Dull questions – we are asked them all the time – and we are often guilty of asking them. Questions with predictable one-word answers for example. Sometimes, we ask smart questions expecting a dull answer. It’s often a pleasant surprise (or a shock!) when someone answers honestly when asked “How are you?”, rather than replying with the usual bland verbal doodle.
Through my involvement in the charity world, delivering risk consultancy and looking at potential projects or auditing companies for possible gaps in risk management systems, I am guilty on occasion of asking dull questions when the real objective and value is understanding why people do or don’t do certain things, or what they actually want to achieve. In Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), there are slews of checklists – but the most valuable questions are those that have non-binary answers, probing people’s motivations and understanding. Equally of value is learning more about the responder to help put what you learn into true context.
If a company is asked, “Do you value your staff?”, “Do you audit your hotels?” or “Are you an equal opportunities employer?” the answer is simplistic: Yes. Questions are helpful when doing a gap analysis, but the next stage of seeing “why” is the most illustrative.
Many companies have guidelines on everything; some are slavishly followed, others ignored, and often, the truth is somewhere in between. So, it is vital to understand the guidelines in place and to make sure those involved know why they are in place. Health and Safety has a poor reputation - sometimes viewed as a barrier to doing things - rather than as a framework giving you the confidence to take certain risks. This is often a result of participants not understanding why H&S regulations are in place.
Human rights are increasingly discussed in tourism circles but often need to be better understood as part of company governance. If asked the dull question “Are human rights important?” or “Does your company respect human rights?” most people would respond “yes”. But surely the real opportunity is to ask…
Why are they important?
Why should a business care about them?
Why should an organisation educate staff and suppliers about them?
The Modern Slavery Act applies to businesses with a revenue of £36 million per annum, so there is a real danger that smaller companies do not consider it a priority, or as something relevant to them at all. There is also a danger that those it does apply to have it as a footnote on their website - a classic “dull” answer if not backed up with implemented policies and transparent action.
Some key starting questions to ask of your business and how it engages with human rights are:
How do you rationalise operating in certain countries?
Do you consider how much money goes into local economies?
Why do you have policies in place, and why are they important (or not) to your business?
Taking those answers and digging deeper you can then start to question further: What does this mean for your business model? As a tour operator, for example, how do you rationalise visiting a country where homosexuality is criminalised? Or where the age of consent is much lower than elsewhere? Or where Female Genital mutilation is practised? The first “dull” questions are initially posed to understand what is happening in the destination, with the smarter questions then allowing you to rationalise how (or whether) you choose to work in these countries and with your partners there.
This isn’t an easy topic and often seems too complex – but my advice is to start in parts of your business with high volume and low complexity. Some argue that disregarding your supply chain is as bad as not caring about your scope 3 carbon emissions – something largely considered a taboo response as we embark on the essential road to making our industry more environmentally friendly.
To further add to the “dull questions” pile… How do you know there has been no community displacement when a hotel was built? How do you know your customers are welcomed by local communities?
The first question to really ask is, “Why is it important to know?”. Or to really challenge yourself, ask, “How can I justify not knowing?”.
This may bring you back to your company’s values. And indeed, not shining a light on your supply chain may not sit too comfortably with those core values.
A bit about John
With more than 30 years of experience in the travel industry prior to joining Sanderson Phillips and tranquilico, John started as a tour leader in Turkey and Latin America before taking the reins at Explore as Managing Director, and more recently as a Non-Executive Director at Hotelplan UK Ltd.
Risk and crisis management has always been a passion, along with sustainable tourism. John was responsible for the implementation of a Safety Management System spanning 130 countries and worked with the German development agency GIZ to create a risk management structure for developing countries.
Whilst on the AITO council, John took on the Risk Management portfolio and, over the years, has coordinated crisis response for multiple events, ranging from the Icelandic ash cloud, transport accidents and Inghams' response to the Covid outbreak.
John shares his experiences at Surrey University, where he delivers lectures on risk and crisis management, adding the practical to the academic.
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