Employers who looked after their staff throughout the Covid pandemic the best will thrive as travel companies look to recruit following widespread departures, says Miles Morgan
I’m not sure if the past two years could have been any more dramatic. First there was a global pandemic, and now we’re seemingly hovering on the brink of World War Three.
The pandemic has been painful for everyone in the travel industry in every way: financially, emotionally, mentally . . . I could go on. And the war has been tough to take for anyone with any ounce of compassion. It’s anxiety-inducing for all of us and a very tough thing to watch on the news each day. The outcome, of course, remains unknown.
And as if this weren’t already enough to deal with, our industry faces another challenge as we hunt for talented new workers. Some businesses are even struggling to recruit any new employees at all, regardless of knowledge and experience.
Many people have left travel. Some have been forced out by redundancy. Others simply lost the love for it as they started to find it all too challenging. It’s so sad. Travel agencies are finding recruitment a challenge and it’s the same story for tour operators. The impact is clear to see.
My teams are now finding that two-hour wait times for suppliers have become a frequent event, which only adds to the challenges faced with staffing levels. Many travel agents have taken to social media to rant about this subject and to ask suppliers why they are taking so long. The simple answer is that suppliers have not set out to cause delays but have just been struggling to recruit – and even when they do manage to get new people in, they need to train them up, which takes time.
Mind the gap
It will take a lot of time to fix a problem, which has built up over two years. In my opinion, ranting does not help, but using the tools available online where possible to self-help certainly does.
The increase in new homeworker “travel agents” with no experience is another issue. While it’s great there are new recruits joining the industry, they can clog the phone lines asking questions that experienced agents would already know.
It will be fascinating to see what suppliers do regarding this situation when they work out the cost of these new employees. When staffing is tight, productivity is key and this will no doubt hamper it.
The battle for quality staff will also no doubt bring to the fore the behaviour of employers, both good and bad. Those who have used staff as doormats and failed to nurture and love them over the years could well find that this behaviour comes back to bite them. They will struggle to attract while others are managing to recruit, and inclusive employers could well find that they have their day in the sun. You reap what you sow, after all.
Nurture good staff
I have long described my staff as the ‘Crown Jewels’ of my business. I very quickly realised that the best way to bring success was to recruit great people and, when you get them, to cherish them and treat them with respect and support them in every way you can.
This has been the case for the 15 years I have had the company and has never been truer than in the past two years. Keeping staff engaged and updated on what is happening in the business, celebrating success when you can (we had a party at my farm last summer) and simply ‘being there’ have all been vital over the past couple of years.
On the subject of hiring, we too are currently looking to attract new talent and we are getting applications. That’s because 15 years of genuine support of the Crown Jewels does not go unnoticed. I really feel that businesses like mine will thrive very quickly in the post-pandemic world, while others will pay for their behaviour.
Our industry is always one to watch but over the next 12 months, the gap between the winners and losers will widen – driven by those with the Crown Jewels and those without.