Manitoba's Top Employers

MANITOBA'S TOP 25 EMPLOYERS 2014 17 TRUE NORTH SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT True North shoots, scores, both on and off the ice By Jason Halstead For the Free Press In spite of rapid growth (doubling of staff between 2010 and 2011), massive change, and resulting challenging workload, the actual staff have remained consistent with very low turnover rates. With the exception of new positions required due to expansion, the entire True North senior management team has been in place since the opening of MTS Centre (2004), with the remainder of the staff reflecting similar longevity and loyalty. Facing the prospect of a work stoppage of unknown duration in its core NHL business operations in 2012, True North returned this loyalty by providing employees the certainty of no layoffs or compensation reductions due to the labor dispute, choosing instead to redeploy staff from areas with idle capacity to busier areas of the operation. Employees were transitioned into roles in retail sales, facility maintenance and operations, Iceplex operations and True North's charitable arm, the Winnipeg Jets True North Foundation. Born as the Manitoba Moose Yearling Foundation in 1996 and rebranded with the arrival of the NHL in 2011, the Founda- For the seventh consecutive year, True North Sports & Entertainment has been named one of Manitoba's Top Employers and a lot has changed for True North and its employees since initially being recognized in 2007. At the time, in the third year of operating the MTS Centre, and the 11th year of owning and operating the Manitoba Moose, True North was comfortably managing the state-of-the-art regional indoor sports and entertainment facility. In the intervening years, two of the organizational constants have been an engaged, stable employee base and a massive amount of organizational change. True North Vice President, People and Patron Services, Robert Thorsten suggests "we could not have successfully undertaken the amount of change we've seen in the past three years without such a dedicated and hard-working staff team." Organizational flux started in earnest in 2010, when True North completed and opened MTS Iceplex, a four sheet recreational hockey complex just west of Winnipeg. Then in May of 2011, True North acquired the NHL's Atlanta Thrashers and moved them to Winnipeg, reestablishing NHL Hockey in Winnipeg with the rebirth of the Winnipeg Jets. With the addition of new operations at MTS Iceplex, the transformation form AHL hockey to NHL, the transfer of the Manitoba Moose to St. John's, N.L. (the IceCaps), and the NHL work stoppage in 2012, the last three years in particular have seen tremenTrue North staff and management. dous change and growth. Submitted photo tion was experiencing a boom of its own in 2012. Previously, the Foundation had served exclusively as a public foundation, distributing over $4.2 million to Manitoba-based children's charities. In 2011, the Foundation began offering its own charitable programming as well, starting with The Winnipeg Jets Hockey Academy (WJHA). Led by WJHA Director Murray Cobb and spokesperson Zach Bogosian, and offering high level hockey and life lessons through schools to youth that might not otherwise have the opportunity to participate in hockey, WJHA had expanded from 125 students in 2011 to 450 in 2012. A part of True North's Mission is to collectively make a meaningful and consistent contribution to our community, and as part of their employment experience, True North staff and management are very active participants in Foundation activities, sitting on the Board, donating time and money in the annual staff giving campaign, and volunteering for various Foundation activities including the Hockey Academy. On Wednesday mornings each week from October through May, 40 True North staff and management volunteer to assist in on-ice instruction of two classes of students (grades 2-3 and 4-5). Working for a high profile organization whose primary business involves annually staging 140 world-class hockey and entertainment events certainly brings unique challenges, but it also offers some rare opportunities. True North employs many dedicated and equally loyal part-time event based staff who become the front line employees directly involved in event delivery and patron service at events. In addition, many of the permanent staff and management are required to be present, active and engaged at events to ensure event execution closely resembles the planned delivery. The fact that events almost always take place in the evenings and on weekends can lead to long hours and disjointed days. True North balances this requirement by providing flexibility in scheduling as well and encouraging employee attendance at MTS Centre events through priority access and discounted attendance tickets as well as providing healthy gourmet meals for staff that are required to work at events. Also in 2013, True North ramped up its Employee Wellness program, offering professional fitness assessments to all employees as well as follow-up fitness plans and professionally led group and individual fitness programs. As 2014 approaches, and True North looks forward to commencing its second decade of operating MTS Centre buoyed by confidence forged through overcoming past challenges and confident in the ability of its teams. PROUD TO BE NAMED ONE OF MANITOBA'S TOP 25 EMPLOYERS.

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