Breaking the who-do-you-know cycle can shape the future of the travel industry

It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. 

Everyone has likely heard this at some point in their professional career. And many – maybe even you – have benefited from it.

Travel managers are diligently working through a long list of difficult questions as they plan their return to travel.

Which trips are justified in light of the ongoing pandemic? Which groups of employees should travel?

What extra precautions do they need to take? Which countries will we travel to and which should we avoid?

In their recently launched report, the Consultancy Festive Road shows its excellent Permissive and Purposeful Travel Frameworks to help guide travel managers in their decision-making.

Relationships – in our professional and personal lives – absolutely matter, there’s no doubt about that. And often, they breed successful leadership teams and businesses.

But what is the cost of relying too heavily on networks that we know and trust? What are the consequences for travel brands doing that now, as they attempt to build back from a devastating pandemic?

What we know is that the most diverse companies are now more likely than ever to outperform less diverse peers on profitability.

For travel brands that want to regain the ground they’ve lost, it’s critical that they’re intentional about making their businesses more diverse.

The problem is: It can be hard. It can be even harder for those travel brands spread impossibly thin.

Knowing someone doesn’t suggest that you’re going to get world-class talent.

Now more than ever, travel brands can’t settle for an easy, comfortable solution. There’s a massive opportunity to build back teams – particularly at the leadership level – that can position a company for a successful recovery.

Focusing on competence over experience when it comes to hiring. People are more comfortable looking at a candidate’s experience, but possessing specific competencies at the leadership level is absolutely essential.