The issue was one of several raised during C&M Travel Recruitment and C&M Executive Recruitment’s Fit to Employ webinar on Wednesday (30 March).
C&M director Barbara Kolosinska, HR and talent professional Claire Steiner and Travlaw partner head Ami Naru agreed the year ahead would be one of the most hectic ever following another busy month for recruitment.
Kolosinska said the rate of candidates entering the job market was not keeping up with the rate of vacancies being created.
“I’ve never known it so busy," she said. "It’s the busiest time in travel. We’ve more travel vacancies in March 2022 than in any month over the past 10 years.
"The number of new travel candidates is not rising at the same pace as vacancies. There’s a huge disparity, and I see this continuing for 18 months to two years. We need to be creative and broaden what we’re looking at.”
Travlaw partner Ami Naru, meanwhile, said travel companies needed to make sure their employment contracts were “fit for purpose” and tailored to the current jobs market.
She urged firms not to use contracts pre-dating the pandemic, and also advised them to make sure their contracts afforded them sufficient protection as working conditions and practices continue to change during the Covid era.
"Protect your business if staff are going to leave," said Naru, alluding to the so-called "great resignation" the trio leading the webinar predicted in an earlier session.
"The contract should cover when an employee can go and work somewhere else, and who they can go and work for in terms of competitors.
"In terms of your data, think about how you can protect your database so outgoing employees don’t pick it up and take it to the competition.”
’Get ahead of the curve’
With businesses looking to retain staff where possible, Naru said companies needed to “be ahead of the curve” in terms of their employment policies – and the benefits and perks they offer employees.
She highlighted "the right to switch off" as an example. "Say, ’we will not be contacting you outside of working hours’," she said. "There will be candidates who are burnt out, [who have been] on furlough and are looking for that reprieve.
“Talk about the right to request to work flexibly. For most businesses, this only kicks in after six months – but why not be ahead of the curve and ask for that from day one?"
