More flexibility for mothers, please!
CONSULTANTS have
varying views on the
fairness of travel
industry employers when it
comes to maternity leave
and flexibility for mothers
who need time off for family
needs. Those TNW spoke
to, seemed to base their
experiences on personal
relationships with managers
and employers.
Most of the employers
approached were reluctant
to share their policies,
and would not expand on
whether they offered any
more than was legislated.
One indicated that it did not
adopt a uniform policy and
adapted to female workers’
needs on a case-by-case
basis.
Germaine van den Berg of
Travel Logic is an ITC who
spent many years in senior
management in retail travel,
as well as a stint with a
hotel group. She believes
the industry in general could
adopt a more generous
approach to mothers, and
that inflexibility is possibly
the reason for the success
of the ITC/ITA model in
South Africa.
A mother of one, Germaine
recalls working throughout
her maternity leave.
Occupying a senior position,
she felt she could not
afford to take four months
off from the business and
her commitment to the
organisation resulted in
personal sacrifices.
Motherhood, Germaine
points out, does not make
an employee any less
valuable. She has found
that being a mom has
introduced her to new
potential business circles
at school and extra-mural
activities.
The greatest drawcard for
an employee is flexibility,
says Germaine, and it
results in more productivity
on the consultant’s part.
On-site creche facilities
would also be of great
appeal. Consultants,
who are paying for
childcare anyway, could be
approached to share the
costs of these.
Germaine struck out
as an ITC over 15 years
ago when her son was 18
months old. She now works
on her own with ticketing
assistance from a retail
consortium. Not being tied
to corporate hours has also
afforded her the opportunity
to travel – with her child –
and experience first-hand
the joys and perils of family
travel, making her a better
consultant to travelling
families. Educational trips,
she says, should allow
for a form of family travel,
which would not only assist
consultants in juggling
family time; they would gain
much-needed knowledge.
Maternity leave tips for ITCs
ITAs and ITCs are not only
the face of their business,
they are their business.
The prospect of downtime
for maternity leave comes
with fear of potential
loss of client base and
earnings. TNW asked some
independents to share their
tips and experiences for
keeping businesses running.
Patricia Brons, an ITC who
operates as JourneyCorp
Travel in association with
eTravel, is expecting her
third child in December, the
second since she became
an independent in 2014.
With the last pregnancy,
she only took two months’
leave, working until the day
before her baby’s birth.
Particularly advantageous
to her, was a buddy system
with former colleagues, now
also eTravel independents.
The consultants step in to
help each other out when
in need. She also set up a
generic e-mail using the
@journeycorp.co.za address,
which her colleagues
were able to access and
proceed with the necessary
bookings and plans. In
addition, eTravel arranged
shared GDS access for her
‘buddies’ to further facilitate
their ‘substitution’ period.
After her son was born,
Patricia eased herself back
in with mornings only, until
she was ready to take back
the reins in full.
Michelle Oates of Arabella
Travel in Cape Town, another
eTravel ITC, was four days
away from her baby’s arrival
when we tracked her down.
She was planning to work
right up until labour kicked
in, and then planned only a
month off before resuming
full-time consulting.
As she had done when
her first child was born nine
years ago, Michelle had
engaged a fellow ITC to
stand in for her during the
month for a negotiated, flat fee.
It’s a plan she also makes use of
when she travels.
Randburg-based Chantal Gouws,
area leader at Flight Centre
Associates (FCA) had her third
baby last year. “I ensured that I
let all my clients know beforehand
that I was expecting. I kept in
touch, letting them know closer to
the time when I was due to go off.
“At FCA we have the back-up of
consultants who can assist us,
so I introduced my clients to the
ladies who would be looking after
them. I had my emails loaded
on my phone so I could ensure
requests were actioned.
“The consultants looking
after my business were paid
commission so they looked after
my clients as if they were their
own. Because I am a bit of a
control freak, I tried to log on
each day, even just for an hour, to
ensure I was on top of everything.
I didn’t have to, as my team had
100% control over everything.”
Chantal says some FCA
consultants opt to completely log
off for two or three months, leaving
their business to be looked after
by one of the 54 other consultants
operating under the brand.
Kids and career: successful jugglers
share their tricks
Gayle is the mother of twins,
now 20 years of age. She
divorced when they were five
and, as a single mother, had
to juggle a lot. She resigned
from a full-time airline job
that she had held for nine
years when they were born,
staying home for 18 months
before returning to travel as
a sales representative, three
mornings a week. Not long
after, she went on her own
as an independent sales
executive and has run Gayle Bannatyne
Agencies for 18 years.
Development Promotions
(DP) is presently Gayle’s
major client and she sees
to the company’s sales
function in Cape Town and
Durban. DP management,
she says, embraces
motherhood. “In school
holidays the kids beg to
visit the office and they are
welcomed with open arms!
We are like family and my
colleagues love and respect
the bosses more for it.”
Gayle’s tips:
Should you need time off, offer a
solution to make up the time such
as working through lunch hour or
overtime, taking your computer home
to catch up when the kids are in
bed, or arranging assistance from
colleagues.
Being away involves lots of
scheduling. Devise lift schedules for
family and friends who are helping
out, plan menus and meals and shop
ahead of your departure, make sure
everyone knows their roles, including
the kids.
Christina Tsakos, national sales manager of Travelport Southern Africa
Christina, a mum of 14- and 12-yearold
daughters, has found the travel
industry to be understanding of
pressures on working mothers,
evidenced by the high percentage of
mums who hold strategic positions,
she says.
If the kids are not at school,
working from home is not always a
solution for Christina. “When they
are home in the afternoon, I find
they require my attention and my
work productivity drops. I then
have to work late into the night to
catch up.”
Christina’s tips for working
mums
Book time off in advance when
possible for the kids’ events and
activities, and stick to it. You can
always work in the extra hours or
make alternative arrangements
with your colleagues.
Family time is family time; when
you are with your children, dedicate
this time to them 100%. This way
they don’t resent your job.
Create a reliable support system.
Working in travel is a 24-hour job;
you have to find a balance based
on your individual circumstances.
Relebohile (Lebo) Malahleha, cfo of Avis Budget Southern Africa.
With a family
that includes
five children
(the youngest is
now 17 years
of age), Lebo
has often had
occasion to feel
grateful for the
support of her
husband and
her parents.
Lebo accepts
that her job
involves long
hours, but
being results-driven, she
focuses on the goals
to be attained rather
than the time it takes to
achieve them.
When family demands,
such as an illness or
emergency, require her to
stay home, she finds her
company empathetic.
“As long as I
communicate with the
ceo and get the work
done, there’s always
understanding
of my personal
circumstances,”
she says.
She notes
that female
staff do
get a lot of
consideration
at Avis Budget.
Young mothers,
in particular,
are placed in
positions where
there is time
flexibility and
ability to work from home
if necessary.
Lebo’s tips for
working mums:
Work out your priorities
and be clear on what is
important to you. A lot
of women succeed at
work at the expense of
family.
Time management is
the key to successful
mother/career juggling.
Travel’s emerging female leaders
Pretoria-based consultant, Lisa
Sebogodi, gets Club Travel’s
vote as a future leader in the
travel industry.
Her agency, Batsumi Travel,
has seen its turnover grow
from R700 000 in 2010 when
she and a partner started it,
to R70m in the financial year
ended February 2017. Lisa
heads up a staff of 23 full-time
employees and five temporary
workers and has established
various revenue streams in her
business, including Batsumi
Occasions, Batsumi Holidays,
Batsumi Accommodation and
Batsumi Shuttles.
Lisa’s first job was at
Rennies Travel in 2000. Three
years later she was national
sales executive, accountable
for acquiring new business.
In 2006, she made a change
to the hospitality sector, joining
Protea Hotels and making it
to national sales manager
with responsibility for the
group’s government
portfolio.
“In July 2010,
I took the plunge
with a business
partner, Daphne
Rapodile, and
started Batsumi
Travel. We worked
at home for a
year to cut down
on operating
expenses. We
used our own
laptops and drew no salary.
We reinvested money into the
business,” says Lisa.
Lisa has adapted to
situations such as Daphne’s
departure from the business,
the growing number of
suppliers who make their
inventory accessible to the
public, and the increasingly
cut-throat environment of the
industry.
She regards her acquisition
of an Iata licence in 2014 as
her most significant
accomplishment.
“Most businesses
cannot afford it,”
she explains.
Batsumi Travel
now partners with
SMME suppliers,
supporting them
with skills transfer.
It works with
tertiary institutions,
hosting students
doing internships,
and plans to initiate travel and
tourism career guidance at
high school level.
“Our partnership with Club
Travel also assists in ensuring
our consultants receive highlevel
experiential training
through local and international
education.
“Knowledge is key for
the sustainability of our
organisation and the tourism
industry,” she adds.
Woman up!
ON AUGUST 9, 1956,
more than 20 000
courageous women
marched to the Union Buildings
in Pretoria to petition against
South Africa’s pass laws, which
required South Africans defined
as ‘black’ to carry the dompas,
an identity document. The
women stood silently for half
an hour, then began singing a
protest song “Wathint'Abafazi
Wathint'imbokodo!” Roughly
translated, this means: “You
strike a woman, you strike a
rock!”
Today, National Women’s
Day highlights significant
issues South African women
still face – violence against
women, lack of schooling for
girls and unequal conditions in
the workplace. Sixty-one years
later and, sadly, the struggle
continues.
How, when South Africa
faces these very real, very
challenging circumstances –
trying to support and protect
abused women – can we
move forward and focus on
creating an environment
that offers women in the
workplace a platform for true
development? And what is
your role – as a leader or
a manager, a consultant or
supplier, a woman or a man,
an individual?
Defining development
Definition: Development is the
act or process of growing.
Often, development
is defined as growing
someone into a leadership
position. This is a
misnomer. There is so
much more to identifying
and developing talent.
There is more to
mentoring young ladies
in the travel industry
than offering them the
opportunity for promotion.
Development is not
necessarily about
moving up, but about
becoming proficient.
It’s about improving
performance. It’s
about training,
coaching and
upskilling those
people who are
at the coalface,
where the
rubber hits the
tar, offering
them the
necessary
support,
not only in times of poor
performance, but every day.
Technology can certainly
help improve performance.
It can help drive efficiencies,
streamline processes, reduce
or even eliminate errors. It
embraces and propels change.
It empowers and keeps you
relevant. But it cannot replace
the human touch.
What are you – as a leader
or a manager, a consultant
or supplier, a woman or a
man, an individual – doing
to develop talent within your
organisation? How do you
inspire and empower young
women in your company?
Be a mentor
Definition: Mentoring is a
relationship between two
individuals based on a mutual
desire for development towards
career goals and objectives.
It is not defined as young
and old, employee and
manager, senior and junior.
It’s about listening, sharing,
collaborating, supporting,
guiding, inspiring and
contributing.
Anyone can be a mentor.
ITCs – a burgeoning
market – have so much to
contribute. They not only
book and manage the dayto-day
operations of travel
for their numerous clients;
they prospect new business,
balance the books, pay the
bills, strategise, all while
managing their households
and raising their kids. They do
it all.
Suppliers have the
opportunity to share their
expertise, their time, their
knowledge so young women in
the industry can learn
and grow.
Government, institutes and
associations can influence
and engage young graduates,
educating and giving a voice to
young women in the industry.
How are you – as a leader
or a manager, a consultant
or supplier, a woman or a
man, an individual – including
young women in relevant
conversations, taking them
to industry events, and
introducing them to the
industry? How are you
extending your hand?
Relationship goals
This industry is all about
relationships. A good
relationship is one that is built
on trust, respect and honesty.
It creates an environment in
which people can thrive and
flourish.
Avoid abusive relationships.
Those that become a power
struggle, where one party
uses coercive or manipulative
behaviour to maintain control
over another.
And nurture the most
important relationship – the
one with yourself.
Why, in an industry run
and managed mostly by
women, are so few women in
leadership roles?
If you want development,
make sure you know what it
is that you want. Make your
growth, your progress, your
business. Woman up!
Acclaimed businessman and
former ceo of General Electric,
Jack Welch, said: “Control your
own destiny, or someone else
will.”
What are you – as a leader,
a woman, an individual – doing
to control your destiny?
Travelport does its bit
It’s most heartening for me
to work for a company that
truly shows its recognition
of Women as Leaders.
In the Middle East Africa
region that I report into,
my colleagues who hold
the same position as I do,
are mostly women. This
extends way above into
our leadership team where
some of our key focus areas
are headed up by some
very significant female
appointments.
As mentioned earlier,
recognition is not just
making the appointment, it’s
embracing the change that
those appointments bring.
Charmaine Higgins, Gold Travel Counsellor
With 26 years in the airline
industry and 10 years as a
Travel Counsellor, Charmaine
Higgins has proved she’s
in travel for the long haul.
She specialises in corporate
travel, with her clientele
comprising SMEs and a few
large companies.
“I joined Travel Counsellors
in August 2007, as part
of its first induction in
South Africa. I am happy to
say my clients trusted my
decision and supported me
in my new venture. I am
blessed to say that 90% of
my clients are still with me
today.”
Charmaine achieved Travel
Counsellors’ Gold status
within her first year and has
done so every year since.
She was awarded ‘Best
Travel Counsellor in South
Africa’ for five consecutive
years, and has accumulated
other ‘best’ accolades
and nominations.
“Most of all, I am proud
to say my business has
grown year on year with the
referrals I receive from my
clients. I recently celebrated
over R100m worth of sales.”
This spectacular achiever
says the lessons she’s
learned along the way are
about understanding and
accepting change, of which
the travel industry has no
shortage.
Yolandé Bouwer, regional director Africa of Agentivity
With a rounded background
that includes retail and
wholesale travel operations,
Yolandé Bouwer is in
the pink, having found a
product and company that
utilises her strong analytical
thinking, while allowing her
to build satisfying customer
relationships.
Yolandé is the regional
director for Africa for
Agentivity, a business
intelligence tool for travel
agents and business owners.
“I train customers to paint
a picture of their business
through accessing their data
and offering insight into the
productivity of their business
and staff,” she explains. The
result is an opportunity to
generate additional revenue
and save time.
Yolandé made the decision
to study travel after working in
England. She completed her
travel and tourism diploma in
London, and after returning
home in 2001, she worked
on the KwaZulu Natal South
Coast for a year, booking
domestic travel and simple
international routings. In
search of growth prospects,
she joined a Randburg
agency, working her way up
over five years from junior
consultant to office manager.
“I sought out further
experience in wholesale for
three years and then became
interested in corporate
travel and joined a TMC for
two years. In 2013, I joined
Rennies Travel and managed
its online division and then
took on the operations
manager role for its global
contact centre. Finally,
through my knowledge
of online set-up and my
operational experience, I
joined the Agentivity team in
2016.”
Among the lessons Yolandé
has learned in 16 years or
so in travel, is that mistakes
will happen, but it is how the
situation is rectified that is
the mark of the professional.
The goal should always be to
retain the customer’s trust.
“I find reward in being able
to solve customers’ data
problems,” says Yolandé,
who advocates taking time to
listen and understand; to be
a valuable service provider.
Chantal Gouws, area leader, Flight Centre Associates
Besides being
an ITC with
14 years
under her
belt, Chantal
Gouws is
also an area
leader for
Flight Centre
Associates
(FCA),
promoting
the growth
of the brand
and acting
as a support
structure to
keep FCA ITCs at the top
of their game.
Chantal’s travel career
began in the UK as
cabin crew for Virgin
Atlantic. When she
returned to South
Africa, she joined Flight
Centre Travel Group as a
consultant in the Sandton
branch. In her first three
months she won Flight
Centre’s Take-off Award,
then took Top Novice
nationally in her first year.
Continuing to climb the
ladder with speed, she
took over Rosebank Mall
as team leader after six
months.
“I then reopened
the Firs Flight
Centre [Rosebank,
Johannesburg] and
then opened Lonehill
Flight Centre [Sandton],
taking it to Top Novice
Shop in its first year of
operation.”
In 2013, when Chantal
felt the need
for a better
work-life
balance,
she put the
ITC model
forward to
the company,
a suggestion
embraced by
management.
Her climb
may have
been fast,
but not
without
challenges.
She cites the Internet
presenting daily
competition, and airline
commission cutting as
examples. Introducing
clients to service fees
wasn’t easy, she recalls.
“I’ve learned over
the years that personto-person
experience
cannot be replaced. My
clients have stuck with
me due to the service
I provide, and it’s clear
with the ITC model that
service is everything,
regardless of price.” She
also approaches life
with a healthy degree
of equilibrium. “We win
some and we lose some,
but with every door that
closes another opens,”
she says.
In future, Chantal will
work towards the group’s
brand growth in profit
and staff numbers, and
the success of each and
every consultant.
Jane Kotze, expert travel manager of Corporate Traveller
In July, Jane Kotze
was declared the
top consultant
globally at Flight
Centre Travel
Group’s Corporate
Traveller, no mean
achievement in a
sizeable pool of
1 056 employees.
What’s more,
she is the global
number 2 at Flight
Centre Travel Group, which
counts a staff body of
24 346.
When TNW touched base
with her, Jane was preparing
to travel to Hawaii to receive
her awards at Flight Centre’s
Global Gathering, the fifth
one she has attended.
With a Travel and Tourism
Diploma in hand and three
years of travelling the world,
her path up the Flight Centre
ranks has been
steady. Her first
position in June
2005 was at
Bloemfontein
Flight Centre, from
where she moved
on to open Flight
Centre Norwood as
team leader. Flight
Centre Sunninghill
was her next place
of work, and in
2011 she joined Corporate
Traveller. “I loved the new
challenge of corporate travel
work and the even faster
pace and pressure,” she
says.
Challenges enthuse Jane.
“I enjoy finding solutions
for client travel routings in
Africa and understanding
their business. I also love
knowing that I’m there to
help, especially during a tricky
situation, such as a client
needing to urgently return
home for the birth of his
baby,” says Jane.
Confidence in herself and
her company has served her
well, as has her ability to
manage time. “I am a firm
believer that if you don’t have
time to do it right now, when
will you have time to do it?”
Being honest and taking
ownership are principles she
practises, and she never
gives up. “If you fail, try again
and again,” she emphasises.
“I’m very happy with my
current career and hope
to keep achieving in this
role. I may like to work in
the products team securing
corporate deals for clients
one day. My aspirations are
to always be humble and
never stop loving what I do,”
says this go-getter.
Marijke Davel, Gold Travel Counsellor
A post-high-school
au pairing trip in
the US was all it
took for Marijke
Davel to be sold
on a career in
travel. She got
her first job in
the industry with
few credentials,
underwent
intensive training,
and has not
looked back.
“I worked at one of the
bigger consortiums for
seven years, and learned so
much from my time there,”
she says. Once children
came along, Marijke thought
less responsibility was
what she wanted, until she
realised she was stunting
her own growth.
“I saw an advert for
Travel Counsellors in TNW
and it got me
thinking. The
thought just
wouldn’t go away.
I took the leap
and seven years
later, here I am!”
Being an
independent
has driven home
the importance
of building and
keeping customer
relationships. “In my
business, clients actually
become friends and family.
You want to know what’s
happening in their lives;
you want their travels to be
perfect.”
Empathy, she believes, is
a quality responsible for her
success, along with warmth
and spontaneity, reliability,
generosity, and a dash of
“control freak”
Sharon Leong, Thompsons Travel
Sharon is currently the
new business manager of
Thompsons Travel. She has
22 years of experience in
travel with a background in
aviation, working for Cathay
Pacific for 12 years before
moving over to join the
team at Thompsons Travel.
She decided to make
the move due to her
desire to further develop
her skills and sought to
bring her understanding
of how travel suppliers
and retail agencies operate
to increase Thompsons
Travel’s retail sales and
market share.
Mary Shilleto, ceo of
Thompsons Travel, explains:
“The move from a worldclass
airline such as Cathay
after 12 years to a TMC
takes a lot of courage, hard
work and commitment. Our
environment is so varied
and no day is the
same in our business.
Sharon has tackled the
task of new business
with great passion,
professionalism and many
hours of hard slog building
exceptional relationships
with customers and her
sales team.”
Since stepping into the
role, Sharon has won a
number of awards, including
being named the Top
Sales Representative New
Business Person Nationally
in 2011 and from 2013
through to 2017.
Akani offers a leg up in aviation
THE aviation industry has
introduced an initiative to
enhance the progression of
women in leadership and
executive roles in the sector.
Known as Akani, the
initiative attempts to uplift
women who encounter
numerous barriers to
advancement. These include
limited exposure to aviation,
limited support once in the
industry, and a high attrition
rate when their potential is
stunted.
Director of the Akani board,
Carla da Silva, who is also
regional manager of Air
Mauritius in Southern Africa
and Latin America, says: “It is
imperative to uplift, empower
and develop women who are
in a leadership role and/or
aspiring to be in leadership
positions.”
Akani includes a mentorship
programme that focuses
on education and training
in an equitable and
gender-balanced manner;
development of executive,
management and supervisory
programmes for women; as
well as appropriate leadership
programmes in partnership
with reputable institutions.
Ladies in the industry who
are interested in joining the
programme should contact
Barsa or Acsa.
Carla also highlights the
mentorship advantages of
MentorMe 24/7, for young
South African women,
launched by CEO Magazine.
She is one of the mentors
on this programme, working
with managers and potential
managers in travel, aviation
and tourism.
To the point
Duma Travel has appointed Nadine Clarke as its new general
manager for Uniglobe Sub-Saharan Africa, responsible for growing the
Uniglobe brand in the region. Nadine has experience in various senior
management positions within the travel industry covering airlines,
wholesale, retail, franchising and financial services.
