by William Hill
It’s fair to say that most ski area managers and supervisors realize that there are differences between year-round and seasonal employees and different techniques are required for hiring, training and supervising the two groups. But little has been done to precisely identify and document these differences.
Last spring, a study was conducted at Aspen Highlands, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, Monarch, Steamboat, Sunlight and Winter Park ski areas in Colorado. A 20-question survey of job-related attitudes and needs was filled out by 106 seasonal and 42 year-round randomly-selected employees. While the answers to the questions were not surprising, the breadth of their differences was revealing.
Job Values
The basic job needs of seasonal employees are almost opposite of year-round employees. Dr. Abraham Maslow’s research on The Hierarchy of Human Needs was used as a baseline in developing the survey questions and for analyzing the results. Students of scientific management can quickly associate the results with Maslow’s five human needs.
| Maslow’s Hierarchy | Survey Questions |
|---|---|
| Growth | Learning new skills |
| Self-esteem | Recognition for work |
| Social | People I work with |
| Security | Job security and regular employment |
| Physiological Needs | Pay and fringe benefits |
Here is how the respective groups ranked the above:
| Rank | Seasonal Employees | Year-Round Employees |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | People I work with | Job security |
| 2 | Recognition for good work | Pay and fringe benefits |
| 3 | Learning new skills | Learning new skills |
| 4 | Pay and fringe benefits | Recognition for good work |
| 5 | Job security | People I work with |
To the question, “What element of your work provides the most personal satisfaction?,” here are the responses:
| Rank | Seasonal Employees | Year-Round Employees |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | People I work with (53%) | Learning new skills (33%) |
| 2 | Recognition for good work (20%) | Recognition for good work (31%) |
| 3 | Learning new skills (15%) | People I work with (17%) |
| 4 | Job security (7%) | Job security (12%) |
| 5 | Pay and fringe benefits (5%) | Pay and fringe benefits (7%) |
Ski area managers and supervisors can address these needs with special emphasis on meeting the social needs of seasonal employees and security and growth needs of year-round employees.
Orientation and Training
Four questions were asked about orientation and training on jobs and both groups indicated they were fairly well versed in company policies, rules and procedures. However, 35% of the seasonal and 29% of the year-rounders said they would like to know more about their company’s long-term goals, plans, history and corporate philosophy.
In response to the question “How would you rate your overall orientation and training for the job?,” the year-round employees rated this aspect of their jobs lower than seasonal employees. The number-one ranking for the following questions is marked with a (1).
| Seasonal | Year-Round | |
|---|---|---|
| Excellent | 30% | 7% |
| Outstanding | 23% | 22% |
| Good | 35% (1) | 32% (1) |
| Fair | 7% | 29% |
| Poor | 5% | 10% |
The year-rounders were also more critical of the adequacy of their training in response to the question “Do you feel you have adequate training for the job?”
| Seasonal | Year-Round | |
|---|---|---|
| I’m very well trained | 60% (1) | 38% (1) |
| Somewhat trained | 19% | 33% |
| Would like more training | 20% | 25% |
| Have had little training | 1% | 5% |
Combining this with the previous observation that learning new skills was the top satisfier for year-round employees gives some interesting food for thought. Training (growth needs) is increasingly important for the more secure, year-round employee.
Supervision
Both groups responded fairly high on questions dealing with job supervision, but the following two questions indicate that supervisors should work a little harder at challenging employees to higher expectationzs and helping them reach their full potential. Likewise, they should give praise and recognition for good work.
“Do you feel you are encouraged to use your full potential on this job?”
| Seasonal | Year-Round | |
|---|---|---|
| All of the time | 29% | 24% |
| Most of the time | 38% (1) | 44% (1) |
| Some of the time | 22% | 17% |
| Very seldom | 9% | 15% |
| Never | 2% | 0% |
“Does your supervisor make you feel important? Do you receive proper recognition for good work?”
| Seasonal | Year-Round | |
|---|---|---|
| Always | 30% | 17% |
| Most of the time | 42% (1) | 46% (1) |
| Some of the time | 20% | 17% |
| Very seldom | 7% | 17% |
| Never | 2% | 0% |
Other Management Issues
A lot of valuable data came out of this part of the study that can be helpful in recruiting and retaining good employees. In the following questions, for example, the year-rounders appear to be quite satisfied in their career field, but most of them would like to advance to a higher level job. A large number of the seasonal employees would also like to stay, but move into a higher level job. Surprisingly, housing did not rank very high, but this is probably related to pay scales.
On the average, seasonal employees have to travel considerably farther to work. A long commute on icy roads can cause more fatigue and stress among workers and should be of increasing concern to area managers and supervisors.
“What most attracted you to work here?”
| Seasonal | Year-Round | |
|---|---|---|
| A friend | 6% | 1% |
| Type of work | 41% (1) | 28% |
| Pay & fringe benefits | 6% | 10% |
| Living & environment | 39% | 51% (1) |
| Other | 8% | 10% |
“What would you like to be doing two years from now?”
| Seasonal | Year-Round | |
|---|---|---|
| Continue on same job | 13% | 18% |
| Stay here, but move into a higher level job | 46% (1) | 73% (1) |
| Get another job | 14% | 7% |
| Go to college | 16% | 2% |
| Other | 11% | 0% |
“What is the most difficult part of working this job?”
| Seasonal | Year-Round | |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation | 5% | 0% |
| Housing | 7% | 15% |
| Pay Scales | 49% (1) | 46% (1) |
| Lack of year-round employment | 26% | 0% |
| Other | 13% | 39% |
“How far do you live from your job?”
| Seasonal | Year-Round | |
|---|---|---|
| 0 – 2 miles | 20% | 24% |
| 2 – 5 miles | 19% | 27% (1) |
| 5 – 10 miles | 9% | 20% |
| 10 – 20 miles | 26% (1) | 7% |
| Over 20 miles | 25% | 22% |
Observations and Recommendations
Using information gleaned from this and previous studies, it is apparent that the level of employee satisfaction and management professionalism has improved in recent years. However, there is still a need for improvement.
Here are some recommendations for dealing with both groups of employees:
- In recruiting seasonal employees, give special emphasis to the type of work they will be performing and the living and job environment. Also emphasize the social aspects of working at a ski resort.
- Tell prospective employees, up front, what is expected of them on the job. Also, be frank about ski-town living conditions and costs.
- Provide out-placement services at the end of the ski season. Many seasonal employees would like to return.
- Expand orientation of new and year-round employees, giving emphasis to the company’s history, long-range plans and goals and corporate philosophy.
- Provide more and better training to year-round employees, helping them upgrade specific job skills with cross-training, job rotation and other job-enrichment opportunities.
- Make the job a learning experience for seasonal employees, too. Provide career counseling and emphasize the importance of life-long career development skills such as communication skills, human relations, customer service and teamwork.
- Provide additional supervisory and management training, with special emphasis on: communication and interpersonal skills, training and coaching skills, team building, stress management, motivation and morale building, praise and recognition and employee involvement and empowerment.
- Supervisors should spend more time catching people doing things right and give more praise and recognition.
- Upper management should design and encourage positive, non-competitive, recognition programs for all employees. They should be particularly careful not to be “stress carriers” themselves.
- Supervisors should work hard at fostering positive peer relationships, teamwork and nurturing healthy fellowship among all employees ad supervisors. Emphasis should be on creating a “family” atmosphere.
- Challenge employees to reach their full potential and involve them in the big picture by delegating, coaching and asking for their input. Expect the best and then share the credit.
By following these recommendations, management can build a quality service staff. Both seasonal and year-round employees respond positively to professional attitudes and treatment.
