“THIS IS THE LAST TIME WE WILL REFER TO ANYONE AS ‘EX-THOMAS COOK, FROM NOW ON WE ARE ALL PART OF THE HAYS TRAVEL FAMILY.”
More than 700 people attended the conference at the Rixos Premium Belek in Turkey this November. Branch managers old and new, head office staff and key suppliers took part in the three-day event which included informative business presentations, workshops, match-making sessions with suppliers, and of course, fun-filled evenings! On the first morning, Retail and Training Director, Jane Schumm, welcomed everyone to the largest Hays Travel conference in its history. She told us: “This is the last time we will refer to anyone as ‘ex-Thomas Cook’; from now on we are all part of the Hays Travel family.” The conference was told that just as Hays Travel doubled in size six years ago, another new dawn with a bright future ahead was starting. In the weeks since the Thomas Cook takeover, more than 2000 ex Thomas Cook employees have chosen to take permanent contracts with us. And we’re continuing to recruit. John shared his vision for 2020 - with the main theme being ‘happy staff equals happy customers.’ He paid tribute to the Thomas Cook brand and colleagues, and also explained why he thought Hays Travel could succeed both on the high street and on line. “We have absolute confidence and trust in the skills and commitment of our colleagues to use all channels to develop strong connections with customers, so
that they always book the right holiday for the right client.
“They have the freedom to communicate unscripted to our clients and can use their talent to the full to sell the unlimited range of holidays we can provide as the UK’s largest independent agent – and they tell me this is an important part of their job satisfaction.” Announcements that excited new branch managers included the ability to manage their own branch Facebook pages, and tailor each post to their individual customers, something that is totally new for them. The message was ‘know your customers, understand what they’re looking for and connect with them in the best way for them, whether on line, in store or both’. It was also announced that we would be investing £360,000 to kickstart fundraising in local communities all over the UK - extending the Local Community Partnership scheme to all our new branches, which provides every branch manager with £500 cash to use towards raising further funds for good causes of their choice in their local area. The aim is to increase the figure significantly and make donations to a charity, school, individual, or other important cause in the local community. Toni Gibson is our sales support manager and oversees the Local Community Partnership scheme. She said: “Retail staff are encouraged to be creative with their
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