Improving the "discretionary effort" of your travel consultants

Improving the "discretionary effort" of your travel consultants
By admin


If you think “discretionary effort” sounds like a big, important term, you’re right.  And as the leader of a travel business, it’s also something you need to understand and focus on.

So let’s deal with the understanding part first.  Discretionary effort is defined as the difference in the level of effort one is capable of putting forth, and the minimum effort required to get by.  Which basically means that each time an employee faces a new task, they have a choice as to how much effort they will put into that task. 

Why does this matter?

One word:  consistency.  Chances are most of your travel consultants could double their monthly commission transfer just by being more consistent with the way that they tackle new enquiries. 

For example, imagine telling your consultant that a very important potential client will be coming in to see them at 10am.  Chances are, they would prepare and put on their A game.  However, if that same potential client came in unannounced at 9:30am, they may not get the same level of service. 

Why?  Because when given the choice of, “How will I deal with this potential client who just walked in unannounced?” your consultant might CHOOSE to put forth less effort.  Maybe they feel caught off guard, or busy, or stressed, or just lazy.  When that happens, they drop great sales tactics and replace them with sloppy ones.  And you get less bookings.

As a leader, your challenge is to motivate your people to be more consistent in their sales and service interactions every time.  This is where the discretionary effort concept becomes important.  If you create an environment where people consistently choose to make more of an effort, you will begin to close that gap between minimum effort and the excellence your people are capable of.

Creating an Environment that Encourages Excellence

Once you’ve established a “minimum acceptable standard,” it’s up to each of your consultants to decide whether to meet that standard, or to aim higher.  However, you can affect their choice by creating conditions that encourage optimal productivity and performance.  These two tactics may make all the difference:   

Positive reinforcement

Positive reinforcement is not just praise – it’s any consequence that increases the probability of a behaviour happening again.  For example, if you mention in a staff meeting that John quoted a client on the spot and converted the enquiry to a booking, that’s two positive reinforcements – one from you (recognition) and one from the client (a sale). 

When people experience positive and immediate consequences for their behavior, they’re more likely gladly go above and beyond the minimum in hopes of experiencing them again.

Clarify performance expectations

As a manager, you can also improve discretionary effort simply by increasing your employees' knowledge and understanding of the standards by which they are evaluated.   If people know the minimum, they will know that this is just a starting point, which is often enough to encourage them to strive for something more.

Remember, every day, your employees get to choose how much effort they will put in to their work.  By being clear about your expectations and creating an environment that reinforces extra effort, you’ll be doing your part to encourage your employees to bring their A game every day.

 

For more hints and tips check out our website.

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