a long time to write a training program that works, and you have to pay those employees during the training period. What can you expect for this investment?
If the job of selecting the ski lift operations crew is done well; if they are thoroughly trained; and if your supervision and management are up to par, you can expect to end up with a highly competent staff. You will be able to depend on these employees spread around your ski area to well serve both the skiers and your area. Perhaps best of all, you’ll have a ski lift crew that is knowledgeable, well trained, and friendly because they understand what their jobs involve and why they are so important.
Once you have committed yourself to a complete and thorough training program, sit down and develop a good one. Go off alone for a while and brainstorm some ideas, then bounce them off some colleagues before putting pen to paper. Begin by thinking through what you want to teach the ski lift operations staff based on your performance objectives and goals. Then assess the crew’s present level of ski lift operating experience. Are the experienced hands performing as you would want them to? Now that you have decided what you need to teach and how much you need to teach it and to whom you will teach, you need to plan how you will teach it.
The teaching activities you might choose from include lectures, discussions, demonstrations, on-site practices, role playing, safety meetings, and mid-season in-service training programs. Perhaps the best of these would be all of them in combination. And don’t forget that you want to include a plan to train those mid-season newly hired employees who didn’t attend the pre-season training. Now you have a comprehensive ski lift operations training plan.
Let’s step back a bit and take these elements of the training plan one at a time.
Hiring good people is a key aspect in developing the sort of ski lift operation program you want. Start early enough to allow yourself plenty of time to pick from among your applicants; and if you have to go out and beat the bushes — you’ll need the time too. Develop a profile of the sort of person you want working for you operating your ski lifts. How much mechanical ability is needed? Stamina? Do they need to read and write well? Are there any special situations where you need a particular skill?
Training them thoroughly is the next task on your agenda. As you develop your training plan you will want to take these factors into account:
- What must be learned? Performance objectives and goals.
- What activities and resources can be used to best meet these performance objectives?
- How will I know when learning has taken place?
On-going training is an essential part of your initial training plan. Training ski lift attendants and operators should never be left to a one-time program. You will need to follow up and to reinforce learning in certain weak areas and to communicate new information. You can also use in-service training programs to correct mistakes and bad habits that have developed during the season. On-going training need not be lengthy or frequent — it just needs to be appropriate.
Mid-season new hire training is an important aspect of your training plan. Finding time to break away from your normal responsibilities to work with a newly hired employee is never easy. It is useful to have texts, procedures manuals, and other written materials available to lay the ground work – then use a training checklist so that you can tell when each topic has been covered and each performance objective demonstrated.
Training Checklists
The training checklists which you develop can be used with both the pre-season training program and with the trainees hired during mid-season, because the same information is applicable to both. The training checklists relate to the performance objectives in a very specific manner. The performance objectives are more general and relate to behavioral goals while the training checklists specify particular acts needing to be accomplished at each work station. For example, the performance objective: “Being able to safety check the lift, and complete a daily log of these safety checks,” is rather broad and defines a task. The training checklist for this same activity is quite specific and details each item that needs to be checked and how it is to be done.
Training checklists should include:
- The general information which each ski lift attendant and operator needs to know. When and where to report to work, wages, whom to contact in an emergency, specific ski area policies, etc.
- General lift operating instructions explaining your ski area’s procedures for handling each sort of task or problem.
- Specific information about the operation procedures of each of your lifts with separate sections for top and bottom stations and drive and return terminals.
When using the training checklists you can simply go down the
