Dedication to its employees has netted Panorama Mountain Village an Employees First Award at B.C. Tourism’s yearly awards gala.

The award, given out by go2 (the provincial hospitality and human resources association) recognizes tourism employers that demonstrate exceptional standards of excellence in human resources and people management.

Panorama employs about 110 full-time staffers and another 350 seasonal workers.

CEO and president Rick Jensen said receiving the award, which has been given out annually since 2004, was an honour for Panorama. Creating a good experience for staff has, he added, long been part of the resort’s mandate.

“We realized immediately that to deliver the quality of guest experience we wanted, we needed to create a company culture committed to delivering exceptional experiences,” Jensen said. “The only way to build that culture is to invest in our employees creating both personal and professional growth.”

Examples of the practices that impressed judges include:

assisting staff in finding subsidized staff accommodation or contacts for private housing

free access to all resort amenities for staff, as well as discounts on food and beverage, retail and rental services

Panorama’s participation in a reciprocal discounted season pass program with 20 other mountains for its staff

departmental health amd safety training, which is also available online

ongoing employee recognition, as well as an annual dinner

Judges were also impressed with the resort’s high employee retention rate.

Approximately 60 per cent of seasonal employees return for a second season at Panorama, a 15 per cent improvement from four years ago.