Founder and Director of Australia’s largest independently owned travel management company, Gary Reichenberg, says weathering the Covid storm of the past two years will mean nothing if the industry can’t attract a high calibre of employees to help now in what could be the sector’s busiest period on record.
Reichenberg owns Connections Group, with over 100 staff around the country servicing all aspects of travel including business, leisure, meetings, events and incentive travel. He says his team is currently fielding an almost unprecedented level of inquiries across the company’s three market-leading brands: CT Connections; Executive Edge Travel and Totem Group.
Reichenberg made the decision early – when the impact of Covid was first realised – that there would be no redundancies or stand-downs on his watch, despite the significant financial, emotional, and personal cost. Despite unrelenting pressure and stress, he is happy that the right decision was made.
“The very fabric and DNA of Connections Group is our people – and this runs deep,” Reichenberg says.
The challenges of Covid have come at a cost. He lost some good people who transitioned to other industries that were deemed safe. Pleasingly, however, he has been able to retain his senior leadership team and a vast majority of his pre-Covid-19 workforce.
“I’ve since spoken to some of our past employees asking if they would like to come back and they’re just not ready to make that move in case there is another Covid strain,” he says.
“Now, with the volumes of enquiries we are experiencing, we need those people back.”
Gary Reichenberg, Connections Group
Reichenberg says the problem is twofold: The first is the uncertainty about whether there could be a return once more to travel restrictions and lockdowns. Personally, he doesn’t believe that will happen.
The second is financial. The travel industry has never been big on remuneration.
“People who have worked in the industry have known that and they’ve accepted that. But now some have had a taste of how much they can be paid working in other sectors and they’re making a conscious decision to continue to do that, even though they would prefer not to.”
Reichenberg says Covid has reaffirmed the company’s “people first” mantra.
“Our Employee Value Proposition says we ‘commit to providing an environment where staff feel SAFE, SECURE, VALUED, TRUSTED, EMPOWERED, and importantly NOT JUDGED’.
“I moved to Australia from South Africa when I was 18 and founded this company 21 years ago. I brought to the company an African saying called Ubuntu. Ubuntu is the very ethos that drives our business and underpins our decision making. Ubuntu talks to `humanity’ and is often translated to mean ‘I am, because of you’. Within the Connections Group, Ubuntu means ‘We are, because of each other’.
“We live by our purpose statement – that we enrich lives through human connection and the power of travel. Now we need more passionate people to help us achieve those goals.”
Edited by Peter Needham
