By Peden Doma Bhutia,
An online resource, Global Travel Staffing Barometer, developed by videc, tracks termina furloughs and pay-cuts in the travel, tourism and hospitality industry.
We’re all aware of sites that track the coronavirus contagion around the
world, but did you know that now there’s an online tool that tracks terminations, furloughs and pay-cuts in the travel, tourism and hospitality industry around the world?
Created by the team at videc, the Global Travel Staffing Barometer shows that so far (till the time of publishing this) 185 companies have furloughed 527,008 employees and laid off 89,447 people. And the way the clock’s been ticking with every rise in furloughs, layoffs or pay-cuts the situation seems grim.
The company website describes Videc as “a boutique advisory and analytics firm focusing on the travel, tourism and hospitality industry.” We ask Virendra Jain, Co-founder and CEO, Videc, about how they came across the idea, and he says, “The Global Travel Staffing Barometer tracks the impact of COVID-19 impact of the travel, tourism and hospitality industry workforce. We were tracking the developments in China very closely and by March, it was evident that the global travel industry is in the throes of unprecedented carnage. The industry will be one of the first and the foremost fatalities, whether it is ready or not. Besides being the source of people’s livelihoods, travel also brings a certain personal identity to each of its employees. When they start getting terminated, and in huge numbers, it was both astounding and heart wrenching.”
The travel, tourism and hospitality industry is a major job creator and a lifeline for many economies at all development stages. According to a UNWTO report, in 2019, the sector represented 30% of the world’s exports of services (US$1.5 trillion) and up to 45% of the total export of services in developing countries. This industry is among the most affected by the Covid crisis.
Talking about the current situation, Jain says, “Even though furloughs are not as dire as a termination, more than 40% companies have also introduced pay cuts attached to the furloughs. This will inevitably impact the workforce. On the other side, it is heartful to identify that more companies have initiated management pay-cuts than staff pay-cuts. In majority of the cases, the management and boards of those companies have agreed to forgo their remuneration for the rest of 2020. Some have also setup a fund based out of their forgone remuneration to support their employees.”
About the information that can be accessed on the Global Travel Staffing Barometer, Jain says, “So far, the core feature is its focus on KPIs that matter – the volume of workforce and pay-cut impact. We have enabled the ability to filter by industry segments, countries of interest, and ultimately the extent of impact – from cost-cutting to closures. Our next round of development is already underway, which will bring in further dynamicity to the Global Travel Staffing Barometer. At present the online resource is a one-size fit all. Going forward, the Global Travel
Staffing Barometer will become unique to the user – every selection and filter will bring in requested and specific updates.
We believe this will empower people managers to gauge impact, draw trends, and potentially identify future prospects for vacancies. And for companies that bring back people from furloughs, Jain says this information will be updated, and those companies will be highlighted in the barometer.
Read original story on ET Travel World.