Ski and snowboard resort managers are beginning to realize the importance of strong interpersonal communication skills in all employees, not just those in supervisory and managerial positions. Much of the success in turning guests into repeat customers can be attributed to the front-line staff in ticketing, ski school, rental, retail and food services.
Whether it’s flipping burgers, adjusting bindings, grooming slopes or fixing lifts, technical knowledge alone doesn’t cut it anymore. Every employee, from a new cafeteria cashier to the veteran guest services director, needs to be able to listen attentively to customers, solve problems and motivate members of the team or department.
“There is definitely more emphasis on communication now than there was five or ten years ago,” says Steve Showalter, general manager at Massanutten Ski Resort in Harrisonburg, Va. “For our ski instructors, communication skills are more important than skiing ability. And our tube park employees must constantly communicate with guests.”
According to Tim Larive, marketing and sales director of Mt. Shasta Board and Ski Park, Calif., “Attitude is more important than specific working skills, such as lift operation or working a cash register.” Though managers say all interpersonal skills are valuable, some are more important than others, depending on the job.
“An energetic attitude and the ability to work well with a team are very important attributes,” says Dave Anderson, marketing director at Loon Mountain Resort in Lincoln, N.H. “One thing we pride ourselves on at Loon Mountain is how well we communicate with our guests. Our friendliness sets us apart.”
Anderson explains that new employees are told of Loon’s commitment to “legendary service” and they learn the resort’s 10-foot rule, which is when employees come within 10 feet of guests, “they look at them, address them and ask how the skiing is or if the guest is having a good time. This will invariably lead to a short conversation and our guests appreciate this,” he says.
Ski Snowstar, Ill., GM Ed Meyer says the five top communication skills for his staff are, “getting along with customers, managing conflict and stress, active listening, teamwork with co-workers and articulate speaking.”
At Mt. Shasta, Larive says the most important skill is empathy. “When a guest is walking up our access road with his skis crossed over his shoulder and struggling, it is important for you, as a staff member, to put yourself in that guest’s boots and understand his frustration. You must then take it upon yourself to go help him.”
So, how do managers decide if applicants have these valuable skills? “That’s the million-dollar question!” answers Meyer. He and the other managers agree that the interview process must be interactive with the emphasis on “getting the applicant to open up.”
Greg Peterman, VP of human resources at Heavenly Ski Resort, Calif, explains how: “You can ask an applicant to describe a situation where they’ve experienced good customer service, then have them describe poor customer service. That way the applicant tells you how he or she would define good communication with customers.” At Massanutten, where someone gets placed is more important than if they get placed, according to Showalter. “We hire approximately 650 employees per season and do not have a lot of time for interviews,” he says. “Our managers will ask about their previous jobs and note their attitude when they describe that experience. [Managers] will look for things like eye contact, assertiveness and energy and determine if the applicants actually like people.” Then, they’ll place the best communicators in more front-line positions.
Mt. Shasta provides training for managers so they can lead by example, Larive says. “Once we have supervisors with good skills, they become aware of what to look for in applicants, like people who can explain themselves clearly in an upbeat and energetic way.”
“But sometimes first impressions are deceiving,” Meyer concedes. In order to encourage employees to use these skills all season, Meyer’s managers constantly remind and reinforce good communication in their staff via a reward system.
Don Steffen, Ski Snowstar’s director of skier services, explains: “Throughout the season, co-workers, managers and customers recognize ‘gold star’ behavior. Then we actually make gold stars with employee names and dates of recognition on them and hang them in the lodge. At the end of the year, we solicit prizes from our suppliers and everyone receives something for service.”
Meyer adds, “We encourage good skills from the top to the front-line staff to set examples and show the value of quality communication. We also dismiss those who fooled us in interviews.”
“You’ll find out from the guests if there is a problem,” says Loon Mountain’s Anderson. “Employees might send a guest somewhere else for answers or solutions. When that happens we need to remind employees of their empowerment to solve problems on the spot.”
Loon uses a program called Make the Guest Right where employees are trained to identify and immediately solve problems without sending the guest looking for help elsewhere. “The guest is always first,” says Anderson.
Showalter’s department managers are encouraged to walk around and listen to others. With 1,000 time-share units and a season that lasts about 100 days, managers hear complaints from many departments besides their own. “Sharing information is key in order for all managers to be able to assist guests,” says Showalter, “regardless of whether their problem is with lodging, food service or the ski school.”
At Meyer’s small resort (about 200 staff are hired per year), complaints tend to end up at his office. Then, he says, “we know someone is not using good interpersonal skills. This factor either causes the problem or at least fails to solve it.”
Larive is more specific: “When any of us say ‘no’ to a customer, there is a problem. It shows a breakdown of communication. One word that should not be in the vocabulary of any Mt. Shasta employee is ‘no,’” he says. Staff members there understand that they will never get in trouble for helping a guest. They will always be complimented or rewarded, Larive says, “the old-fashioned way, by getting a raise.”
Everyone agreed that the best way to encourage open communication was to promote inter-departmental dialogue and emphasize training for managers and focused orientation for new hires. Training one-on-one, Meyer suggests, often shows how good interpersonal skills can make you a hero while poor skills tend to escalate conflict.
Susan Glaze, public relations manager at Mount Snow Resort, Vt., might be a newcomer to the ski industry (beginning her career there last January), but she knows the value of open communication channels. “We have weekly team meetings for resort management so everyone can keep abreast of anything special happening on the mountain,” she explains. “Following those meetings are the individual departmental meetings to share this resort-wide information.” Glaze says managers ask each other for help in correcting any flaws or solving problems, regardless of whether it is directly related to their department. “Ideas can come from anywhere and no idea is a bad idea.”
Heavenly incorporates a unique activity in its daylong orientation for new employees. “We bring in professional actors,” Peterman explains, “who role-play specific situations, like something that might happen in retail sales or in another department.” Although he agrees the vignettes are entertaining, the purpose, he says, is to show staff how to act in situations that could come up any day at the resort.
At the end of the orientation, before employees split up to be trained by their individual departments, “we do team-building exercises in groups of 10 where everyone must work together to complete the exercise.” Peterman adds that teams are purposely mixed so every department works together.
To maintain open communication channels throughout the season, staff members at Heavenly are reminded that the senior management is “not out there where the rubber hits the road,” says Peterman, and employees are encouraged to keep their managers in the loop regarding what is going on.
All managers, regardless of the size of their operations, agree that achieving professional success is directly linked to achieving excellence in interpersonal communication. The process involves a complex mixture of areas as diverse as nonverbal communication, placing oneself in another’s shoes and team problem solving. It is a large package of skills, but once acquired, it can go a long way toward developing the satisfying relationships with peers and customers that are so critical to success.
“I honestly believe,” says Anderson, “that it is the way our employees communicate with our guests that make us successful at Loon Mountain. Our surveys show that more than 90 percent of our guests consistently plan to return and (interaction with employees) is the key reason why.”
Kay Rooff-Steffen, a former resort group coordinator, teaches college humanities in Iowa.
