Key findings of a Chamber of Commerce survey show that the majority of Squamish businesses believe a lot of work needs to be done for the town to make an impact on visitors passing through during the Olympics. And they fear a labour shortage.
"Part of having good customer service is having adequate staffing," said Chamber executive director Tom Abbott. "A number of our members have identified to the Chamber that they have, or anticipate having a labour shortage. So we need to work with the district and other organizations to develop solutions to increase the workforce."
On June 15 the Chamber sent out a survey entitled "2010 and your Business" and asked for business owners' input in order to help develop a focused strategy "that all businesses can rally around." The Chamber received 84 responses that showed "overwhelming" support for the Squamish Chamber 2020 Group who's mission statement reads: "to represent the business community by providing a voice, encouraging excellence and identifying potential benefits and opportunities of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games that support long-term economic growth and encourages lasting Olympic legacies."
For that to work, the town's customer service and sales skills need to be honed, and business owners believe the Chamber should take the lead.
"There was an overwhelming support for the Chamber to take a lead role in implementing a community-wide customer service program," said Abbott. "So the Chamber has already initiated meetings with the BC Centre for Tourism innovation and Leadership as well as Cap College, and we're going to be looking at developing a customer service training program." While more and more tourism programs are cropping up through Cap College and related institutions, the Chamber is still not assured that Squamish will have the amount of people needed to service visitors.
"We still need more people," said Abbott.
In another move popular with businesses, the 2020 Group is attempting to identify opportunities to host sporting, cultural and community events related to the Olympics by establishing a relationship with Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) the 2010 Commerce Centre and other Spirit of BC community committees.
"We say the 2020 Group has a 2010 focus with 20/20 vision," said Abbott.
The Squamish Chamber of Commerce 2020 Group will host an information meeting early this fall to begin developing a strategy to help businesses prepare for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
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