HR in War“We are looking ahead with a heavy heart and a strong belief that we will prevail”
HR in War
“We are looking ahead with a heavy heart and a strong belief that we will prevail”
Travelier is a global travel company - but its ‘mother company’ is now at war. What happens next?
“We are focusing on helping our team go through this difficult time,” explained Hen Alazraki, Head of HR at Travelier. “Many are at home with children full time, some are left as single parents as their partner has been called on duty. Keeping up the morale, helping folks get the support they need, and staying connected with our global teams, are the things we are coping with.”
Travelier has 500 employees, with 100 of them based in Israel and currently facing the difficult challenge of balancing work and war. Even though it has caused relatively minimal disruption as a whole, the company has admitted that it has had a large impact locally.
“As our HQ of the mother company is in Israel, some of our main challenges now are planning for 2024, our leadership team is in Israel, some have been called to duty, and many are dealing with the pain, stress, and challenges of every Israeli,” she added.
HR in War is a new series exploring how companies in Israel are adapting in unusual times. At CTech we believe the world should know about the atrocities committed on 7/10 while at the same time highlighting the continued resolve and resistance of the Israeli tech ecosystem.
Company name: Travelier & Bookaway
Your name and title: Hen Alazraki, Head of HR andTravelier
Names of founders and upper management: Founders: Noam Toister (CEO of Travelier), Omer Chehmer (COO), David Itzhaki (CEO of Bookaway.com)
Field of activity: Travel-Tech
Number of employees: 500 (100 in Israel)
Office location: Ramat Gan, Bangkok, Split, Buenos Aires.
On a scale of 1-10, how much did the war disrupt operations at the company?
Three. On a business level, our operations have been minimally disrupted. On an emotional and energy level I would say Eight. Fortunately, our company is very global. Out of 500 employees, 100 are in Israel. Our teams operate from additional HQs like Thailand, Argentina, and Croatia so gladly we have additional team members who can support and lead at this challenging time. On the product and development level where many team members are in Israel, it’s been more challenging.
What consequences have you experienced from these disruptions?
As our HQ of the mother company is in Israel, some of our main challenges now are planning for 2024, our leadership team is in Israel, some have been called to duty, and many are dealing with the pain, stress, and challenges of every Israeli. Being able to put these aside and continue to look ahead and to focus is the struggle but we are doing it with a heavy heart and a strong belief that we will prevail. We also have a strong Product and Dev team in Israel for Bookaway.com. Obviously many of our efforts for Q3 have slowed down as our team is coping with this reality.
What are the two major challenges you are coping with these days?
We are focusing on helping our team go through this difficult time. Many are at home with children full time, some are left as single parents as their partner has been called on duty. Keeping up the morale, helping folks get the support they need, and staying connected with our global teams, are the things we are coping with.
What support do you provide to employees?
We are giving our team the freedom to work from home, work at a slower pace, and even not work at all for those who are struggling or are volunteering. We have also been taking upon our company all donation requests by team members for their close circles. For example, computers and tablets for the children of Kibbutz Be’eri. We prefer not to go through the list: we are doing much but we are doing it for support and not for it to be publicized, so no need to go into specifics.
Do you have employees with foreign citizenship who asked to work from another country? If so, has movement been requested/approved?
We are here for our team and we know that people are handling the situation differently. Yes, we have a few team members who have requested to work from another country and we have approved it.
How do you communicate the situation to customers? Do you see hostility or support?
Our customers are across the globe and mostly traveling, as our brands are global and online, we have not needed to communicate on this subject. We have been in communication with our partners. Our voice and message are clear, Israel is strong, our company is strong and we will get through this.
In the event employees feel they encounter hostility, how do you guide them to respond to the situation?
This has not been the case but we will stand and support any team member wherever they are.
Startups only: How do you communicate the situation to investors, and how are they reacting?
This is not ideal but like we said above, our company is actually thriving. We are focusing on our team, and our investors have actually been very supportive and asking for ways to help.
