Before I got into the recruiting game, I used to sell software for a living.
I was one of those software sales people who sometimes pushed the truth to ensure the sale. I am not proud of it but when one drinks the “KoolAid” it’s hard to settle for plain water.
Most of the time I was backed up by the company and software I was representing thus ensuring smooth installs and happy customers, however, sometimes the vision of what the software could achieve for the prospective client was much stronger than the actual software itself. Sound familiar?
Here in lies the issue. Whether you are actively representing software for your new employer, developing the software, delivering the software or just using the software on a daily basis, you must feel confident in what you are representing and using will not impact your future credibility.
In today’s employment landscape, technology now should figure into a candidate’s decision-making process on whether they should accept a job offer from a prospective employer.
As technology continues to evolve, it is increasingly important that people fully understand the “technology state of the company” as it relates to their current technology as well as their future technology direction. How a company is perceived in regards to its technology will either make it easier for its employees to obtain outward visibility or it can hinder them greatly.
It does not matter whether the position with a prospective employer is a sales, marketing, development or an executive position, the technology plan that is in front of a candidate should be highly scrutinized.
Research is key. Candidates must take a good hard look at any articles related to a company’s technology. In this age of immediate news, it is very easy to gain insights into whether a prospective employer has done a good job with their technology sales, development and infrastructure or whether they are just blowing smoke.
Don’t get me wrong, there are a great deal of fantastic companies that have developed software for the travel and hospitality industry and we as a community have benefited from their systems however, just keep a keen eye out for any irregularities.
On to a real world example…WestJet purchased the Sabresonic reservation system from Sabre a while ago and implemented it to much fanfare but with little upside during the launch. 500,000 bookings made before the launch were not recognized by the online system creating frustration and havoc for WestJet’s guests.
Six weeks after the implementation of the new system, guests were still voicing their displeasure with the new environment stating that “Maybe it’s time to change management”. WestJet has spent a long time building a reputation for service excellence and the new system torpedoed that reputation very quickly.
The Sabre team who was on the front lines of the deal probably will not be putting this little tidbit as a bullet point on their résumés.
There are a myriad of new technologies on the markers today and this makes a candidates decision quite difficult as it relates to which offer you should accept.
You must become keenly aware of technology in order to ensure that you not making a mistake. Mistakes in this employment landscape can be very hard to recover from.
Finally, irrespective of your expertise and discipline within the travel and hotel industry you will always be touched by technology in your working day.
Some of you will be completely dependent upon it, and it will directly affect your performance and productivity. Accordingly, when you are researching prospective employers, always take the time to investigate and ask direct questions about the company’s existing and planned technology.
You should inquire about how they are planning to investigate, embrace and deploy new technology advances and how this will impact their future direction and capabilities.
You may be surprised at their answers.
Before getting into the recruiting game, I used to sell software for a living - admittedly one of those software salespeople who didn't always feel comfortable or knowledgeable about some of the products I was representing.
I am not proud of it, but when one drinks the KoolAid it’s hard to settle for plain water.
Most of the time I was backed up by the company and software I was representing, thus ensuring smooth installs and happy customers.
However, sometimes the vision of what the software could achieve for the prospective client was much stronger than the actual software itself.
Sound familiar?
Herein lies the issue. Whether you are actively representing software for your new employer, developing the software, delivering the software or just using the software on a daily basis, you must feel confident in what you are representing and using will not impact your future credibility.
In today’s employment landscape, technology now should figure into a candidate’s decision-making process on whether they should accept a job offer from a prospective employer.
As technology continues to evolve, it is increasingly important that people fully understand the technology state of the company as it relates to their current technology as well as their future technology direction.
How a company is perceived in regards to its technology will either make it easier for its employees to obtain outward visibility or hinder them greatly.
It does not matter whether the position with a prospective employer is a sales, marketing, development or an executive position, the technology plan that is in front of a candidate should be highly scrutinized.
Research, as always, is key. Candidates must take a hard look at any articles related to a company’s technology.
In this age of instant news, it is very easy to gain insight into whether a prospective employer has done a good job with their technology sales, development and infrastructure, or whether they are just blowing smoke.
There are a great deal of fantastic companies that have developed software for the travel and hospitality industry and we as a community have benefited from their systems - just keep a keen eye out for any irregularities.
On to a real world example… WestJet purchased the Sabresonic reservation system from Sabre and implemented it to much fanfare late in 2009, but with little upside during the launch.
Around 500,000 bookings made before the launch were not recognized by the online system creating frustration and havoc for WestJet’s guests.
Six weeks after the implementation of the new system, guests were still voicing their displeasure.
WestJet has spent a long time building a reputation for service excellence and the new system torpedoed that reputation very quickly.
The Sabre team who was on the front lines of the deal probably will not be putting this little tidbit as a bullet point on their résumés.
There are a myriad of new technologies on the markets today and this makes a candidates decision quite difficult as it relates to which offer you should accept.
You must become keenly aware of technology in order to ensure that you not making a mistake. Mistakes in this employment landscape can be very hard to recover from.
Finally, irrespective of your expertise and discipline within the travel and hospitality industry, you will always be touched by technology in your working day.
Some of you will be completely dependent upon it, and it will directly affect your performance and productivity. Accordingly, when you are researching prospective employers, always take the time to investigate and ask direct questions about the company’s existing and planned technology.
You should inquire about how they are planning to investigate, embrace and deploy new forms of technology and how this will impact their future direction and capabilities.
You may be surprised at their answers.