Travel companies that treat outgoing staff members “fairly” have a stronger chance of welcoming back the same employees in the future, according to recruitment firm C&M.
Delegates at Travel Weekly’s People Summit on Monday (November 14) were warned that bosses would be judged on how they handled staff exits.
Accord Marketing chief executive Sally Winfield, speaking as part of panel discussion on attracting and retaining talent, said: “We had one person who we made redundant and four people that left that came back. They are the best advertisement that we could have ever of asked for.
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“It’s important how you treat people whether they are coming or going.”
Fellow panellists Travlaw partner Ami Naru and Barbara Kolosinska, C&M Recruitment managing director, noted how “traditionally” people have tended to stay within the sector, boosting chances of them being re-employed by their old company.
Kolosinska added: “The likelihood is we’re so incestuous you’re going to cross paths again in the future.
“Treat people how you want to be treated. Treat people fairly and nicely and they might come back – always keep that door open.”
She also revealed three staff members that had been made redundant were now working again at C&M.
Earlier USAirtours chief executive Guy Novik, who confirmed one person had rejoined his firm four times in the last 25 years, stressed the “biggest source of new staff has always been staff recommendation” in a separate session.
To illustrate her point on staff treatment, Naru revealed how an unnamed legal firm snooped on staff using heat sensors to determine how much time they were working at home.
From left: Sally Winfield, Barbara Kolosinka, and Ami Naru
“If you treat people like children, they are going to act like children,” she added.
Kolosinska conceded that was “a huge lack of talent” applying for travel industry jobs, adding: “The recruitment world has changed significantly. People want the good jobs in other sectors.”
She explained applicants would look at the websites of the companies they are hoping to join and identify the firm’s overarching message.
“The brand’s message is absolutely critical,” she said, adding: “As an employer you will be interviewed.”
Winfield confirmed job seekers would look at Instagram, Facebook and company review site Glassdoor as they hunted for new roles.
She added that applicants would not consider firms which had a review rating lower than 2.9. “It’s about the visibility of that [employer’s] reputation,” she said.
“Around 70% of candidates said they would not consider applying for a role at a company if the company was not seen as an inspirational brand.”
Naru said there was “a difference” between what employers and employees wanted. “Twenty years ago, it was how high do you want me to jump, now interviewees are asking what is your policy on diversity,” she added.
Winfield added that “hyper-flexible” companies that were allowing staff to stay at home for all but five days of the month were having to “dial back”.
“The problem is nobody goes in more than that but expectation from the board is that they should be going into the office three times a week,” she explained.