The important thing about 2020 is not to forget the good things that we have achieved – in the case of this region we added two new onsite teams – at Victoria, BC and Salt Lake City, UT – plus started work in a couple of new airports – La Guardia (LGA) and Chicago O’Hare (ORD). For the first time this region has also successfully deployed the Group service desk software (Remedyforce) at one of our sites (Salt Lake City). While this is a dedicated service desk, the experience we’ve gained with Remedyforce will prove invaluable for the future.
MANY ACHIEVEMENTS
Other improvements we’ve put in place include having a dedicated Talent Recruiter based in the Reston office, which has facilitated operations management having access to quality candidates to fill any vacancies. At the time of writing, we are in the process of upgrading Reston’s telephone system, which will allow for a shared service desk to be set up. Were that to happen it would likely be a mixed deployment with people located in the office during regular working hours and remotely the rest of the time – all we need is the order to underwrite the cost!
A major impact on our industry.
The on-going pandemic has, obviously, had a major impact on our industry – although, just for interest, I looked at how many individual flights I’ve taken in 2020 compared with 2019 and I’m actually running at 88% (although my flown miles total is way down). Not bad for someone ‘grounded’ for 4 months during the middle part of the year.
While the US, in particular, has seen the return of the leisure traveler, at least domestically, there is a lot of speculation about whether the business traveler will return and, if so, when. The current adage is that ‘it only takes one big deal to be won because Company A went in person while Company B made a virtual presentation and they’ll all get back out there’ – and that is being embraced by our biggest airports. Personally, I find Meet / Hang Outs / Zoom / WebEx / GoToWebinar, etc. no substitute for talking to people face-to-face and, while we’ve tried to get creative about communication, I look forward to being able to visit our teams and customers regularly again.
We will get through this!
As 2020 draws to a close there are hopes that a number of vaccines, effective against coronavirus, will become available soon. Airports are also starting to issue more opportunities as they tentatively plan for the second half of 2021. In the meantime, we just have to stay socially distanced, wear face coverings, wash our hands frequently and remain confident that, together, we will get through this!
Hope to see many of you in 2021!
Lynne Harrison
Executive Vice President
