Spotlight on the Tourism Vancouver Island Virtual Community Forums

In the summer, go2HR partnered with Tourism Vancouver Island to bring together specific businesses in the tourism and hospitality industry in community roundtables to discuss the challenges of operating through a pandemic.

The idea for the community roundtables stemmed from the BC Tourism Resiliency Program. Both Tourism Vancouver Island and go2HR saw the need to provide employers in specific sectors such as bed & breakfasts, hotels, outdoor guides, campgrounds and RVs, marine tourism, and arts & culture, a peer-to-peer forum around key challenges facing businesses with these sectors. Participants are invited to speak and share knowledge, and they also provided employers a chance to network and build a support group outside of their own communities.

Since July, go2HR has partnered and delivered on 12 virtual forums covering a wide range of topics including providing guidance and helping employers understand new provincial health orders, reviewing the practicality of safety plans, discussing specific scenarios and how to manage them, and much more. Panelists were invited to provide expert input and knowledge on a range of issues.

The virtual forums were limited to 10 to 12 pre-registered seats to keep discussions on track and manageable and were very well received by attendees and panelists. These community roundtables provided the go2HR team with valuable insights and gave us the foundation needed to provide personalized 1:1 follow up meetings to share and implement solutions.

As a result, employers were able to benefit from the whole package in one session. They were given the tools necessary to succeed in finance planning, marketing, health and safety, and human resource management. These forums allowed employers to meet with multiple experts in one session, rather than focusing primarily on one aspect of their business. It also allowed them to voice concerns and ask questions – which was a welcome break from listening to another PowerPoint presentation.

We hope to continue these community forums and expand them to other communities across British Columbia in 2021. If you have any questions about the BC Tourism Resiliency Program, or would like to speak to a go2HR Health & Safety expert, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at safety@go2hr.ca.