The turbulent staffing challenges within travel and hospitality

July 19, 2021 | Contact Center Industry | Blog

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travel and hospitality staffing challenges

Staffing challenges within the travel & hospitality industry

A year and a half with minimal vacations and international travel. Is it any wonder that the travel & hospitality industry is struggling to hire enough people to meet this pent-up demand?

The June 2021 jobs reported hundreds of thousands of jobs within the industry have opened back up. While we’re all eager to travel again, hotels and airlines have been struggling to fill their open positions. The industry’s recovery is lagging behind initial expectations, a trend seen throughout many sectors as the U.S. job market struggles with a historic talent shortage.

Where are the workers?

Customer service jobs, in particular, are opening up at a rate faster than they are being filled.

Whether that be due to feelings of employment insecurity, lingering COVID anxiety, parenting commitments or an overall rethinking of expectations when it comes to full-time work. Additionally, companies are moving customer service agents to other positions to address hiring gaps and reduce churn in those positions. 

Over the last several years, there has been a shift in the mindset of the workforce. People are seeking more flexibility and autonomy to take control of their work-life balance. The 8-5 workday has lost its shine, and more people are seeking the opportunity to work when – and where – they want. The desire for remote and flexible work arrangements may have accelerated out of need during the COVID-19 pandemic and it doesn’t show signs of going away even as the country reopens..

 Hotels, airlines and those who support the travel and hospitality industry don’t have time to search for all the answers. Not while hundreds of flights are being cancelled due to labor shortages. Now that vacations are making a comeback, is your customer service team currently staffed and equipped to handle a rapidly growing number of calls? 

How a virtual flex model can address immediate CX needs 

The Virtual Flex models exist to address multiple challenges you are facing with your workforce, who have no doubt seen a fair share of work-related stress over these past few months. The Virtual Flex model isn’t a replacement for your workforce, rather it is a complement to your captive agents if your center isn’t operating at full capacity in a brick-and-mortar or work-from-home blended model.

Finding the right candidate for a job can take a long time. Onboarding and training, even longer. The Liveops Virtual Flex model manages those processes, helping enterprises quickly scale to meet the needs of their business. With Liveops, enterprise clients have access to an existing nationwide network of virtual agents with more experience than agents in traditional contact centers.

At the end of the day, all you want is to keep your customers happy and trust your services. And as we are all painfully aware, long wait times and unexpected cancellations can test the limits of even the most patient of people. Highly-trained, motivated independent agents are available for 24/7 customer service, ensuring that your customers still feel as though they are your top priority. 

Learn more about the benefits of the Virtual Flex model.

 

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Phillip Krohn

Phil is a Director of Client Development at Liveops, connecting enterprises to scalable solutions for customer service. He has experience in a variety of verticals, including travel & hospitality and healthcare.

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