Overtime after 40 hrs. for full time employees.
Thank you for continuing to give this feedback.
-Jeremy Riss
Marshall Woods is so strong, he makes the best out of every hand were dealt in lift maintenance
Thank you for giving Marshall a shout out. on the 1 - 10 strong scale Marshall might be an 11 or 12.
-Jeremy Riss
Meadows is "My Mountain Home" so when I'm working (and even when I'm off the clock, skiing as a "guest") I strive to ensure others have a positive experience. Whether it's picking up a small piece of trash in the hall, straightening the bar chairs outside Higher Grounds or holding a door open for someone, it matters. I'm so grateful to be part of the MHM Team!
Thank you for taking so much pride in your work and making this a better place to be for all of us!
-Jeremy Riss
From my perspective, this week has been good! I have been feeling very supported and efficient at doing my job. What has been affecting me has been my colleagues- they have been feeling tired, worn down and overworked. They informed me that for a few weeks during the holiday season, they worked six days a week with only one off-day. Their mood affects me because when they are not provided enough time to be able to take care of their basic needs, they are not happy at work and are less motivated to do a quality job. More mistakes happen which causes all of us extra work to correct mistakes. The main reason why I have been successful in my position so far is having a schedule consisting of full-time hours with two consecutive days-off. When I am at work, I am focus on work. Off-days is time for taking care of basic needs. Having my basic needs met, like having time to do laundry, cook, sleep, etc. sets me up for success to be the best employee I can be. My colleagues need higher priority of also having a schedule where they too have enough time to take care of their basic needs. One day off a week is not enough time to take care of personal matters like doctors appointments, laundry, food, sleep, family/friends and other basic necessities. Even during most busy work days, employees do not get their legal ten minute break every four hours worked. We are great workers who do a good job when we have our basic needs met - like having a balanced work/life schedule. I understand staffing numbers can be difficult at mountain resorts. That is more reason to take care of the employees you currently do have. Thank you for your time reading this. I love working at Meadows and providing the community the best mountain experience. I especially love working among a team who cares to listen to each other (via this survey) and works towards setting each other up for success! Thank you!
All of the comments are appreciated; I would like to address the comment above which I relate to our wellness value. Wellness is taking care of oneself so you can consistently be and feel your best. I can certainly relate to working a 6+ day workweek; and I know that my effectiveness and focus starts to wane on day 6. Because… “If you want to give 100% you have to be 100%”!
I also relate the below message to the Meadows/Cooper Spur overarching ‘Perpetual Stoke’ strategy (IE: a great team environment = great guest service = positive financial return = more investment into the team environment and thus perpetual stoke).
For several years now, we have emphasized ‘a great team experience’ (first part of the perpetual stoke) and I am confident that we have improved the team environment, some examples include, increased staffing levels, higher wages, more transportation options, better internal processes, wellness activities and more. Managing the peak day demands to achieve a more sustainable work environment is another aspect we have addressed – and to some degree successfully.
Let me attempt to specifically address the comment of ‘allowing or providing teammates with more time off’ (paraphrasing). At the individual and department level, everyone should be empowered to speak up when they need a break. Yes, unfortunately, there are times of critical need given the seasonal surges in demand we experience – this is part of the business – and most businesses experience seasonality or high demand periods, but not typical of a mountain resort such as Meadows/Cooper Spur. Within your individual teams, I encourage you to speak up and talk about who needs time off, who has an appointment they need to take or who’s turn is it for a ride break. Ideally, we work as a team to share the heavy workloads. We should all be taking the temperature on the department “wellness” to help identify when someone might need a break. The simple offer to help has proven to be a morale boost IE: knowing that someone cares about you is motivating.
At the Company level, I realize there are opportunities to increase the wellness of our team members also. The biggest area of opportunity I see is retention of team members that align (or aspiring to align) with our collective values and mission. Those that are not aligned work against others personal wellness and make the task at hand that much harder. Retention, as I see it, can be improved through hands on coaching and expectation setting, recognition of a job well done, more housing options, more flexible transportation options and higher wages. These are the areas that your leadership team is focused on. It’s important to note there is progress in all facets, however, organizational wide changes take time. It can be difficult to see the progress -- similar to being able see the forest when you are in the trees. Feedback from the team, such as the comment above, helps me to stay focused on this challenge. I agree that happy and refreshed team members will allow our mission to “enrich lives” flourish!
-Jake Bolland
Not letting people who like to be around each other work together is just ridiculous. I'm jealous of couples who get to work together or even roommates who work together now because of this, way to show favoritism management. I'm a returner for several years and I will not be coming back again, that is even if I stay the whole season which is not likely. Also it's not just me, I've spoke with several other returnees who have came to me and we are all on the same page.
I am sorry that you feel that there is a perception of favoritism in the department. We have been working very hard to stamp this out this season. We also make an effort to not staff couples together when we are doing the staffing board in the morning. If this is happening, there is a chance that we are unaware that people are a couple. Now that we have introduced the staffing matrix for the season, I hope that this eliminates the perception of favoritism. When I created it a couple weeks ago, I picked people to work at lifts based on their training levels and riding ability. Personal relationships were not used as metric for creating this matrix. If I happened to put people together who had a personal connection other than work, this was not intentional. We are striving to create a professional and enriching work place and it sounds like there are some individuals who feel like we fell short. I invite you to come talk to one of the managers so that we can help make things better for everyone in the department.
-Cody Howe
I would like to get the core kitchen and/or the schuss a key to the warehouse cause it's not always easy to find the one guy working and usually he's already busy so I feel like it would just help us not run out of stuff we need to satisfy the guests.
Thanks for the suggestion! Understand that the warehouse is a secure area so access needs to be limited. That said, there are several steps we have taken this past week for our night culinary team to be able to do their tasks better:
1) The first is that the supervisors and leads from the day crew are doing a complete afternoon order to eliminate virtually all the needs for any emergency products at night.
2) The night warehouse person is very busy doing projects behind the scenes for Food and Beverage, which means they are not in the warehouse much more than they are in it. So, moving forward, this person is picking up a pager from the SCHUSS…if he is needed, you page him…and he will call or come to the core kitchen.
3) The MHM night manager, Jason Roberts now has been issued a warehouse key…so he can always get in if the above doesn’t work.
- Mark Fellows
I want to shout out Tash at concierge! She is very thoughtful and aware of her surroundings. She's always willing to help me out, even if it's something small or silly.
I was pretty disappointed last week on the day where there was only one morning bus uphill from Hood River. I know that a lot of thought goes into coordinating the bus schedules, but it isn't acceptable to make people stand or sit in the aisles of an already-crowded bus for an hour-long ride, especially on such a winding and hazardous road. There was one day last week where the aisle was completely full of people sitting on the ground because there were no seats. It's unsafe, and uncomfortable for everyone. If we are expected to stand on the buses, there should at least be overhead straps (like on city buses) for people to hang on to.