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‘The community has to recognize this is a problem’

Businesses trace staffing shortfalls, lower standard of service back to housing shortage Despite a below average snow year, Whistler merchants report business was good this winter season – but for many it came at a price that may ultimately thre

Businesses trace staffing shortfalls, lower standard of service back to housing shortage

Despite a below average snow year, Whistler merchants report business was good this winter season – but for many it came at a price that may ultimately threaten the economic sustainability of the resort.

The numbers are not scientific and the evidence anecdotal but a Whistler Chamber of Commerce survey, showed that once again, resort businesses were understaffed.

Chamber president Bob Adams said some small businesses were down by as many as 10 employees during the season. This left some employers manning their own front lines 16 to 18 hours per day a day, often seven days a week, said Adams.

"I think it was quite a stressful year."

This was the second staffing survey done by the chamber. The previous winter respondents to the first survey indicated they were 421 employees short. There were fewer responses to the 2001 survey, which was done in late February, but the 150 chamber members who did reply, were between them, short 278 employees.

Most blamed a lack of affordable housing.

"And secondly, they said it was an affordability issue. Just living in Whistler in general was not affordable," noted Adams.

"I don’t think everybody fully recognizes the magnitude of this problem or how it might affect them," said Dave Davenport who owns several Whistler businesses and sits on Whistler’s Core Commercial Committee.

"The community has to recognize this is a problem and that it is important for the entire community to solve that problem."

Davenport said staffing is becoming more of a challenge for the business sector each year. One of the reasons is demographics. There are simply fewer 18-20 year olds in the industrialized world. Another possibility is there may be more jobs in Ontario and other parts of the country which are experiencing a strong economy.

But on a micro level, Davenport said he thinks the message is out that Whistler isn’t a fun place to work any more: There is a dearth of accommodation; the cost of living is high and the quality of life is low.

Marta Sutherland, the chamber’s employment centre co-ordinator, said the number of people walking through her doors has dropped significantly over previous years. Last January, for example, the employment centre saw 1,080 people walk in, compared to 619 in January 2001.

Not everyone who steps into the employment centre is looking for work but it is an indication that numbers have dropped off. Sutherland said the reason may be that Whistler’s large employers are using their own human resources departments for some aggressive recruiting and drawing down the employee pool.

This makes for tough competition for the smaller guys. Adams, who owns the Grocery Store, among other businesses, said he was consistently short two to four employees this winter. "We have become very competitive in terms of employee benefits and I think that should continue to help us but when you look at affordability, I don’t know if some of the smaller business can do that."

Adams said some survey respondents indicated they couldn’t afford to pay enough to attract staff.

He said chamber members don’t expect relief anytime soon now that council has nixed a potential rental housing project at Cheakamus North.

Davenport said the businesses community was "shocked" at council’s decision. "My shock is just so overwhelming that I am having to realize that not everybody is on the same page that I and my peers have been on for the last few years," he said. "Maybe I have been living with blinders on."

Adams said anyone who has done their research knows Whistler is in the range of 900 to 1,000 beds short. "As a board we were anxiously looking forward to having some input at the public forum for the (Cheakamus North) proposal we thought was coming on stream."

Restaurant owner John Grills said the Pemberton bus route has helped the situation but it doesn’t work for restaurant employees who knock off at midnight or 1 a.m.

"Overall, we have got to solve our own housing problems here. It’s nice to have transportation but people who have to work at five in the morning really want to live in Whistler and it is a big part of the community – people living here," he said. "We need one- and two-bedroom apartment style, rental accommodation," said Grills.

"People forget that the amount of employees we need in this town has also grown hugely in the last 18 to 24 months," noted Davenport. "There are just that many more business."

The new employers range from adventure tour operators to the Westin hotel, which came with big staffing needs and little employee accommodation.

"One of my problems with the employee housing discussion is what criteria we are using to determine need," Davenport said, noting there is overcrowding in the mountains’ staff housing. "And there are a couple of hundred people couch-surfing at any one time and the quality of the places these people live in – you have just got to drive one of those people home and see where they live, to say absolutely nothing of what they are paying to stay there."

The problem is, in turn, impacting the overall level of service and the guest experience in the resort. A lack of choice means some employers are lowering standards to meet needs.

"I have definitely had to lower my standards this year," noted Davenport. "I am not proud of the service I am offering compared to the service I offered two years ago."

Davenport said the community as a whole has to make some sacrifices to address the issue which he feels is threatening the economic sustainability of the resort.

"I think we have to recognize that there is going to have to be a compromise in all aspects, socially, environmentally, in order to maintain economic sustainability."

Davenport said people who are not directly impacted by the staffing challenges are missing the boat. "We are missing that link. It is not reflected in the political and bureaucratic operations we are seeing right now and we have to get that message across."