Montana businesses use winter outings as chance to bond, build morale

Members of the Great Falls Associaton of Realtors say ski trips to Showdown are handy for informal networking.

Every winter, 40 to 60 members of the Great Falls Realtors Association hop on a bus for a day of skiing and bonding.

By LAURA POLLAND
Tribune Staff Writer

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/20040211/localnews/393180.html

"It’s a great time for everyone to get together in the winter and enjoy the outdoor activities," said Theda Saulis, executive officer. "It pulls our association together to do events like this. Even people who don’t ski go for the social aspect of it."

Many employers cite winter recreation as a benefit of working in Montana. A handful of them take advantage of it to offer an unusual employee perk. Whether paid for by the company or not, held annually or as a special treat, company ski trips can bring a staff closer together while taking advantage of the region’s natural resources, say businesses who’ve done it.

Cogswell Agency held its first company ski trip as an incentive to increase sales. Every referral that turned into a sale earned the employee a certain number of points, said Dianne Hanson, vice president and agency manager of Cogswell Agency.

When some employees fell behind, others helped them find promising leads.

"Everyone wanted everyone to be able to go," she said.

The incentive trip eventually turned into a regular recreational retreat.

"We spend more time with our co-workers than we do our families," Hanson said. Socializing with co-workers can improve work relationships and even encourage lifelong friendships, she said.

Missoula-based Partners Creative is planning a long weekend of skiing for the women of the office, dubbed "Chicks on Sticks."

"All the girls here decided we want to go party together," said partner Susan Ash. This is the first purely social ski trip for the group, although they socialize together regularly and the company has had work retreats at Big Mountain before.

On the other end of the spectrum is Blue Cross Blue Shield with headquarters in Helena. With 600 employees many may never even meet in the normal course of work. Its annual ski day is a way to intermix across departments, said Trinda Smith, government and public relations specialist.

Ski trips are just one option for companies to enjoy recreation together.

Cogswell Agency took ski trips several years ago when that reflected staff tastes; more recent activities include fishing derbies and a staff and families camping trip as well as regular office parties.

"I think it creates a certain kind of company culture," Hanson said.

The Realtors association has a float trip in the summer, as well as picnics and Christmas parties. Blue Cross Blue Shield has basketball nights at Carroll College in Helena.

Companies also can combine business with pleasure.

Big Mountain Resort in Whitefish attracts people from all around the Pacific Northwest for winter work retreats and industry conferences, said Michael Moffitt, director of marketing and sales. "A group from Microsoft was just here," he said.

"They choose a spot where people can bring their families for a little recreation," said Dori Hamilton, senior sales manager for Grouse Mountain Lodge. The hotel in Whitefish, which has nine meeting rooms, holds about two midsize conferences a month.

She said the convention business is steady, but recreational company ski trips have been down. "With corporate America having tight times in the last couple of years, corporate ski trips have gone by the wayside," down to about three a season, she said.

Even in tight times, a ski excursion doesn’t have to break the bank.

Blue Cross Blue Shield doesn’t pay for any of the trip, just organizing it and creating an opportunity to use group discounts. While fitness and social activities are good for companies, the public might see it as extravagant if an insurance company paid for expensive employee perks, she said.

Affiliate members of the Great Falls Realtors Association help pay for things like the bus and food, Saulis said. Participants pay for their own lift tickets and rentals.

Cogswell Agency and Partners Creative both cover the major costs. "We’re willing to invest in our people that way," Ash said.

George Willett, owner and "chief product tester" at Showdown ski area, believes the rarity of company ski trips is less a question of economics than the lack of overnight amenities at Showdown.

Plus, not everyone wants to spend their weekends with co-workers.

"Great Falls is a tough town, a real independent town. (People) like to come and go at their leisure," Willett said.

Polland can be reached at (406) 771-9812 or via email at [email protected].