Lost Island Waterpark provides fun water rides and activities that are enjoyed by anyone from young children to extreme daredevils and everyone in-between. Even staff get to enjoy the waterpark with a supportive company culture and fun atmosphere that provides skills necessary to grow into outstanding adults.
Diving Into the Values at Lost Island Waterpark
The family-owned and operated waterpark is going on it's 20th season of offering a wide variety of water rides and activities for guests and staff members to enjoy, including mini-golf and go-karting. What's more is staff members get a free season pass, so even on their days off they're coming into work.
The goal of the park is to provide skills that prepare staff for their future. From learning to provide great customer service to providing a safe, fun environment, the skills employees learn while maintaining the waterpark help many of them to go on to become doctors and lawyers.
Zippia spoke with Operations Manager Matt Nieman about why staff at the waterpark keep coming back for more.
Life's a Beach
And So Are the Benefits
At Lost Island, they like to embrace the island mentality. So is it any surprise there's a beach at the campgrounds? No. And again, it's no surprise they use it to reward staff members. "We push ourselves to provide outstanding experiences for not only our guests, but our staff as well. So that means we have monthly staff nights," Nieman said.
At the beginning of the summer, the first staff night is a big get-together at the beach. Everyone hangs out around the bonfire cooking s'mores and hot dogs. The night also includes sand volleyball, swimming, paddleboards, paddle boats and kayaks. "Basically anything you would want to do on a beach, we provide that evening for our staff," Nieman said.
Other staff nights include renting out restaurants for karaoke and after-hour waterpark events. Nieman said, "We really make sure we're relaying how thankful we are for the staff to be able to operate as we do."
Staff also enjoys a free season pass during their employment. And while they're on-the-clock (or even just playing) they can enjoy discounted food and beverage items.
Inclusive Work Environment
Where All Ideas Are Considered
"We give the opportunity to work for a company that truly takes employee recommendations to heart," Nieman said. The staff members aren't just considered staff. "They kind of buy into the waterpark. They have the opportunity to make recommendations directly to management and ownership on things they think we should be doing," he said.
Often times those recommendations are implemented throughout the park."Our staff is what has allowed us to grow. We've developed so many ideas from them," Nieman said. You can tell management is grateful for those suggestions as it credits the staff for why the waterpark is what it is today.
The staff assists in attractions at the park as well as the day-to-day operations. So if they see something that is a concern, a potential revenue stream or a better guest experience, they have the opportunity to present it to management. Nieman said an example of a past idea was how to streamline guests entering the park to make sure the guest experience wasn't infringed upon with a long line.
"We're going to push our staff to grow and succeed," Nieman said. "We get to watch our kids go out and do some really cool things with the skills we've taught them. They come back to the park to explain how happy they are that they received those skills they could grow on and do bigger and better things."
Making An Environmental Splash
A Culture Built on Keeping Straws Away From Sea Turtles
Since the waterpark is an outdoor environment with an island mentality, the company understands there's a real crisis right now with plastic pollution around the world. This is yet another example of how staff can have an impact at the waterpark.
"Between our staff and management, we decided it was something we wanted to help with, even if it meant it was going to cost us a little more money or produce a little more work from our end," Nieman said. "We wanted to make sure we were doing our part to reduce our impact." So far, the company has removed plastic straws, lids, containers for condiments and cups for beer.
The waterpark's progressive mentality toward saving the Earth is something that attracts most job seekers. If they care that much about saving the environment for all of humankind, you know they make their employees a top priority.
