Boston Pizza focuses on community, diversity
As it celebrates 20 years of business in the valley, it’s fitting that Boston Pizza Drumheller was the only business this year to claim two Celebration of Excellence Awards at the ceremony in June.
BPs Drumheller was honoured with the Diversity Leadership Award and Large Business of the Year Award for their community involvement, their inclusive culture, and their focus on hiring, supporting, and training youth. Talking to BPs’ Heather Jones one can sense the pride and the team-focused attitude which is essential for any restaurant to succeed.
“It was a big boost for our whole team. You go through changes and daily struggles – the day-today operation of a restaurant is not easy,” she says, raffles and other fundraisers, and sponsors events such as hockey tournaments, festivals, fundraiser walks, and marathons. As Drumheller thrives on the summer’s tourism dollars to get through the winter months, Jones says being an active community member is essential to survive here.
As for diversity, BP focuses on hiring staff based on their values and personality. They are proud of the fact they have staff from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, from different sexualities, and have a focus on hiring and retaining youth as young as 13.
“I think the majority of youth come through here (to work) at some point. While some in business have been moving away from hiring youth with the minimum wage increase, we’ve gone the opposite,” Jones says, adding that because corporate wants franchises to shift away from traditional ways of operating a BPs restaurant to a more technology-based approach, older staff often learn a lot from the more tech-savvy teens working there. “Plus they bring a lot of fun and energy to work.”
Next year, the restaurant has its sights on winning the Community Involvement Award and will be focusing on upping their sponsorships of town events in the coming year.
Boston Pizza staff celebrate winning two Celebration of Excellence Awards in June.