Investing in talent will help travel firms beat the recession
Thursday, 06 Feb, 2009
0
Travelmole.com Guest Comment by Martin Clarke, director, general management programmes, Cranfield School of Management
Most industries are being affected by the recession, but there are conflicting views on how much the travel industry will suffer.
One body of opinion argues that people will cut back on holiday spend and choose to go somewhere nearer to home to avoid flights and taxes.
The other camp will argue that people will choose to take advantage of the cheap deals on offer, and focus their spending on escaping the doom and gloom.
Irrespective of how your business is being affected, you will be under severe pressure to do more with less, while at the same time trying to maintain employee motivation and focus.
At times of threat organisations can turn inwards. Costs are slashed, innovation strangled, headcount reduced. Understandably this leads to widespread staff de-motivation. And often results in the most talented leaving the organisation or at the very least, fundamentally eroding loyalty to that organisation to the extent that they leave once the upturn begins.
So, what should organisations do? Simple: invest in their talent to ensure their best people continue to be developed in order to better cope with current challenges and in readiness for the return of better times.
Perhaps it is not surprising then to find that in a recent online survey we have undertaken at Cranfield to explore attitudes to training and development in recession, of 1,003 business managers, 46% had either received no management development or felt that what they had received was insufficient.
Furthermore, when asked what their organisation could do to retain their most talented employees to ensure they remain with the business, the joint second highest response, after strong reward and recognition structure (66%) was personal development/training opportunities (52%).
The travel industry however bucks this trend with 75% of employees questioned stating that they had received management training. Perhaps an industry that relies on its customer service and developing and retaining their customer base, understands the validity of personal and not just technical training.
Aside from the obvious reasons for continued investment in training and development there are some more subtle, deeper reasons why those organisations that do continue to invest will be the ones to emerge stronger when economic conditions improve.
The temptation to take quick, decisive action is huge when pressures press upon you. This is why it is so critical to carve out a little time – even just a few days can make a huge difference – to consider the best course of action both for the short and the long term health of the organisation.
Just look at some of the well known paradigm busting business models such as Southwest Airlines, shaking and shaping organisations with ideas borrowed from outside of those industry’s standard recipes.
For those enlightened companies in the travel industrywilling to learn from other industries and continue to innovate, there will be rich rewards.
However, such fundamental shifts in thinking will not happen unless managers and leaders are provided with an external, safe environment in which they can open up their thinking.
*For more information about any of our 49 open enrolment programmes please visit http://www.som.cranfield.ac.uk/som/executive/index.asp
Phil Davies
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Clearing CSS/JS assets' cache... Please wait until this notice disappears...
Updating... Please wait...
CCS Insight: eSIMs ready to take the travel world by storm
Germany new European Entry/Exit System limited to a single airport on October 12, 2025
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Air Mauritius reduces frequencies to Europe and Asia for the holiday season