Keeping your team motivated when the pressure hits
Peak seasons can be stressful and it’s crucial for managers to step up. Jonathan Hull, head of sales at World Travel Market, sponsor of TTG’s Tomorrow’s Travel Leaders, shares tips on keeping staff motivated when the pressure hits.
The next three months are a busy time for the World Travel Market team as we work towards our flagship event, WTM London, in November.
There’s so much to do – it’s a similarly hectic environment to the peaks or late booking seasons for travel agents and tour operators, with a large volume of work, constant enquiries, email overload and looming deadlines.
Sometimes it can seem quite daunting; however, there are some simple measures that managers can take or suggest to staff to help make the busy period as stress-free as possible.
Plan time effectively
Multitasking might seem a great idea in theory but in reality it creates a lot of distractions. Try not to switch back and forth from one thing to another. This is easier said than done if you’re a busy travel agent as you never know when a customer is going to come through the door. If a client has a problem or a complicated booking, the natural reaction is to drop everything and take care of it. Scheduling an hour or so a day during a less busy time to handle any issues would be a much more time-effective solution.
Get quick and easy tasks out of the way
Many good managers subscribe to the rule that jobs that take two minutes or less to do should be done immediately. Letting small tasks pile up can create problems, blocking creativity and productivity. At the risk of contradicting the advice about emails below, “two-minute tasks” could include answering a quick question by email or returning a phone call.
Use email productively
Email is useful, but it does interfere with the smooth running of everyday business. It’s very easy to get distracted from the task in hand when a new email pings into your inbox. Use email in a productive way. Place anything unimportant into a separate folder to go through later. If something can be dealt with more quickly by having a chat on the phone or in person, choose that option.
Just dive in
There are always parts of the job that we’d prefer to do and other parts that we tend to put to the bottom of the pile. If there’s a task you don’t like doing, or a job you keep putting off, the best advice is to simply dive in and do it. Tell yourself you’ll fully concentrate for 15-20 minutes then re-assess the situation. You’ll probably find you’ve made good progress and can keep going.
Give your staff a break
During busy times it’s easy for staff to feel they’ll be frowned upon if they go for lunch or leave work before the clock strikes midnight. Being a martyr to the cause does nobody any good, so employers should always encourage their staff to take a break. A 10 to 15-minute walk out in the sunshine or time away from a computer screen does a world of good, recharging the brain and increasing productivity after returning.
Look after your team
Employees respond positively to gestures that show their hard work and extra hours are appreciated. Keep motivation up by providing food if they’re working late, such as a takeaway pizza, or bring in sandwiches one day a week. Book a yoga teacher at lunchtime to break up the busy day; or let staff work more flexible hours. The promise of something to look forward to once the busy period is over helps everyone keep focused. Once WTM London has wrapped up on the Wednesday evening, everyone takes the rest of the week off. Don’t forget to say thank you to everyone on a regular basis during the busy time.
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