All ski areas have policies and procedures which guide operations. All too often, these are communicated to staff members verbally and are subject to the common shortcomings of misinterpretation and faulty memory. Sometimes written policies and procedures are of little value because key staff members do not receive copies. Even if all bases are covered updating is often neglected.
The problems encountered in verbal communication can easily be overcome by compiling a manual of written policies and procedures. While writing an entire manual can be a large task, it can be simplified by starting with the compiling of those policies and procedures which are most critical to efficient operation. For example:
- Ticket Pricing. Basic rates that are published in newspapers and brochures are very simple to communicate to all concerned individuals. The need for this policy is to clearly delineate special rates, discounts and freebees. Unless management, ticket sellers and office personnel follow the same guidelines, confusion and embarrassment result. Have you ever seen two or more tour leaders arrive at the ticket office simultaneously, each having been quoted a different rate?
- Wage Rates. A written tabulation of minimum and maximum hourly rates for each position will assure uniform wage treatment of all employees. This policy should be amplified to include notations relative to experience and returning employee adjustments to basic rates.
- Purchasing. Without a clear procedure on how to control purchases, receipt of materials and payments for purchased material, money can be easily lost to less than scrupulous suppliers or to dishonest employees.
- Lift Operation. Formal, pre-season operator and attendant training should be reinforced by a lift operations manual clearly pointing out routine operating procedures for all lift stations, along with procedures to be followed in the case of each conceivable lift emergency.
- Budgets. Operating budgets are essential to financial success just as reasonable budget projections are essential in order to borrow money for expansion or other purposes. Such a procedure should cover not only the preparation of budgets, but also the way in which actuals are reported and compared to budgets.
- Employee Manual. A manual telling employees what is expected of them and what they can expect from the area is a good starting point for good employer/employee relations.
Each area’s list of “basic” policies and procedures will be different. Once the basics are taken care of, the manual may easily be expanded at leisure as the need for additions becomes apparent and as time for their preparation is available.
All policies and procedures should be stated in clear, concise language and organized in such a way to almost guarantee that they can be understood by their readers. Policies and procedures should say all that has to be said in the fewest words possible.
To assure the widespread knowledge and use of policies and procedures, all supervisors should have complete manuals in their possession and available to any employee who has a need to know about their contents. Supervisors should be urged to communicate the availability of these manuals to those reporting to them.
One of the ways in which I have tried to keep policy and procedure manuals up-to-date is to hold a meeting of staff and supervisory personnel a month or so before scheduled opening day for the area. At that meeting we make final preparations for the season and update the manual. All procedures are reviewed. New ones are added as required. Those no longer of value are eliminated. Those which need improvement or change are assigned to appropriate staffers to rewrite.
For years, I have expounded what I call the “truck theory” of management. That is, any individual in an organization may be hit by a truck (the truck of disaster or the truck of opportunity) on any given day. It is therefore incumbent upon each individual to detail the functioning of his position in writing and in such detail that a successor can move into his position on short notice, with minimum disruption of total area operation. These “truck theory” procedures provide the ultimate in ski area procedural documents.
