News & Resources
The latest Thompson Okanagan tourism industry news from TOTA, tourism businesses, and communities.
Early Bird Pricing Available for BC Tourism Industry Conference 2025
Early bird registration for the Tourism Industry Conference is now available.
Early bird rates are available until January 15, 2025, for the BC Tourism Industry Conference 2025.
Register for the conference on March 5-7, 2025 in Vancouver, BC.
White Spot Wins Award For Putting Employees and Workplace Safety First
go2HR
Source: go2HR
White Spot Limited has won the coveted 2020 Employees First Award, presented last night at the BC Tourism Industry Conference. The award is sponsored by go2HR, BC’s tourism human resource association, as part of the 2020 Tourism Industry Awards.
The Employees First Award recognizes a British Columbia tourism and hospitality industry employer that has upheld high standards of excellence in occupational health & safety and human resource management practices. BC’s own restaurant chain since 1928, White Spot ensures a positive and safe work environment across all of its locations, under a strong leadership team led by its President, Warren Erhart.
“We’re very proud to have received this recognition and thank go2HR for all the work that has gone into celebrating employers who put people first,” says Erhart. “It is an honour to be recognized in such stellar company.”
This year, the Employees First Award put an emphasis on nominees’ occupational health & safety practices. White Spot is the only restaurant chain in BC that has achieved and maintained the Certificate of Recognition (COR) certification since 2013. The organization has demonstrated to its employees their commitment to workplace safety, especially to its new and young workers, which make up a large portion of its team. Its health and safety program ensures that all employees are given the tools and training to perform their assigned tasks safely and effectively. The management team also constantly reviews claims statistics for further improvement, and it has shown positive results throughout the organization. In fact, for its most recent certification audit, White Spot scored an overall score of 93%.
“At a time when staff recruitment and retention is getting increasingly challenging, employers must consider all facets of their people management program, starting with providing a healthy and safe environment,” says Arlene Keis, go2HR’s CEO. “As a highly reputable organization in the hospitality sector, White Spot is leading by example in the area of occupational health and safety. Congratulations to Warren and his team for winning this well-deserved award, and we hope to see more restaurant operators participate in the COR program.”
This is the second time White Spot has received this prestigious award. In 2010, the restaurant group was recognized for its employee engagement program, including the first-of-its-kind, accredited in-house cook training program.
Learn more about the Employees First Award.
About go2HR
go2HR is BC’s tourism human resource association, responsible for playing a lead role in executing the BC Tourism Human Resources Strategy. Established in 1979, go2HR helps employers with their HR needs in areas such as occupational health & safety, customer service training, recruitment, retention and labour shortages, employment-related policy and legislation, and labour market research. go2HR also promotes jobs and careers in tourism, hosts the BC tourism job board, and helps businesses provide remarkable customer experiences through its signature SuperHost suite of training. For more information, visit www.go2hr.ca.
* High resolution photos available upon request. Download PDF version here.