Magellan Awards | Crisis Communications

Leadership through the Human Connection

For years Montecito Village Travel’s philosophy has been that “we are only successful if our advisors are successful.”

When the world turned upside down last March, we, together with our advisors, were forced to adapt to the unforeseen events that shook the world. How could we, as a host agency, provide leadership and assistance to our advisors, while struggling with the same uncertainty and an everchanging landscape. Decisions had to be made and made quickly and messaging needed to set the right tone.

Virtuoso has long held the position that the Human Connection is the essence of travel. It is through travel that people connect with others around the globe which helps to foster peace and understanding. At Montecito Village Travel, we have long held that the Human Connection is also vitally important in the business environment.

At Montecito Village Travel, Human Connection means:

Leadership through empathy
Leadership through advocacy
Leadership through knowledge
Leadership through sacrifice
Leadership through honesty and humility
Leadership through community

In a year where many agencies faltered, Montecito Village Travel used the value of Human Connection in all of its communications, making it “Crisis Communication through the Human Connection.”

By combining the human connection with proactive advisor support, our advisor communications created a win, win situation in what was a devastating year. The first win was that we helped our advisors to remain focused on the things they could control that would positively impact their future business (training, education, communications and technology), we also provided them with verbiage for communicating with their clients to help foster stronger client/advisor relationships, and most importantly, we provided a sense of community and a forum for sharing information. The second win and unintended consequence was that our advisors shared stories of our proactive approach with their industry associates. This led to an influx of experienced and skilled travel advisors leaving other agencies to join our network.

How did Montecito Village Travel add the human connection to its communications? First, it started with action:

MVT immediately waived all advisor marketing fees through the end of 2020. Currently marketing fees are waived through the end of 2021.
MVT paid the advisor registration fees for anyone wishing to attend Virtuoso Travel Week (held virtually in 2020 and will be held both virtually and in person in 2021) to help ensure advisor preparedness for the return of travel
MVT instantly locked in commission levels for advisors so that they could advance to a higher tier, but not go down to a lower commission share through December 31, 2021. Commission levels are now locked with the opportunity to advance but not decrease through December 31, 2022
MVT lobbied for legislation on behalf of the Independent Contractor
MVT communicated and interpreted how the CARES Act impacted advisors and the steps advisors needed to take to receive government PUA
MVT surveyed advisors and then created a needs analysis form to prioritize where efforts were most needed and followed up with classes/sessions relevant to the needs of the advisors based on the needs analysis
MVT increased the frequency of the monthly “Message from the President” email to a weekly format in order to share new information in a timelier manner and provide inspiration and a sense of community
MVT created a COVID Central – an online resource for supplier information which was updated daily and cataloged by supplier type, supplier, order of receipt.

While these actions represent the core of who we are as a company, it is how these messages were communicated that mattered.

In every communication we were empathetic and honest, candid and reassuring. In every communication, we focused on the future. In every communication, we focused on what could be controlled.

In every communication, we focused on advisor needs. In every communication, we focused on how advisors could use this time to prepare for future business. In every communication, we heralded the value of our advisors. In every communication, we encouraged advisors to reach out to us if they needed anything.

MVT management called advisors personally, checking in and making accommodations specific to the advisor as needed.

For examples of how we delivered important messages, please check the links below:

Crisis Communications

close up of businessman hand showing texture the world with digital social media network diagram concept Elements of this image furnished by NASA

MVT President's Messages

In every communication we were empathetic and honest, candid and reassuring. In every communication, we focused on the future. In every communication, we focused on what could be controlled.

Details

Business man looking at bright light bulb in the wall concept

Weekly Workshops, Forums & Panels

Details

What was the end result?

Although some of our advisors decided to retire during Covid, we gained 129 experienced agents and added three agencies to our ranks through referrals and reputation.

The importance of how you communicate during a crisis cannot be overemphasized. When difficult situations are handled with empathy, tact and the Human Connection, a sense of community, loyalty and respect is created. Failure to do so can destroy a business.