How to Hire: The Travel Agency’s Ultimate Guide to Hiring

After many long months, travel is undeniably regaining its momentum. For most agencies, that will mean the relief of returning staff; for many others, new hires are on the horizon to help build back even better businesses. Here, “Coach Martin” Mussey, business development and education manager with Nexion Travel Group, weighs in on how to develop a hiring plan for your agency — from deciding the right time to hire and how to write a job description to interviewing and onboarding.

How do you decide when it’s the right time to make a new hire?

MUSSEY: To me, this is a math equation and not an emotional one. So many people make emotional decisions: They might take the leap because they feel busy and want some relief from the work, but they haven’t put pencil to paper to really know if they can afford it. Work out your financial goals in terms of you first: What do you want to make a month, or a year? What do you need to make? Take care of yourself first. Only once you have a clear dollar figure in mind and have met that can you move on to thinking about adding another independent contractor or employee.   

When writing a job description, what are some important things to keep in mind?

Mussey: There are two areas that a business owner should keep in mind:

1. Use clear and concise language about what the role entails, along with prerequisite skills that are required or desired.
2. Write a description with the culture of your company in mind so that you attract the right candidate. Do you want to be viewed as stuffy taskmasters or do you have a fun, inclusive and open culture?

What are best practices (including Diversity, Equity and Inclusion [DEI] considerations) when it comes to recruiting?

Mussey: Apply some big-business thinking to your smaller practice. Do you need to get super complex if you are a company of one or a small agency of 10-20? Not necessarily, but you do need to pay attention to a couple of things.

First, consider placing your job opening in different places online that serve a variety of communities [see sidebar for specific recommendations]. Second, look within your own community, right where you live, to see if there are organizations that serve the underrepresented. Give yourself the chance to hire people who are not just like you. Diversity in all of its forms makes for a better company.  

Are there some general qualities that make for a successful travel advisor, or does it vary from role to role?

Mussey: In my experience, it can vary depending on the role. Are you hiring a travel advisor or an administrative person for your business? Great advisors come from so many walks of life: teachers, nurses, career military, etc. One of the best qualities is having a strong “why” for getting into this business. It’s different for everyone, but those who have a strong “why” tend to fare better. After that, it’s about bringing all of your past personal and professional experiences to the table and putting them to use. Oh, and asking good, open-ended questions that invite conversation and exploration.

What should the interview process look like?

Mussey: The interview process can be one to three steps, depending on the size of your organization. Typical steps include resume screening, then phone screening for basic qualifications plus fit, and finally a face-to-face interview with top candidates.

Try to structure questions that ask candidates to speak to what they have done and not what they would do. Past behavior is the best determinant of future success. One good behavioral question leads to follow-up questions that will help open up conversation and provide a better sense of the person. In the interest of fairness, be sure to preplan your core interview questions and ask the same basic questions of all candidates; your follow-up conversational questions can be more flexible.

Any tips for determining the best candidate?

Mussey: One tip that I can give on this subject is to use a simple matrix scoring system of 1, 2 or 3 for each question, with 3 being the best. If one question should be weighted more, add a multiplier for those so it is weighted properly. Score as you go, not after. This helps reduce the “halo effect” of remembering all the good things from the last candidate and losing recall on others you talked to earlier in the process.

An example of Mussey’s scoring matrix at work.

How do you balance skills match versus personality complement?

Mussey: When it comes to skill versus personality, screen for skill early on — meaning, screen out people who do not meet the minimum requirements. As you progress, move higher-skilled candidates that meet your needs through the interview process. Always consider fit to company culture and the needs of your greater team first to be able to steer clear of potential bias related to personality.

Once a candidate has been selected, what’s the best way to handle onboarding?

Mussey: This will sound simple, but the first step is to come up with a thought-out plan before their first day. Onboarding should include all the things to set them up for success. Think tech plus environment first: How will they do their job and where? Next, provide a good overview of company structure and culture. Move on to proper training; consider if they are new to the industry or need a refresher. Decide which external training resources you might use (Travel Institute, Travel Leaders of Tomorrow, etc.), and which internal resources already exist. Finally, teach them the “systems” in your business: sales processes, reservations, data input, tracking business processes, and how to handle commissions/fee inquiries.

Any common mistakes people make during the hiring process?

Mussey: The most common mistake is not getting back to candidates in a timely manner. Think about how you would want to be treated and be sure to let applicants know about the final hiring decision.

In the world of single-owner small agencies, it’s worth mentioning that I wouldn’t recommend giving job shortcuts to friends or family if you are also considering other candidates. If you make a strategic decision to hire a family member or friend, be clear about how they fit your company culture and come to an agreement on the expectations of their role.

Is there anything in particular to keep in mind about hiring at this moment in time, as travel rebounds from the pandemic?

Mussey: There are more travel industry veterans willing to consider a role within an agency. Transitioning from employee to possibly independent contractor or even just employee in a smaller company will be an adjustment. They may be used to a structure and pace that is very different. Having a weekly check-in or coaching call will be very beneficial. Remember to ask them what support they need from you, and how you can help them be successful.

Martin’s Top 5 Hiring Tips

1. Try to think of your job description and recruiting as a good gatekeeper to who or how many people you talk to. You will know if your description was too broad if you have hundreds of mediocre candidates versus 40 quality candidates.
2. Some of the best practices for small businesses come from much larger ones — particularly for DEI practices. Large corporations track candidate numbers and demographics; something to consider from a human resources perspective. 
3. Consider involving a panel of employees in your interview process. They can provide invaluable feedback about personality and culture fit.
4. When onboarding a new employee, document your systems plan so you can replicate it in the future. Make it evergreen; create it once and use it over and over. 
5. Where possible, provide constructive feedback to unsuccessful candidates — even if the feedback is simply that they were a great candidate, but someone else edged them out in one area. That way, they know they did all they could to be considered.

Top Picks for Posting

Martin Mussey recommends listing your job posting on the following sites to reach wide pools of candidates for a nominal cost:

• diversity.com
• jobs.hlpa.com/employer-products
• workplacediversity.com
• pink-jobs.com

Originally appeared in the fall 2021 issue of The Compass Magazine.