Company culture is the biggest draw when it comes to staff retention, according to speakers at Travel Weekly’s People Summit.
Hays Travel boss Irene Hays said staff loyalty in the travel sector came from having a strong company culture in which employees feel valued and have fun.
The company is known for its annual staff garden parties and is currently running a monthly Big Hays Travel Thank You, but she said other smaller events were held internally, including fancy dress parties and fun treats for staff.
“I do Jelly Baby awards on Friday afternoons,” she said, adding: “If I hear someone has done something really well and gone above and beyond I give them some Jelly Babies. We know 87% of people would rather get a thank you from their line manager than a badge or an award,” she said.
She said the company treated its staff “with dignity and respect”, adding: “People will stay for love. I know I don’t need to tell these people what is expected of them. We pay respect, we don’t patronise.”
USAirtours chief executive Guy Novik agreed employee engagement was critical to staff retention.
He said: “Employee engagement is the glue that will separate the average employer from the exceptional employer. If you retain staff, performance will go up. Culture is a massive part of that engagement.”
He urged firms to get “an outside view” and pay for an external consultant to assess a company’s culture, particularly if staff are working remotely.
“Employee engagement becomes every more important when you have staff working from home. That sense of connectedness becomes more challenging and you have to put more time and effort into that type of communication. Staff need to know you still recognise them.”
Royal Caribbean International’ vice-president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Ben Bouldin said companies were starting to bring the “fun” back to travel.
“We are starting to do the things we used to do. Brands are trying to make sure we bring that fun factor back. We want people to understand how fun travel is,” he said.