Anyone who has ever wrestled with a new word-processing package, trying to figure out how to make characters bold or insert a table into their document, would agree that adequate training would have made their life easier.
But IT training in the travel industry – aside from a quick course on how to book flights on a GDS – is often low on the company priority list, and even seen as a waste of time and money.
Equinus partner and member of the Travel Technology Initiative Mike Cogan said: “Employers often see it as a drain on resources to have staff out of the office on a training course. In the travel industry, companies are sometimes reluctant to buy a computer, let alone splash-out on training. Typically employers believe that giving staff training will help them seek a job elsewhere.”
“Any funds directed towards training are an investment because it is sharpening the efficiency of an organisation.
“If people are left to their own devices to pick up a desktop package, they will take 18 months to get efficient. These packages are supposed to be intuitive, but they aren’t.”
The better you know your software packages, the more efficiently you will work, claimed senior partner at Genesys – The Travel Technology Consultancy Paul Richer.
“Staff can save time by automating more of their daily tasks if they know their software inside out,” he said.
“If you are typing letters all day long, and ending them with “Thank you very much for getting in touch with me,” there is an ‘Autotext’ feature in many packages that can type the sentence for you.”
According to Richer, training in a second desktop package, like Microsoft Access, could pay dividends for an agency.
“You could set up a database of clients and preferences. Once you’ve input the names and addresses, it can be simple to automatically send out mailshots to keep customers up to date with special offers – with the result of extra bookings,” he said.
“Agents are hard-pressed for time. If you are well trained in your software you can flick your way through screens in no time. Getting trained in shortcuts and extra features could save you up to 30mins a day. That is extra time to spend with clients or have a long lunch.”
Even if staff are proficient at using the global distribution systems, they can still benefit from taking their knowledge to the next level. Chameleon Training and Consulting general manager Shona Cooper said most agents just use a limited set of features on GDSs, and could earn more commission by learning new functions.
“We did research and found that less than 1% of air bookings on Galileo had hotel bookings attached, as agents see the GDSs as flight-only. We have been promoting RoomMaster training over the last few years and found that agencies have managed to boost their hotel bookings to 12% of air bookings as a direct result of our training course.”
However, not all training courses do what they claim in the blurb. Managers should vet potential courses carefully, as there are many companies keen to offer their services but few established, recognised training programmes.
“If you’ve identified a training organisation you’re thinking of using, ask the company to provide client references so you can ask how good the trainer was and how clear the support material is,” said Cogan. “After a course, check staff have applied their news skills and you are getting the benefits.”