How Can Your Agency Find, And Keep, Young Professionals?

The following is a column from Travel Market Report managing editor Andrew Sheivachman on the process behind finding, training and retaining young travel professionals.

Last week at the Travel MarketPlace conference in Toronto, I had the pleasure of moderating a panel discussion aimed at helping attendees learn more about the challenge of bringing young travel professionals into their agencies.

I expected many Canadian travel professionals to attend the panel, looking for tips and tricks geared toward attracting younger workers.

What I didn’t expect was to hear several attendees voice their frustration with former young employees who left their agency after just a few months—or potential employees who didn’t express an interest in the travel agent trade.

The lack of schools dedicated to training travel professionals, along with other current economic realities, has made it difficult for young people to even consider entering the travel trade.

Here’s a roundup of what the panelists had to say to agents who want to attract young professionals but have faced difficult challenges in finding a harmonious match.

Check your local universities
Several attendees said they had no idea where to even find qualified potential applicants for entry-level agency positions.

Online job sites are relatively unhelpful because most applicants seemed to have never truly considered a career in travel before.

Panelist Emma Daisley, business development manager for the Association of Canadian Travel Agencies (ACTA), shared her own journey from college student to travel industry employee. She studied travel and tourism in college and began an internship at ACTA during her studies.

She fit in so well at ACTA that they created a staff position for her five years ago. She remains in that post today.

Daisley encouraged agents to check their local universities and connect with young people studying travel, tourism, business or hospitality. And even if a local college doesn’t offer those areas of study, potential hires can be found at university job fairs.

Organizations like Young Travel Professionals and Millennials in Travel are also good places to start looking for a potential employee.

Young professionals crave education
Due to the lack of travel agent training now in universities, those who begin their career at a travel agency often face an uphill battle learning how to market, book and sell travel.

This complexity, however, offers agencies an opportunity to provide education that young professionals simply can’t find elsewhere.

Panelist Zach Vanasse, membership manager of Toronto’s Young Travel Professionals chapter, said that what drove him to a small travel marketing agency was the ability to learn about several different sides of the business simultaneously.

Suggest to potential young employees that their experience in an agency will teach them many facets of the travel industry and give them the ability to learn more about whatever there passion is.

A multidisciplinary approach raises a new hire’s chances of his or her niche and sticking around an organization.

It’s not (all) about the money
One attendee asked the panel what they should pay entry-level young professionals.

All panelists agreed that an attractive job opportunity has little to do with compensation. The job should provide ample opportunity for personal and professional growth.

If agencies want to retain young employees, however, they must pay a fair amount based on the work performed, especially if the employee helps generate revenue for the company.

Helen Leggett, a travel student at Seneca College, said that an opportunity for growth and experience is driving her job hunt. Salary, while important, is unlikely to be a deal breaker if she is in love with a potential job, she added.

Using unpaid interns, all panelists concurred, is a no-no. Interns will move into a paying position as soon as possible leaving an agency in the lurch.

Describe a culture, and experience
Most importantly, panelists encouraged agents to paint a picture of the company culture young professionals can become a part of.

Victoria Marsh, Latin America coordinator at Trufflepig Travel, said she loves her current company because of its friendly, familial culture.

A positive environment has allowed her to expand her role with the company and build strong relationships with her co-workers through company events and experiences.

Millennials, unlike baby boomers and Gen Xers, are reluctant to trust large corporations looking to recruit them.

That gives an edge to small, boutique agencies and other tour companies that can foster a more close-knit work culture.