Severe air travel disruption caused by post-Covid shortages of airline and airport staff have made headline news in the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany and other European countries in recent weeks. Behind the scenes, travel management companies also continue to be afflicted by critical under-staffing that has persisted since autumn 2021.
“There is little sign of the problem easing,” says Lynne Griffiths, CEO of specialist business travel recruitment company Sirius Talent Solutions. “Those that are going to return to the industry have returned, yet there is still a massive shortage of travel consultants and other roles. If I had 400 travel consultants making themselves available today, I could find roles for all of them.”
Two travel managers interviewed about their TMC struggles by BTN Europe last October confirmed difficulties remain eight months later. “Our TMC has got more staff but they are very inexperienced,” says Mary (not her real name to avoid singling out her TMC).
“It’s almost back to the drawing board. We are having to lead them whereas it’s ingrained within experienced consultants. Because travel is picking up hugely, I don’t have time for the delays this is causing and it’s becoming frustrating. I’ve told my account manager they need to give more training.”
Mary says some of the new recruits simply aren’t able enough for the job, whereas those who do have potential are being rushed into manning phones before they have been trained adequately.
Paul (also a pseudonym) is seeing some improvement in the UK but is now experiencing recruitment struggles in regions as widespread as the US, India and the Middle East. Paul notes added volatility among senior travel consultants because of an epidemic of poaching by TMCs of experienced professionals.
“Volatility” is a word also used by Emma Gregory, co-founder of Urbanberry, another corporate travel recruitment specialist, but in her case as the consequence of exceptionally high levels of TMC re-tendering by clients during lockdown. Coupled with this, says Gregory, “the industry wasn’t expecting demand to come back quite so heavily,” making it very difficult for TMC leaders to plan how many staff they need.
The Business Travel Association, which says its TMC members handle more than 90 per cent of all managed travel bookings in the UK, estimates that total TMC employee numbers (in other words not only frontline consultants) are currently 20 per cent lower than pre-pandemic. CEO Clive Wratten says “That’s roughly were they feel they need to be,” although he acknowledges “there is still a shortage of front-line staff.”
Wratten says additional factors are stretching the consultants who are in post, not least being that bookings continue to be amended more frequently than they were pre-pandemic. Ironically, one of the main causes of consultants having to make those changes is the cancellations and delays to flights resulting from workforce shortages elsewhere in the travel sector.
In spite of these pressures, Gregory says clients are no longer accepting TMCs underperforming their service level agreements. “They were more understanding during the pandemic but now they are expecting service to be back to the way it was before,” she says.
Such criticism may prove counter-productive. “Consultants are getting very stressed and they aren’t seeing an end in sight,” says Gregory, who fears some may quit as a result. “Those who have worked the last six months are getting burned out and they aren’t giving the best view of the job to other people [who might be interested in joining].”
Another source of stress to consultants, according to Gregory, is perceived employer rigidity about when and where they must work now the pandemic has eased. “Getting anyone back in the office five days a week has become nearly impossible,” she says.
“Pre-Covid, people in travel never considered leaving the sector but now they are seeing other industries work in other ways and don’t understand why the travel industry won’t do that. The culture has to change. Money is a factor but flexibility above all is the issue. Putting kids into breakfast and after-school clubs costs a fortune.”
Wratten and Griffiths both say employers have learned to show more flexibility, but allowing consultants to work from home does create additional challenges for TMCs, and consequently their clients. One is the increased cost for TMCs of providing not only IT hardware for remote workers but IT support as well – a department where there is yet another recruitment shortage.
Another problem is that home working sets back further the training so sorely needed for new staff. “If everyone is working from home, how are TMCs going to mix existing with new travel consultants?” asks Mary the travel manager. “It’s hugely important for them to be together. You learn a lot quicker if you sit next to a senior consultant.”
Griffiths agrees and adds: “Apprentices and others looking to join the industry can’t go in for work experience if there’s no one there, and it’s right that TMCs want to protect the company culture.”
Another response from TMCs to the consultancy shortage could also have consequences for corporate clients: wage inflation. Griffiths says salaries are 10-20 per cent higher, and in certain cases as much as 30 per cent higher, than pre-Covid. New employees are also demanding more generous terms and conditions, such as free medical insurance kicking in at an earlier stage of employment.
It is very likely therefore that fees are “a conversation TMCs are going to have with their clients,” says Griffiths. But that idea receives short shrift from Mary, a former TMC consultant herself. She believes the problem is TMCs failing to share revenues adequately with frontline staff. “My fees are very high, yet travel is one of the worst-paid sectors,” she says. “Consultants have learned that their skills are transferable, so a lot have moved to other sectors.”
Paul is wary of the threat of fee inflation and is contemplating remedies. One is shifting more bookings online; another is moving some of his TMC tasks offshore to countries suich as India, though he is cautious about compromising traveller service.
TMCs are also looking to technology to improve efficiency, such as automated rebooking tools. Meanwhile, work goes on to attract new talent, including increased liaison with colleges and local communities and those with transferable skills in other sectors.
Inevitably, such efforts will take time to bear fruit. For now, says Wratten, it’s important for TMCs and clients to communicate transparently and promptly to work through the labour difficulties. “Talk to your TMC to understand its position. Don’t wait for a problem,” he says.