Highlighting Our Sustainability Commitment & Achievements

Recently, the Sustainability Council gathered for their quarterly meeting and underscored Guest Services’ commitment to green and sustainable initiatives. Here is a list of highlights from their discussion.

The Lodge at Wakulla Springs Community Presentation

Jesse Askew, General Manager at The Lodge at Wakulla Springs, was given the opportunity to present on the Lodge’s sustainability efforts for the Women’s Group of Tallahassee. Her presentation (which can be found here) details information on their environmental footprint, natural resource usage, waste production, energy usage, and many of the Guest Services strategies for maintaining green operations. The slides she created are an excellent template for other General Managers to build their own sustainability decks out. Awesome job, Jesse!

Sustainability Signage – Intranet Resources

Units can readily access and print materials that champion initiatives such as “cage-free eggs” and “skip the straw.” There is signage on the intranet as it relates to many of our sustainability initiatives. Go to Purchasing and scroll down to ‘Support Materials.’ Here, managers can print items for their unit!

Mt. Rainier Guest Services Team Eliminates Plastic Bag Usage

We’d like to extend our congratulations to the team at Mt. Rainier for successfully eliminating all plastic bags and instead offering a sustainable and branded bag option. The bags below are sold for $3.99 and are given to customers free of charge upon purchase of an item. They also have unit-specific facts about Mt. Rainier on the back! This is a great opportunity to be sustainable while also providing guests with fun memorabilia.

Culinary Innovations – Toward a Greener Menu

In collaboration with Guest Services executives, the culinary team is working on a review of all menus to ensure our commitment to plant base menu items. A representative from Mercy for Animals will be joining the Sustainability Council’s meeting next quarter to speak more about what our competitors are doing and how GSI can set ourselves apart.

Our team recently had the extraordinary opportunity to snowshoe with the Secretary of the Interior, the Governor of Washington State, the National Park Service Superintendent, the Deputy Superintendent, and many other influential stakeholders. It was an incredible opportunity for our team members to foster stronger relationships with Washington decision-makers.

Scaling for Success: Upgrading from PeopleSoft to Workday for Enhanced Efficiency and Modernization

Efficient internal systems are crucial for any company, regardless of its size. However, for a company with thousands of team members, the need for best-in-class systems becomes even more critical due to the scale and complexity of operations– especially in hospitality, a notoriously complex industry.

Streamlined workflow for employee onboarding, performance management, time tracking, and payroll processing can be automated, saving time and reducing errors. An efficient internal system facilitates better collaboration among employees across different departments and locations. It provides tools for effective communication, document sharing, and project management, enabling teams to work together seamlessly and analyze information and data in real-time.

As we grow, so does our need for more robust internal platforms. Which is why we are switching from PeopleSoft to Workday. Hear Dan Stoltzfus, Chief Financial Officer and project lead, discuss why this is a critical moment for the organization.

In comparison to PeopleSoft, Workday offers many advantages including, but not limited to:

• Modernization: PeopleSoft is an older enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, while Workday is a modern cloud-based ERP system. Upgrading to Workday can provide a more modern and user-friendly interface, with enhanced features and functionalities that align with current industry standards. PeopleSoft is also no longer supported by Oracle.
• Cloud-based Advantage: Workday is a cloud-based system, which offers benefits such as easier scalability, remote accessibility, automatic updates, and reduced infrastructure costs. It allows employees to access information and perform tasks from anywhere, using any device with internet connectivity.
• Integrated HR and Financial Management: Workday offers integrated modules for HR and financial management, which can lead to better data accuracy, process efficiency, and improved decision-making. It eliminates the need for manual data transfers and provides a holistic view of employee and financial data in one system.
• Continuous Innovation: Workday is known for its focus on continuous innovation and regular updates to its system. Upgrading to Workday ensures that a company can benefit from the latest features, functionalities, and security enhancements, without the need for extensive customizations or system maintenance.

“As we continue to grow as a business and win new contracts, without the necessary technology behind us, it will become very difficult for us to scale efficiently. We’ll begin to accrue avoidable costs. By implementing the right technology stack, we’ll be able to mitigate potential future costs, automate otherwise stressful and time-consuming processes, and really lock in modern best practices company-wide,” says Dan.

Overall, the transition to Workday represents a strategic move to modernize systems, improve data accessibility, streamline processes, and alleviate administrative burdens for the benefit of both the back office and field operators. We look forward to updating everyone as this project develops as we anticipate a Workday go-live in mid-2024.