To start the New Year we got some new gear. Our jumpers have a large circular IC logo on the front. One of our captains jokingly asked if that stood for Invisible Crew. I replied that it might as well.
I was 9 years old. My father had organised a music festival in the center of Antwerp, Belgium and the new Hilton Hotel that was opening offered the use of their conference rooms and 3 suites in exchange for marketing exposure. It was the first time I ever experienced such a level of luxury and hospitality.
That same summer we rented a little sailboat for the first time. The Frisian lakes in the North of Holland, which we were exploring, are connected by rivers and canals. These, especially for a 9 year old kid, are the boring bits. Somehow I decided to make the beds, something I would never ever do at home! In the evenings I would serve the barbecued food around to my parents and siblings. I said I was playing “Hilton Hotel”. I also enjoyed coiling up all the lines and tyding the deck to perfection. I loved caring for the boat and its crew.
Funny to think back at that and to realise that I was perfectly preparing myself for a professional role on yachts!
Nowadays, one of my favourite things to do is getting to know new people. This comes in very handy when recruiting new Invisible Crew members. Genuinely caring to get to know people, apparently sets the tone right for a long term and successful placement within the Invisible Crew team.
Today I received a reply to the interview questions we had sent off to a Deckhand. The email started with the words: “I must say I am enjoying this process. It is very informative and much more personal. A lot better than most recruitment experiences.”
(read more below the picture)
I’m excited that our interviewees feel that way. It’s important that they know, right off the bat, that we pay attention to who they are. That we are available to discuss personal thoughts as well as professional. After all, crewing 50-100ft Pocket Superyachts is a personal – professional matter. You live together with your fellow crew, and spend long periods together with the owners and guests. You don’t get to go home at 5. So if we don’t know how you are doing personally we can’t anticipate your next move on a professional level either. Our goal is to provide Worry Free Ownership to our clients and the crew’s wellbeing is a key element in achieving that objective. Crew retention is increased by caring. It’s as simple as that. And honestly, I feel this is what Invisible Crew does best.
From a business point it has proven worth our while to apply this approach to the quality jobseekers that apply with us. The captain for whom we are recruiting a deckhand this week was interviewed by us about two years ago. Somehow we didn’t get to work together that time. A year later however, he contacted me to let me know he had convinced the owner -he started working for in the mean time- that their program required Invisible Crew’s support.
We will do what we can to safeguard our intensively caring reputation!