Travel Recruitment right now is a bit all over the shop with regards to pay. Candidates and clients alike are confused as to what they should be paying/asking for, so I thought I'd write a blog post with feedback and tips from both  perspectives to try and help ensure travel recruitment doesn't fall into the trap of underpaying and therefore losing its superstars just because #2020.

Now firstly, there's no denying that the current going rate is lower than pre-covid and that's okay as it reflects the economy right now. I've had candidates willing to take pay cuts for the RIGHT roles given the circumstances (this is a personal choice), but there's things to consider from both hiring managers and candidates before making a decision like this.

I saw a rival travel recruitment firm post a home-based job on Linkedin last week that was commission only and 'guaranteed £600 business per month'. LUDICROUS. Not only can nobody guarantee anything in the market right now, but commission only roles do not pay the bills for many of us and simply aren't sustainable.

What I've learned from talking to candidates is their key deciding factors when applying for roles right now are: SECURITY | LONG TERM PROSPECTS | TRANSPARENCY. With this in mind, companies aren't going to get away with the 2019 vibe of paying £20K for a role and promising the world with OTE/Bonus, and we've all seen this model doesn't work with some companies who operated big bonus schemes not surviving C-19.

So what can companies do right now to entice candidates? What should a candidate be looking for in new roles? Lets look at the three travel recruitment pillars we mentioned earlier:

SECURITY: keep interview processes short (max 3 steps) and ensure that the basic salary matches the job requirements, checking glassdoor to make sure the £££ is up to scratch. Candidates should feel free to ask about staff turnover, the reason for the role becoming available and situation with regards to business prospects and viability right now.

LONG TERM PROSPECTS: culture is still important for candidates even in this market. This coupled with candidates looking to grow and progress with a company are key to roles right now. Add in some enticing copy about growing with the business and show you care about long term career goals of your future employees. Candidates should look out for this and research current employees to see their growth in the company.

TRANSPARENCY: be up front with pay from the get go, this should be on EVERY job post and not hidden. You should be transparent about the situation with regards to furlough, company £££'s and the true reason for the role coming up. Candidates you should be given ALL the information from the start of the process and if not I'd advise avoiding roles like these.

Travel recruitment is a minefield right now but we are so humbled to work with clients who truly get the importance of all these factors above. One client we recently worked with on a new role job description, decided to be transparent about the role being 3.5 days on furlough to start with and gave reasoning for this alongside WHY the role had come up, all the candidates were super appreciative of this and insanely engaged as a result.

Another client is working on a variable pay scale, with company targets relating to the marketplace and key performance indicators meaning 15% of employees' wages are variable monthly based on the position the company is in, thus avoiding redundancies and furlough altogether.

Ultimately, the age of OTE's and Bonus schemes as we knew it is over, and travel recruitment needs to catch up. Pay your staff well, invest in PEOPLE and you'll thrive in 2021.