| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 15/05/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 60 |
| Copyright: Other |
Home truths put work in its place
Home truths put work in its place
Home truths put work in its place
Working from home may sound like an ideal option but it does have its drawbacks. Kerry Webb reports
Ever imagined what it would be like to work from home? No alarm clocks dragging you out of bed, no need to get dressed up in suits or uniforms each day, be able to take time off when you want to go shopping or laze in front of the television.Unfortunately, this vision is not the reality, and as anyone who runs a successful business from home will tell you, the working day can be far more frantic and long than if you were working in a travel agency.
Lisa Hillyard from Northampton, has been working from home for Travel Counsellors for the last 18 months. She starts her working day at 7.30am. “I start early so I can get some administration done because from 9am the phone just does not stop ringing,” she said.
“Each day I write a ‘to do’ list and it always fills an A4 sheet; in two days I can easily get 80 e-mails. I could work through the whole day without stopping, – I have to force myself to take a break.”
Occasionally, Hillyard works evenings when she visits clients in their homes and working a six-day week is not unusual. “I have got some business clients, in which case I deal with them between nine and five,” said Hillyard. “However, I mainly deal with leisure sales and meet up with clients when they are not in work.”
Working for yourself means that Hillyard’s remit no longer simply constitutes selling travel. Travel Counsellors, which is ABTAbonded, is very strict on cash and cheques being banked on the day or the day after they are received, so handling accounts is an additional responsibility, as is advertising and marketing.
Since all travel counsellors are responsible for generating their own leads, unlike on-line consultants who are fed Teletext leads from the Travel Counsellors’ head office in Manchester, being able to network within the local community is the key to building a stableportfolio.
“When I first started, I felt guilty if I went to the hairdressers during the day, but now I make a point of popping in just to say hello because it is amazing how many leads I get from there,” said Hillyard. “Business mainly comes through word of mouth – especially if you look after your customers – but I also advertise in the local paper.”
Being proactive is just one of the qualities required to make a success of working from home. Equally important is self-motivation, being outgoing, organised and having the ability to work alone.
Travel Counsellors head of recruitment, Christine Power, said loneliness can be the biggest obstacle for on-line consultants, as there is no face-to-face customer contact since all work is done over the phone.
“Staff turnover tends to be higher for the on-line consultants. Some people miss the social aspect too much or simply do not realise how much work is involved,” she said.
Head office arranges year-round social events for the counsellors, including weekend trips abroad to reward and offer incentives.
Although commuting and office politics are no longer an issue, just because people work from home does not mean the actual work is any easier warned Power. “This is a serious career move. All counsellors must have had at least two years experience in an ABTA retail agency in the last five years. Part-time workers are not suitable – it is a full-time commitment.
“Also it is not a way of avoiding child-care costs. You cannot do a good job with a screaming child in the room.”
If all this sounds like hard work, then it’s comforting to know that the average salary of a travel counsellor is £20,000 – much higher than the industry average.
“My only regret is I didn’t do it earlier,” said Hillyard.
Easy life? Homeworking is a full-time endeavour
Stop clock: working from home may not mean an end to being a slave to the alarm