Covid-19 changed the world forever – but while most of us were stuck indoors in the comfort of our homes and family cooking. Others experienced more extreme scenarios – here is Mahrane Hfayedh with a unique story of how teamwork.
It was December, 2019 – I was informed by the HQ in Geneva, that the board had nominated me to lead the Onboard Retail Operation of the 2nd World Tour Cruise, after the amazing success of the 1st edition.
I was the first Tunisian, Arab and African Manager to be asked to do this on one of our cruise ships. Things were looking very positive – until the coronavirus pandemic shook the world – our journey stopped in the port of Sydney, Australia, few weeks before the schedule.
Guests onboard and crew members weren’t really familiar with the everchanging situation. Things became super complicated as the hours and days passed with the new procedures, health protocols etc. The worst was that not everybody was aware of the real impact or danger of COVID-19, apart from onboard rumours and communication with friends or family outside – so people started seriously to avoid one another and it almost became a crisis.
As we were one of the only ‘active’ vessels in the world, media outlets like BBC got in touch and tried to get interviews and to get a clear picture of the real situation onboard. 1014 passengers, more than 400 crew members onboard a ship that no port wanted to host – due to the risk of passengers bringing in infections – but the reality was we had 0 cases as at the previous 3 stops, the captain had stopped passengers going ashore due to the rapidly deteriorating situation with Covid.
On my team, I had 12 sales execs from 7 nationalities – they all were also overcome with uncertainty – ‘when they can get home?’ ‘How this will end?’ ‘What to do next?’ ‘Where will the cruise go next?’ ‘What is the plan?’. Everything was a blur.
I’ve been in leadership positions for years now since I was 23; I was trained by some of the biggest companies – from Orange to Qatar Airways and MSC cruises – I had learned how to deal with crowds and crisis management – as well as mastering unexpected situations. Leadership skills and panic drill courses. It was now time to put the theory into practice – I had to speak to these guys, calm them down, motivate them – and most of all giving them time to stick together and to call their families.
Once the team felt good and engaged, we started to get all the assistance, guidance and support from the HQ in Geneva. remember Mr. Adrian Pittaway – Head of Retail MSC, phoning me and saying: “Mahrane, are you still the Spartan I know? Are you and your warriors still standing? Last year we made this amount, do you think you can open shops, apply safety the protocol, keep people safe and entertain our guests by giving them unforgettable shopping experiences? Of course, my answer was: “give me the targets and prepare the incentives… we are in!”
My team were superheroes to me, they missed their families and their minds may have been elsewhere, but as superheroes, they were here to do the job – look after our guest and ensure we provided some welcome distraction, entertainment and hospitality to everyone onboard.
We worked very long hours, all together, we covered for breaks, illness (non-covid!) and family times. We exceeded the budget and were above the target, then came the 2nd call of Mr. Pittaway to challenge us to break a long-standing sales record. And guess what – we did it 3 with 3 days to go.
In hard times, miracles can appear – in the middle of the storm, if you believe you can survive, just believe and you will survive, you will witness the sunrise just after darkness – that was the core lesson for all us, about, humanity, teamwork, belief, strength and of course hope.
No one ever wants to experience a pandemic again – but these were golden moments of learning and experience for us all – and will live with us forever.
