What are the options when you are a small tourism operator who understands the value of having good HR practices but not the resources to develop and implement them? What if a group of operators had the opportunity to bring a team together to research, write and print a manual?

The BC ski industry did exactly that and the result has been the creation of a Human Resources Reference Guide, covering topics from planning, to recruitment and selection, training, compensation, recognition and performance management.

Like many other tourism operations in BC, many of the small ski hills do not have, and can not afford, a formal human resources department - yet they have expressed a need for some assistance in developing effective HR practices. This challenge was taken on the by the HR Committee of the Canada West Ski Areas Association (CWSAA), made up of representatives from eight of BC and Alberta's ski resorts and a representative from the Ski Resort Operations program at Selkirk College. The HR Committee was originally formed in 1995, "to promote the development and sharing of professional HR practices."

Volunteer representatives from Snow Valley, Whistler/Blackcomb, Lake Louise, Sunshine Village and Panorama Mountain Village each wrote one chapter of the manual. Bob Dodge of Selkirk College volunteered his time to organize and consolidate the information and one of the other members of the HR Committee desktop published it. CWSAA and Selkirk College covered the cost to have the guides printed so each CWSAA member received a copy free of charge. Due to this cooperation and determination the guide was completed in less than four months (January to April 2004).

However, producing the guide is only the first step. Using the guide to implement good HR practices is the main objective. As the next step, the HR Committee developed and delivered an Interviewing Skills Workshop based on the new guide at the annual CWSAA meeting in April. There are plans to add to the guide, including an Exit Interview and other useful forms. The committee also continues to hold workshops at subsequent annual meetings and they are developing a website that will include the Reference Guide and links to valuable HR sites.

When asked if they felt working together would take away some of their "competitive advantage," one of the operators stated, "We may be a little naïve, but we actually believe that by sharing and helping each other, we strengthen the industry as a whole and improve the reputation of the ski areas as being great places to work for a season or for a lifetime."