Regional Perspectives
#alburywodongachange
Change Leader: Creating belonging and connection through vulnerable leadership.
Regional businesses have experienced their fair share of disruptive change over the past 2 years. In a series of profiles, Albury Wodonga business owners reflect on some of the impacts they faced and what they did to steer their businesses through disruptive change. In this profile, we meet local change leader, Natasha Callewaert from Quest Wodonga.
April 8, 2022
Natasha Callewaert’s career in accommodation and hospitality began pretty much straight out of high school. Although she wasn’t particularly motivated to be a business owner, the opportunity to work in a competing hotel brand - initially in reservations, and later in corporate sales roles - led her to Quest Apartments where she soaked up as much knowledge as she could about operating apartment hotels.
This is where Natasha learnt how to write a business plan, understand finance, master the art of communication as well as the intricacies of doing business with corporates and turning these into long term relationships. What started as “I love my job” turned into “I can do it for me”. After this, Natasha purchased her first Quest franchise.
Since then, Natasha has gone on to own and manage several more Quest properties, and in 2013, seeking a tree change, the family moved from Melbourne to North East Victoria after she purchased Quest Wodonga, a serviced apartment style hotel complex, offering guests a relaxed and comfortable accommodation experience perfect for both short or long stays.
Once Quest Wodonga was established, Natasha started to impart her industry knowledge and insights about managing and leading to the next generation of leaders. “I was at the point where I was starting to branch out, so in this context, Covid came as quite a shock – unbelievable really - because it was so unexpected.”
On the day Victoria went into its first lockdown, Natasha was driving home from Orange - a 5-hour trip – and everything began unravelling. “I was on the phone to a friend telling him we’d had 516 cancels in the space of 4 hours, which was unprecedented. I started thinking ‘What can I do?’, ‘What am I going to tell the team?’, ‘How can I fix it?’, yet despite everything she knew, suddenly so much was out of her control and everything felt like it was rapidly spiralling out of control.
Can you tell me a little bit about how you steered the business through some of the impacts of Covid?
I licked my wounds and moved quickly to change our ways of working as the way we’d operated pre-Covid was no longer going to work.
Other businesses like restaurants can deliver their meals as eat in, take away or home delivery, but we can’t deliver accommodation in multiple ways simultaneously, so our delivery options were limited. I could have pre-sold accommodation, but I didn’t want to carry the liabilities and then have to fulfill it as well as manage a potential upswing in demand when travel started opening up.
With a drastically reduced team (down from 25 to 4), I decided to diversify and have everyone on the team perform every role – taking reservations, checking guests in, cleaning rooms (although there weren’t many to clean) etc. I also restructured the way we did everything – reduced hours, shut down services, simplified processes, shut off floors - to make things easier.
Then I faced the humiliation of having to contact the landlord, bank, customers, and suppliers to advise them of our situation and have the hard conversations about what I needed – we all needed - to do to survive this. I also consciously started to strengthen existing connections and build new relationships to work through what we would need to do differently to ensure our longevity post-Covid.
Despite making things simple and consistent, we had to constantly keep adjusting our ways of working as we moved from full lockdowns to partial travel restrictions to a vaccinated economy. One thing we had to master very quickly was the ability to have difficult conversations with guests about matters that had previously been none of our business. It was critical to get the answers we needed using the right language and approach and still have guests feel welcome and respected.
In the hospitality industry, strong communications skills is a must-have. At this point in the journey I was very grateful for the thousands of interactions – good and bad - I've amassed over the years. It's given me a level of proficiency in communication, customer service and leadership, and in times of crisis, this kind of mastery is the difference between having basic assurance that you are on the right track and being able to sense immediately when something’s not right and then being able to approach people in the right way.
Did any 'silver linings' emerge out out of Covid?
Natasha said everyone in the team came up with ideas on how they could do things more effectively, and as they implemented these things, the team grew closer. From this, Natasha made a beautiful discovery - something she didn’t expect or see coming – that her team was there for her too.
“It happened at a morning briefing with the housekeeping staff. We usually start with one word to get a feel for how everyone's feeling, then we do the briefing, and finish with one word to close. Everybody shared and then someone asked me how I was doing. I looked at her not comprehending at first, and then burst into tears. Unconsciously I had assumed that I would have to stay strong for them but in that moment I experienced just how much it was all emotionally impacting me as well."
"It also made me see that despite being the owner, I’m also a team member. And being part of the team comes down to making sure I’m part of the team, and the others seeing me as their team member too. I’ve never felt more connected to my team. That’s all been due to Covid - definitely a silver lining for us."
Another silver lining occurred the night before the Victorian/NSW border opened after being closed for 4 months. "We were fully booked that night and then just befor midnight when the border opened, the hotel completely emptied. Watching this beautiful sea of people crossing the border to reunite with family and loved ones was amazing. When you work in the accommodation sector, you are lucky to witness many wonderful moments. It was very emotional witnessing some of the rec-connections between people that night."
What was the hardest to manage, and did you ever feel like “it’s too much”?
"It’s interesting to reflect on because I’ve never felt as if anything has ever been too much before. Yet during Covid, at times I did think “I can’t I do this anymore - this is too much even for me”. Yet I’m still here, so a big part of me believes I am everything I need to be to do what I need to do."
Often business owners experience thoughts and feelings that lead to negativity and a self-defeating mindset. Have you ever experienced this, and how did you manage it?
Natasha has studied neuro linguistics and has been part of peer-to-peer mentoring groups where you practice how to recognise and break these patterns before they become a negative feedback loop. “An emotion only lasts for 90 seconds, so if it goes on for longer you can get caught in a loop, but if you can break the links between thoughts and emotions, you can break the loop and control your reaction.”
What specific things have you done to manage yourself through challenging times?
“For the past 4 years, I’ve practiced mindfulness and meditation, and I also have a morning gratitude and qigong practice, which helps me start my day well. This is about specifically moving energy and allowing it to flow, recognising the things I need to accept or let go, to bring forth a wholesome self.”
In a job that requires constant communication with people, Natasha says she tries to take breaks to purposefully rebuild her energy stores. “Lately I’ve been wondering a lot about where my energy to deliver comes from, and I realise that increasingly it comes from these practices, which encourage solace and turning inwards.”
What new skills and competencies have you had to introduce or focus on in particular?
“Cashflow forecasting was the big one. Often the focus is on the P&L, which is great when you want to look back on what you’ve achieved, but not always useful for predicting what’s going to happen in the future when your budget is off.”
Having learnt the hard way, Natasha said this time she was much better prepared for when things got tough. “Paying closer attention to the cashflow helped ensure we had sufficient reserves, were managing our costs tightly, spending only what we had to, and weren’t spending what we needed to save.”
“Marketing was critical as well. We stayed visible and active across all social media. This helped us stay close to customers and the businesses around us, as well as connect with people who wanted to know what was happening in the area when things started to open up - not about what’s going on at Quest but also about what’s going on in the area, what’s open, the best place for coffee, where to go for dinner, take the kids etc.”
What has it been like for your employees, and how did you support them?
“I can’t speak for what individuals went through, but there were waves of emotions, with some days more intense than others.” Natasha said everyone went through something, everyone’s something was different to everyone else’s something, and everyone’s something was valid. “I’m certain there were things people didn’t share, but sharing and hearing other people share, provided some comfort, I’m sure.”
“Almost every day, I found myself having to communicate something I didn’t want to say, and people didn’t want to hear, so the best approach was to focus on providing only information from credible sources, and then following up if they wanted more information.”
“Often, I would bring coffee and donuts and we would just chat. We did team building activities and Pilates. We also turned the conference room into a classroom to help people who had to home school their children continue working.”
I held space for people to share, but for a long time, each day was just a different version of flat. We kept communication simple. The key was to be there for them. Often leaders can over-complicate this. People really just need connection and belonging, so I tried to be visible, open, authentic and show my own vulnerability.”
“I also tried to offer hope, but it was tricky in a constantly changing landscape, so I encouraged hope around the things that were in our control and focussed on working on short-term goals that were achievable and people could feel good about.”
“Another challenge was managing people’s reactions to mandates. I knew I couldn't control their reactions or which parts of the message they would listen to – they’re responsible for themselves - so I encouraged them to have their say, listened to their views whilst remaining impartial, provided a supportive environment, and let them come to their own decisions."
What external resources did you find helpful?
Natasha is a great believer in personal and professional development. “It’s been great for me and it’s also good for the team and ultimately the business benefits. I’m happy to consider and explore whatever team members feel they need to grow and develop - not just skills for this job or industry, but also skills that can be transferred elsewhere.”
“I’ve also used my platform to launch team members into a range of different career paths – a former staff member now owns Quest Orange, one has launched a catering business, and another has gone into digital marketing and also does the soft refurbishments here.”
“During Covid, I’ve personally also continued to lean on and learn from both a business coach and a wellness coach."
What have you learned about yourself or had some key insights around?
Natasha discovered that she’s:
Extremely determined - when she believes in something she seeks it out and makes it happen.
A passionate people person who cares deeply about the people around her – “this is not an entirely new finding, the last few years have confirmed it.”
More structured and ordered than she thought – “and it's what allows my spontaneous and creative side flourish.”
Often the one with the big ideas – “but it’s often better when I step back and let the team do what they do to make it happen. I hired them for their brilliance so who am I to stop them being brilliant.”
What does the future look like?
“Before Covid, we went through fires, and currently some places are coping with floods. That’s a lot of once in a life time events - quite extraordinary to think on. Despite this, I feel optimistic about the future. Things will continue to ebb and flow, and we are in a better position to navigate future change because of what we’ve gone through in the past 2-3 years. Right now, it’s important to move forward with kindness and consideration, and without judgement because we don’t know what other peoples’ situations are like and what they’re gone through personally.“
Finally, do you have any tips for other business owners & leaders navigating change?
Natasha offers these tips:
Prioritise connection, communication that leads to a sense of belonging within the team.
Small business owner need a supportive network close by – plug into organisations like Business Wodonga or Business Women Albury Wodonga.
Do a health check on your business, all the elements including finance, marketing, people and culture, health and wellness etc – you will deal with issues and obstacles more effectively and be better prepared for the potential dangerous ahead.
Know where you are at in both your personal and business lifecycle – find someone to help you understand this and proactively decide and align on the next steps rather than just continue to plough forward.
What are your top tips for managing disruptive change?
Natasha Callewaert has shared her top tips, and we'd love to know your best tips for navigating disruptive change.
Please share your tips by completing our survey.
Once the survey is closed, we'll consolidate the responses and report back in an upcoming blog.