Lost in isolation, the need to restore culture is key to corporate recovery
RESTORING company culture is one of the biggest challenges facing travel organisations as employees return to the office. Speaking during WIT’s “Asia Arising” forum, “Lessons from the Front” panel, Bertrand Saillet, managing director Asia, FCM Travel, said many employees had been apart for two years because of the pandemic, projects had been delayed, sales team had not been working together, or had not been trained.
“We talk about the Great Resignation, and it’s pretty obvious, the reason people are not adhering to company culture any more is that they are not seeing each other.”
Bertrand Saillet: “It’s pretty obvious, the reason people are not adhering to company culture any more is that they are not seeing each other.” Which is why Flight Centre is bringing back its Global Ball to Las Vegas.
Saillet said companies needed to get people together again, “to give them a sense of belonging, to give them a purpose for working together.”
Doris Goh, recently-appointed VP Commercial, Como Hotels and Resorts, said than the pandemic had been a difficult time to retain staff in the travel industry – some had succumbed to poaching by rival organisations – and it was now time to bring teams together to show them that “the grass is not always greener on the other side”.
She said “passion and team spirit” were keys for companies to return strongly after the pandemic.
“In COMO Hotels and Resorts, I had a perfect landing. I came into an organisation with good people, great structure.”
Both Goh and Saillet agreed that travel momentum is picking up quickly, but time was short to restore team spirit and galvanise work forces after two years of pandemic-induced disruption.
Saillet said MICE is leading the resurgence in Flight Centre business, most noticeably with corporate travellers heading to Europe, Australia, and the United States. Asia was lagging other parts of the world, especially in locked down China and Japan, but Saillet expects the recovery in Asia to gather momentum as countries in open their borders.
FCM had agonised over whether to go ahead with its annual conference for top performing staff, Global Ball, [it was due to take place in Singapore but was switched to Las Vegas due to the uncertainty of travel restrictions in Asia].
Saillet said the decision to proceed with the conference was based on the need to get people back together. “It was essential because, again, it comes back to our culture. The culture of performance, entrepreneurship, and getting people rewarded for their hard work, particularly in times like now, where they’re working crazy hours to deliver the service to our customers.
“We believe that this is the right time to come back to this level of excellence and reward. So Global Ball is back.”
The value of reuniting people through face-to-face meetings has already been highlighted by Marina Bay Sands’ hosting of the Asia Pacific Maritime, the first MBS trade show affected by the pandemic two years ago.
“When the show opened this year friends in the maritime industry were almost crying as they met up again. They were really touched by being able to meet face-to-face again and share human connection,” said Ong Wee Min, vice president MICE, Marina Bay Sands.
Ong believes hybrid meetings will operate in a different way as the MICE sector moves forward. “People will meet up once a year face-to-face, and virtualisation will happen before and after the event to allow people to collaborate, share experiences and transfer knowledge. I believe that‘s going to be the trend.”
More from WIT’s Asia Arising Forum
Doris Goh: “Not only for their own pleasure and bleisure, but to make up for all the suffering caused by the pandemic.”
Tapping into empathy of travellers
Doris Goh, VP Commercial, Como Hotels and Resorts, says travellers are not only staying longer and spending more, they want to do more to help the local community. “Not only for their own pleasure and bleisure, but to make up for all the suffering caused by the pandemic.”
Como the Treasury in Perth, Western Australia, offered accommodation gift cards at the height of the pandemic and was amazed by the response. “Revenue shot through the roof, we never had a response like it,” said Goh.
“Revenue was in the millions? Just from gift cards, and within four months.”
She said while it was heartening to have consumers right on the doorstep, the key was finding ways to cater to them.
Ong Wee Min: “When the show opened this year friends in the maritime industry were almost crying as they met up again.”
Sustainability in the forefront
Ong Wee Min, vice president MICE, Marina Bay Sands, said that pre-Covid many corporations treated sustainability as a box-ticking exercise.
“But, as we recover from the pandemic, we are seeing a lot of corporate companies pushing sustainability to the forefront and asking questions. Are you doing this? Are you doing that? Are you carbon neutral? How are you supporting sustainable fisheries, and sustainable food sources?
“Thankfully, we started this sustainable journey in 2015, way before everyone else. In August 2020, we became the first carbon neutral MICE facility in the region, which is important for us because it helps our clients to serve the community in a more responsible manner.”
* Watch the full panel conversation here.
