Training in the Travel Industry report 2010

An investigation into recruitment, training, skills needs and future trends across the UKs travel industry

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Jointly produced by ABTA and People 1st, this report provides a detailed insight into recruitment, training, skill needs and future trends across the UKs travel industry. The information contained within it is based on primary research with over 700 representatives of the travel industry, three detailed case studies and reference to a number of secondary datasets. In spite of the severe recession experienced over the last couple of years, the travel industry has remained relatively buoyant. Whilst there have been some casualties along the way with a number of companies going into liquidation, the situation overall has been more positive than predicted. In the case of recruitment, for example, the vast majority of travel businesses workforce had either remained level or increased over the last year. Similarly, far from avoiding the financial investment that can be associated with providing training, almost all employers (93 percent) provided training to their staff recently. Perhaps as a reflection of the current economic climate and attempts to save money though, the cost-effective method of e-learning was the most commonly used for training. With a view to remaining competitive in the marketplace, customer service skills were consistently mentioned as the single most important factor. This applied more or less across the board whether it be with regard to the frequency of the type of training provided to staff, the perceived benefits of providing training or skills which will become increasingly important in the coming years. Looking at skills gaps in the industry, 14 percent of travel consultants were described as not fully proficient in their roles with things like sales skills being most in need of improvement. As regards the formal training mechanisms in place for the travel industry, opinions on these were mixed. Whilst qualifications in general were quite highly thought of, opinions on full time provision were less clear cut. From the employer point of view, having the right attitude, having an interest in travel and having a good level of general education were all rated as more important than having industry related qualifications for school and college leavers. Similarly, the views from school and college leavers on how useful their travel related qualifications had been in preparing them for their job suggested that a sizeable proportion felt they had not been tremendously useful.

CONTENTS
Page number Executive summary Introduction Travel industry training and development benchmark survey 2008 revisited Recruitment Staffing levels and recruitment Recruitment of staff from full-time education Recruitment of senior managers Working conditions Training and development in the travel industry Type of training and development Formal training Benefits of training Employer perspective Employee perspective Skill needs Skills of college/university leavers Views of qualifications and training providers General views on qualifications Employee views on qualifications View on training providers Funding for training and development Accessing information on training and development Future trends and knowledge requirements Conclusion Appendices One: Two: Three: Four: 2 4 7

8 8 8 9 10 11 11 14 16 16 17 19 19 21 21 22 23 24 25 27 30

Survey respondents Britaly Travel case study Thomas Cook case study Travel Bureau case study

31 33 36 40

INTRODUCTION
Recent trends in the travel industry This report investigates training practices across the UKs travel industry using in depth primary research supported by analysis from a range of secondary data sources. Since 2008s Travel industry training and development survey produced jointly by ABTA and People 1st, much has changed in the industry. Few people predicted the severity and extent of the economic changes which arose throughout the recession. Whilst the country has now officially emerged from recession, the repercussions of it will be felt across industry for a long time to come. Looking at the travel industry in particular, figures indicate there are around 96,500 1 people working in the industry across the UK with 8,800 individual outlets operating from around 5,800 businesses. It is estimated there are around 47,500 travel agents across the UK 2 . However, to put things into more context, the end of late 2008 and early 2009 saw a general feeling of pessimism across the travel industry. As companies across the economy looked to cut back on spending, business travel was the first to experience substantial losses. This soon spread to consumer spending and the leisure travel market began to experience losses. As 2009 progressed the situation worsened with the rise in air tax, swine flu and natural disasters all contributing to the closure of high street travel agencies, reduced staffing levels in business travel companies and the demise of several tour operators and airlines. However, ultimately, many businesses throughout the industry coped very well with the economic crisis and there were many reports of robust booking patterns in early 2010. Unfortunately, with the ash clouds emanating from Icelands Eyjafjallajkull volcano, new difficulties came to the fore for the travel industry with yet more reasons for consumers to be reluctant to make bookings. Despite all this, taking a holiday is still seen as an essential by much of the UK population and, whilst booking patterns may have changed considerably over recent years, those companies responding appropriately to the market will prosper.

1 2

Office for national statistics, Labour force survey, 2009 Office for national statistics, Labour force survey, 2009 (note this does not include those working as tour operators)

The current research The main areas examined in this piece of work cover training practices, training providers, recruitment and working practices with a particular emphasis on future trends and knowledge requirements in the industry. In addition, this report is supplemented by three detailed business case studies. The surveys The majority of data cited in this report originates from two main sources which, combined, represent a sample size of 718: 1. People 1st Industry Survey 2010 a. This consisted of in depth telephone interviews with 159 businesses working in the travel industry. 2. Training in the travel industry 2010 a. This consisted of two separate online surveys: one aimed at employers and the other at employees within the industry. In total there were 88 responses from employers and 471 from employees. The case studies Whilst the full case studies can be found in the appendices to this report, a brief description of each is given below. Britaly Travel Based on an interview with Director of Britaly Travel, Daniele Broccoli, this case study outlines how this small family run business has ridden the storm of the recession, taken advantage of both National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) and Apprenticeships and instilled a flexible, open and supportive company culture. Thomas Cook UK & Ireland Based on an interview with Mari Harrison, Head of Learning and Development at Thomas Cook UK & Ireland, this case study outlines the benefits e-learning has had on the business and provides tips to other employers thinking of using e-learning. Travel Bureau Describes how Travel Bureau use training and development in their business and provides practical advice to help other businesses do the same; based on an interview with Jeanne Lally, Commercial Director at Travel Bureau.

Acknowledgements Many thanks are due to those who both helped distribute and publicise the online questionnaire and also those who completed it. The suggestions and recommendations made by the members of ABTAs professional development steering group with regards to the development of the online questionnaire was also very much appreciated. Particular thanks go to the following organisations who gave up their valuable time to be involved in the case studies: Britaly Travel Thomas Cook The Travel Bureaux

For further information on this research, please contact Alastair Galbraith, Senior Research Executive, People 1st (Alastair.Galbraith@people1st.co.uk).

Travel industry training and development benchmark survey 2008 revisited

Before going on to discuss the current research its essential to revisit the work from 2008 with a brief summary of the main points which emerged. Extent of training and development 89 percent of employees said they had received some form of training in the previous year. The most popular types of training were familiarisation trips, informal and formal training. The main reasons why businesses train their staff are to improve customer service, increase efficiency, motivate staff, generate new business and ensure consistent standards. Over two thirds of businesses train staff for future career development, helping them with succession planning and enabling them to recruit and promote from within. Investment in training and development Half of businesses expected their training budgets to increase slightly and 13 percent expected them to increase significantly over the next five years. Many felt the economic climate would have some kind of effect on their business with some believing that the type of training may change with a greater emphasis on product training and e-learning. Benefits of training and development Top of the list for business benefits was the improved customer service it allowed (96 percent of businesses said that training had improved customer service). The main ways in which training had helped staff were to improve their capability to do the job, make them more productive and improve the level of customer service they provide. 71 percent of employees thought it was very important and 24 percent thought it was important that they receive training and development from their employer.

RECRUITMENT
In this section of the report we review recruitment practices across the travel industry. Firstly, recruitment in the current economic climate is discussed followed by a more direct look at the recruitment of staff from full time education, analysis of management recruitment and a brief look at working conditions in general. Staffing levels and recruitment The current economic climate has had an impact on many different aspects of businesses within the UKs travel industry; one such area is in staffing levels and recruitment. There had been many concerns that the recession would lead to mass redundancies but People 1sts industry survey, 2010 found that over half (53 percent) of employers in the travel industry said their core workforce levels had remained the same over the last year. Furthermore, a quarter (25 percent) said it had actually increased. Of the 43 percent who had taken on new staff, two in five (40 percent) said it had been easier to recruit, a quarter claimed it had been more difficult (25 percent) and 28 percent said it was about the same. Of those who felt recruitment had become easier, the vast majority (81 percent) attributed this to there being more people applying for jobs. 15 percent also felt there were more applicants with the required skills/experience and 11 percent stated there were more with the right attitude. However, the majority (71 percent) of those who believed recruitment was becoming more difficult attributed this to it being more difficult to find people with the right skills/experience. Recruitment of staff from full-time education Employers were also asked whether or not they had recruited any leavers from school, college or university over the last 12 months. The 45 percent who said they had were then asked to rate how important it was that these new recruits had certain levels of competence in various areas. Looking at the results together, it appears that the most important thing to employers is that these leavers have the right attitude with an average across the three groups of leavers working out at 82 percent of respondents saying it was very important. Next in importance was that leavers have an interest in travel (69 percent stating it was very important), followed by importance that leavers have a good level of general education (60 percent). Less than a quarter (24 percent) said it was very important that the leavers had undertaken industry related qualifications, perhaps indicating the intensive training that many (particularly larger) travel organisations provide to new recruits.

Figure one: Importance of full-time education leavers competence in various areas

69% 71% 72% 65% 82% 83% 86% 78% 60% 62% 63% 57% 24% 21% 28% 24% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Haveaninterestintravel

Havetherightattitude

Average Universityleavers Collegeleavers Schoolleavers

Haveagoodlevelof generaleducation

Haveundertaken industryrelated qualifications

Source: Training in the travel industry 2010, employer survey (Base: 38 [employers who had recruited school, college or university leavers over the last 12 months]) Whilst the content of the full-time education courses are undoubtedly of relevance for the industry, it appears that they may not fully prepare an individual for the industry as well as they might and, from the employers points of view, having the right attitude, an interest in travel and a good standard of general education are more important. Recruitment of senior managers Employers were asked where their senior managers tend to be recruited from. As can be seen from the chart below, the most common response was from within the company, followed by other travel companies. Relatively few (only four percent) said they tended to be recruited from other industries.

Figure two: Recruitment of senior managers

4%

Fromotherindustries 36% Fromothertravel companies Fromwithinthe company

60%

Source: Training in the travel industry 2010, employer survey (base: 81 [all employers]

Working conditions Looking at working conditions, 89 percent of employers said that their organisation offers flexible working conditions. By far the most common option offered (mentioned by 90 percent of respondents) was the option to work part-time. However, options to work from home (mentioned by 41 percent of respondents), job-share (35 percent) and flexi-time (31 percent) options were also relatively popular.

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TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE TRAVEL INDUSTRY

This section of the report focuses on training and development. It identifies the type of training which most employers provide and the topic areas which are often covered. It also examines the areas in which management staff are most commonly trained in and assesses how useful people have found formal, full time training to be in preparing them for work in the industry.

Type of training and development

Of the employers who completed the online survey almost all (93 percent) stated that their organisation provides training to its staff. The results for employees supported this with 85 percent saying they had undertaken training since being with their current employer. In terms of the training received, table one indicates that the most popular was Elearning (received by 54 percent of respondents), followed by informal training (53 percent) and induction or initial training (51 percent). It is interesting to note that, as predicted by many in the 2008 survey, e-learning has become a very common mode of learning. Generally speaking, this is a costeffective means of training staff so, with the current financial climate, it appears that an increasing number of employers are using this. Table one: Types of training received by employees
Type of training E-learning Informal training (such as attendance at seminars, conferences etc) Induction or initial training Familiarisation trips / educationals Formal training (on or off the job) Training that leads to a formal qualification Coaching Training recognised by the Accredited Travel Professional (ATP) scheme Mentoring Other Frequency 252 250 239 231 210 150 130 126 112 18 Percent 54% 53% 51% 49% 45% 32% 28% 27% 24% 4%

Source: Training in the travel industry 2010, employee survey (base: 468 [all employees who have received training]) As a number of the training types listed above are rated with similar scores it appears likely that they will often be used in combination. Looking more specifically at the subject areas which respondents have been trained in, figure three indicates that customer service is the most common (mentioned by 69 percent of respondents). Customer service is perhaps one of the most important factors in allowing businesses in the service sector to give themselves a competitive edge. Whilst travel businesses can distinguish themselves by offering unique products/services and catering to certain sections of the market, the over-arching factor in ensuring success is to provide high levels of customer service.

11

In reality, a holistic approach to training includes all of the main subject areas. The majority of them, however, are held together by good customer service in that, for example, having good product knowledge and excellent communication skills contributes towards providing a high level of customer service. Figure three: Main subject areas of training
Customerservice 69%

Productknowledge

63%

Sales

53%

Communicationsskills

47%

Destinations Managementand leadership IT 36%

46%

43%

Other 0%

2% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Source: Training in the travel industry 2010, employee survey (base: 468 [all employees who have received training]) In terms of how the training is actually delivered 68 percent of respondents stated they had received on the job training, 67 percent had received on-line training and 55 percent classroom based tutorials. Whilst the incidence of training is therefore very high amongst employees generally across the travel industry, we also examined training aimed specifically at managers. Almost two-thirds (63 percent) of respondents said they provide training for managers with the most frequently covered areas being in customer service, organisational skills and people management skills. Traditionally for managers we would probably expect business planning and strategic management and budget/financial skills to be rated the highest as these are, arguably, what makes a manager a manager. However, these results suggest that, whilst these skills are still important, the industry is becoming increasingly customer focused with customer service again being rated amongst the most common form of training.

12

Figure four: subject areas commonly covered in training for managers

Customerservice Organisationalskills(egdelegation,project management) Peoplemanagementskills(egsupervisory, motivation) Leadership 71% 79%

79%

79%

Businessplanningandstrategicmanagement

61%

Budget/financialskills

60%

Don'tknow

6%

Other 0%

6% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

Source: People 1st industry survey 2010 (base: 159) Sometimes training (particularly for areas such as health and safety) can be very generic and not always specifically relevant to an individuals job. However, it is encouraging to note that the majority of training given to managers is specifically tailored to the travel industry. Figure five shows that training in business planning and strategic management and budget/financial skills in particular are highly likely to be tailored specifically to the industry.

13

Figure five: Incidence of training specifically aimed at the travel industry (managers)
Customerservice training 3% 16% 25% 6% Organisationalskills 17% 25% Peoplemanagement skills 4% 17% 27% 3% Leadershiptraining 12% 30% Businessplanning andstrategic management Budget/financial skills 0% 7% 12% 7% 10% 22% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 17%

57%

52%

52%

Don'tknow Both Tailored Generic

55%

64%

60%

60%

70%

Source: People 1st industry survey 2010 (base: 159)

Formal training 13 percent of travel employees said they had completed full-time education (at college or university) in the last three years. For 63 percent of these respondents, the training was directly related to their current job in the industry. Overall the views were mixed regarding how useful the training had been in preparing the individual for their current role. On a scale of one to five (where one equals very useful and five equals made no difference), the most common response was 3 (42 percent of respondents). In some respects these results suggest a slight indifference to the quality of full time travel education. It is encouraging to note that, in terms of usefulness, 49 percent rated travel related qualifications as one or two (i.e. very useful or useful) but the fact that 51 percent rated it as three or worse (i.e. tending towards intimating that it made no difference) is definitely a cause for concern.

14

Figure six: Level of usefulness of travel related qualifications

1(veryuseful)

15%

34%

42%

7%

5(madeno difference) 0%

2%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

Source: Training in the travel industry 2010, employee survey (Base: 37 [all employees who have completed a full time industry related qualification within the last three years])

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BENEFITS OF TRAINING
Having examined the type of training provided and assessed how effective its considered to be in the previous section, the following section explores this further paying particular attention to the benefits of it from both the employer and employee perspective. Employer perspective In assessing the main reasons why businesses train their staff, we identified the five top reasons as: To improve customer service. To increase efficiency. To improve product knowledge. To ensure consistent standards across the business. To improve future growth capability Examining this in more detail, employers rated (on a five point scale ranging from very important [1] to not important at all [5]) the importance of a range of possible pre-set outcomes of training. Taking an average of scores, these possible outcomes were collectively rated as very important by 62 percent of respondents. As can be seen once again in table two, customer service is of major importance to businesses; it can perhaps be best described as the glue that binds together a whole range of different business attributes (such as increased efficiency) which, together, greatly enhance an organisations competitiveness in the market place. Whilst table two highlights the importance of a number of benefits to training, it appears that the concept of preparing staff for promotion or more responsibility is further down the priority list. Also of less concern is the drive to reduce staff turnover. However, research by People 1st found the average labour turnover rates across the travel and tourism industry to be 17 percent 3 . As the rate across the economy as a whole is also 17 percent 4 it is therefore unlikely that many businesses see this as an issue. Many of the same questions were asked in the 2008 survey and these have been included in the table for reference. It is perhaps indicative of the increasing recognition of trainings importance overall that seven of ten statements received higher ratings in 2010 (see table two). Of particular note was the 16 percent increase in respondents rating prepare staff for promotion or more responsibility as very important.

3 4

People 1st employer survey 2009 Chartered institute of personnel development 2008

16

Table two: Why businesses train their staff

Possible business benefit Improve customer service Increase efficiency Improve product knowledge Ensure consistent standards across business Improve future growth capability To help generate new business In response to new products/services To motivate staff Comply with regulations Embed the company brand and culture Help reduce staff turnover Prepare staff for promotion or more responsibility Proportion of respondents rating this as 'very important' 2010 2008 Change 90% 88% 2% 88% 82% 6% 68% n/a n/a 65% 58% 7% 62% n/a n/a 61% 69% -8% 55% 59% -4% 54% 55% -1% 53% 35% 18% 53% 45% 8% 48% 41% 7% 46% 30% 16%

Source: Training in the travel industry 2010, employer survey (Base: 82 [all employers who provide training]) In general, the benefit of training was summed up by one employer who stated: the main benefit (is) that you empower people to be able to deal with issues without having them escalated. You allow them to progress and enjoy their role more and you enable them to train others to reap that benefit.

Employee perspective From the employee point of view, there are also a range of benefits associated with training. The table below lists a number of key benefits in descending order of their importance for workers in the industry. Rated most highly was that training improved their confidence (72 percent of respondents). Also considered by many to be a benefit was that the training made respondents more capable of performing their job (70 percent of respondents) and improved the level of customer service they provide (69 percent). Table three: Key benefits of training for employees
Key benefit Improved your confidence Made you more capable of performing your job Improved the level of customer service you provide Motivated you Made you more efficient Made you more productive Given you a better understanding of the company's goals Made you more loyal to the company you work for Helped you generate new business Helped prepare you for promotion Helped you get promoted Other Proportion of respondents 72% 70% 69% 62% 58% 56% 46% 41% 38% 25% 17% 2%

Source: Training in the travel industry 2010, employee survey (base: 82 [all employers who provide training]) It is interesting to note that, in contrast to the apparent increase from employers in using training as a means to prepare employees for promotion, the benefits
17

associated with promotion for employees (i.e. helped prepare you for promotion and helped you get promoted) are rated much lower than a number of the other benefits. Looking further into this, 79 percent of employers who provide training also state that it is linked to career progression and/or succession planning (i.e. the training allows staff to take on new roles rather than just training for the current job). In addition, a large proportion of employers indicated there is a link between the completion of training and pay increases. For example, over half (51 percent) said it sometimes leads to a pay increase (one percent said it always does and 48 percent said it didnt). In terms of employee views of the overall importance of training, the proportion of respondents stressing the importance that they receive training and ongoing development from their employer was very high. 95 percent said it was either important or very important. Similarly 93 percent of respondents said that, if they were looking for a new job in the travel industry, it would be either important or very important that the company offered training and ongoing development.

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SKILL NEEDS
This section first explores the skills which are lacking amongst travel consultants then turns to examine the work readiness of those recruited from college and university. Businesses from People 1sts industry survey 2010 stated that 14 percent of the travel consultants they employ are not fully proficient in their roles. As figure seven shows, sales skills were mentioned as the skill which was most in need of improvement, followed by general IT user skills and product knowledge. Figure seven: Skills in need of improvement amongst travel consultants
Salesskills 29%

GeneralITuserskills

21%

Productknowledge Customerhandling skills/customerservice Jobspecificskills

20%

18%

16%

Therightattitude

14%

Oralcommunicationskills

13%

Basicliteracy/numeracy 0% 5%

5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%

Source: People 1st industry survey 2010 (Base: 159)

Skills of college/university leavers Just under a quarter (23 percent) of employer respondents had recruited staff directly from college or university. In terms of how long it takes these members of staff to become fully competent in their roles, the most common answer given was one to two years (as noted by 38 percent of respondents).

19

Figure eight: Work readiness of college/university leavers

40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 5% Onlyafewweeks 0% 10% 5% 24% 19% 38%

Upto6months

6monthstoa year

1to2years

Source: People 1st industry survey 2010 (Base: 159)

Notime,are alreadyfully competent

Over2years

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VIEWS OF QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING PROVIDERS

This section of the report begins with a look at opinions on qualifications for the industry in general, before examining employer views and employee thoughts on the various training providers available. General views on qualifications Participants in People 1sts industry survey 2010 were asked what their general opinions were of the qualifications available for the travel industry. Almost half (43 percent) described them as good with a further 11 percent saying they were excellent. Only 16 percent felt they were poor or very poor. A further 10 percent were not familiar enough with the qualifications to make an informed judgement. It is worth acknowledging that these results may seem to contradict earlier findings of this report where full time education courses were viewed less favourably. However, the findings under discussion here apply to qualifications in general including, for example, work-based training rather than full-time training exclusively. Figure nine: General views of industry related qualifications

Excellent

11%

Good

43%

Neithergoodnor poor

21%

Poor

13%

Verypoor

3%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

Source: People 1st Industry Survey 2010 (Base: 159) Looking more specifically at the diploma in travel and tourism, most respondents (55 percent) were neutral about the qualification with six percent stating they didnt know. This perhaps reflects the lack of knowledge so far about this qualification. It is, however, encouraging to note that almost three in ten (38 percent) had a high or very high opinion of it.

21

Figure ten: Views of the travel and tourism diploma

Don'tknow

6%

Veryhigh

4%

High

24%

Neutral

55%

Poor

10%

Verypoor

2%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Source: People 1st Industry Survey 2010 (Base: 159)

Employee views on qualifications Of the 150 respondents who had undertaken training which leads to a formal qualification, the most commonly undertaken qualification (discounting other qualifications) was the Level 2 NVQ in travel services (53 percent of respondents). However the Level 3 NVQ was also popular (49 percent of respondents). Apprenticeships had only been done by 13 percent of respondents. Table four: Most commonly undertaken formal qualifications
Qualification type Other A Level 2 NVQ in Travel Services A Level 3 NVQ in Travel Services Another type of S/NVQ An Apprenticeship Frequency 90 79 73 37 19 Percent 60% 53% 49% 25% 13%

Source: Training in the travel industry 2010, employee survey (Base: 210 [all employees who have received training which leads to a formal qualification])

Despite the relatively few respondents enrolled on apprenticeships, they were rated the highest in the survey with three quarters (74 percent) saying they had been very effective in helping the respondent perform effectively in their current role.

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Table five: Ratings of most commonly undertaken formal qualifications

Qualification type Apprenticeship Level 2 NVQ in Travel Services Level 3 NVQ in Travel Services Another type of S/NVQ Other 1 (very effective) 74% 35% 33% 36% 32% 2 16% 28% 27% 22% 47% 3 0% 23% 32% 31% 14% 4 0% 9% 4% 11% 8% 5 (not effective at all) 11% 5% 4% 0% 0%

Source: Training in the travel industry 2010, employee survey (Base: 210 [all employees who have received training which leads to a formal qualification]) Regarding the training tools which ABTA have made available online, less than one in five (18 percent) employers stated their staff had completed any of these (although 37 percent also stated that they didnt know). The most popular was All about ABTA (mentioned by 69 percent of those with staff who had completed such courses) followed by Make Travel Greener (46 percent) and Every Child, Everywhere (38 percent). Views on training providers Employers were asked if they used any of a range of training providers. As can be seen from the figure below, work based training providers were most commonly used (74 percent of employers who provide training). The general levels of satisfaction with these providers was fairly high with, on average 42 percent being very satisfied and 42 percent being satisfied. In terms of individual ratings of providers, 40 percent of employers were very satisfied with universities, 39 percent with work based training providers and just 29 percent with colleges. Figure 11: Incidence of use of training providers
Workbased training providers Othertraining providers 38%

74%

Colleges

36%

Universities

22%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

Source: Training in the travel industry 2010, employer survey (Base: 82 [all employers who provide training])

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FUNDING FOR TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

40 percent of employers stated that they receive government funding to help train their staff. The most common use for this funding was on stand-alone S/NVQs (mentioned by 69 percent of those receiving funding) followed by apprenticeships (50 percent). However, generally speaking, the funding received by these employers is only a small proportion of their training costs; nearly seven in ten (69 percent) estimated the proportion to be less than 25 percent of their total costs. Clearly government spending in the current economic climate is uncertain and it is of some concern that over half (54 percent) currently using funding stated their company would be unlikely to fund it themselves if government funding were reduced. Exploring this further, respondents were asked what they anticipated the impact of reduced government spending would be. As explained by one employer: In (the) current climate some costs would be met but not on the scale that we have done when we have received funding. Similarly, others felt that the training would simply be stopped: We would not be able to afford to cover the cost of this training so it would not happen, also we have employed trainees as a result of this funding and that would not happen if we had no help. Of course, many employers in the survey had not made use of funding at all. The most common reason cited by employers for this was that they were simply unaware that any funding was available (mentioned by 53 percent of respondents). Similarly over a third (37 percent) stated that they just wouldnt know where to start or found there were too many restrictions on eligibility for funding (26 percent). Taking this theme further, respondents were also asked if they had attempted to access funding in the past but given up. Despite only 16 percent stating that this had been the case, it was clear they had been frustrated by the process: Very long winded, lots of protocol, lots of form filling, training bodies disorganised and I felt like I was being sent from one person to another to get information. Too restrictive around who was and was not eligible to receive the funding. Only found funding available like Train to Gain at too low a level of competence for us to consider. Considering the uncertainty of future funding, employers were asked how concerned they were about this. Over a third (37 percent) were neutral about it although 48 percent were either concerned or very concerned.

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ACCESSING INFORMATION ON TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

From an extensive list, employers were asked how they usually access information on training and development. The table below shows the frequency with which employers said they used each particular source of information. Whilst the other category featured highly, the most popular was ABTA Today (with over a third of respondents mentioning this). As one employee pointed out: As the industry is forever changing, we need to be constantly up to date with all the information. As ABTA is our governing body, they should be the first point of call regarding training. Table six: Use of sources for accessing information on training and development
Source of information ABTA Today Training provider (eg college) Other General internet search Learning and Skills Council / Skills Funding Agency Business Link Accredited Travel Professional (ATP) website People 1st National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) Regional Development Agency Chambers of commerce UKSP.co.uk National Employment Service (NES) Percent 36% 31% 30% 27% 26% 23% 19% 17% 12% 12% 8% 5% 4%

Source: Training in the travel industry 2010, employer survey (base: 88 [all employers]) The vast majority of employers (70 percent) and around half of employees (48 percent) said they would find it useful if ABTA were to provide more information on training and courses. The general feedback therefore seemed to be that there was room for improvement in terms of the information ABTA provided on training and courses. A number of respondents stated they would be interested in any information about ABTA training courses as their knowledge of these was very limited at present. In short, many of the respondents were unaware of the information which ABTA currently provides and would appreciate further details about what training is available, where it is available, how much it costs and other basic details. Some representative comments provided as regards the actual information people would like are as follows: A calendar of training courses available in the local area. Courses displayed by location to make searching easier. A comprehensive guide to training with the monthly magazine. A one stop co-ordinated page showing the range of courses available and who with.

25

Turning to what additional services ABTA should provide, many hoped ABTA would be able to provide a more authoritative voice for the industry, ensuring that courses are effective and actively promoting the ones which are particular effective: More information regarding which courses are the best ones and where to get the training that gets results. ABTA and other training providers should offer proper courses with depth to them, too often courses skim the surface and don't do anymore than offer a few cups of coffee and a talking shop. In terms of communicating information on training and development, most respondents (79 percent) stated that email was the best way, followed by information on Abta.com (36 percent, information in the trade press (29 percent) and the ABTA Today magazine (27 percent).

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FUTURE TRENDS AND KNOWLEDGE REQUIREMENTS

The final main section of this report looks towards the future and reports the skills, jobs and knowledge elements which those working in the industry think will become increasingly important in the coming years. With a view to finding out more about the future skill needs of the industry, respondents were presented with a series of 16 different skills common to the industry and asked to rate them on a five point scale according to the following categories whereby the particular skill in question would be 1 essential in 10 years time 2 more important in 10 years time than it is now 3 as important in 10 years time as it is today 4 of less importance in 10 years time 5 of no importance in 10 years time The table below lists the various skills in descending order of what proportion rated it as being essential in 10 years time. In keeping with much previous research, providing excellent customer service was rated as the most likely skill to become essential, followed by verbal communication. Perhaps reflecting the fact that this survey was carried out as the ash from Icelands Eyjafjallajkull volcano wreaked havoc on the UKs travel industry, assisting with problems and emergencies was also very highly rated. Table seven: Importance of particular skills for the future
Providing excellent customer service Verbal communication Assisting with problems and emergencies Team working General IT skills Motivating skills Training staff / colleagues Literacy Selling products and services (eg accommodation, tours) Leadership skills Numeracy Selling tailor-made travel services Supervising skills Specialist IT skills Language skills Other AVERAGE 1 (essential) 89% 70% 70% 59% 59% 56% 53% 52% 51% 49% 48% 46% 39% 39% 39% 32% 54% 2 2% 12% 16% 17% 27% 23% 24% 25% 28% 29% 29% 34% 34% 30% 30% 16% 24% 3 6% 16% 12% 20% 11% 18% 19% 20% 16% 18% 20% 18% 23% 28% 23% 44% 18% 4 0% 1% 1% 2% 1% 1% 1% 0% 2% 2% 1% 1% 2% 1% 5% 0% 2% 5 (of not importance) 2% 1% 1% 2% 2% 1% 2% 2% 2% 1% 2% 0% 1% 2% 4% 8% 2%

Source: Training in the travel industry 2010, employer survey (base: 88 [all employers]) Turning to look at knowledge rather than skills, respondents were asked to rate the relevance of a number of key knowledge elements. Knowledge of travel insurance was thought to be the most essential area, followed by travel related geography (see table eight).

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Table eight: Importance of particular knowledge elements for the future

Travel insurance Travel related geography Company policies and procedures Legislation Other Knowledge of environmental issues Knowledge of modes of transport Knowledge of accommodation Knowledge of cruises AVERAGE 1 (essential) 60% 55% 51% 48% 47% 46% 45% 43% 40% 48% 2 15% 23% 17% 27% 18% 26% 29% 31% 27% 24% 3 21% 20% 30% 22% 35% 20% 23% 23% 26% 23% 4 1% 2% 0% 2% 0% 6% 1% 1% 4% 2% 5 (of no importance) 2% 0% 2% 1% 0% 1% 1% 1% 4% 2%

Source: Training in the travel industry 2010, employer survey (base: 88 [all employers]) Similar to much of the rest of this report, customer service was widely regarded as critical to the travel industrys continued success. One respondent commented: Customer service and sales are the foundation of our businesswe need to be fully trained and up to date with any new developments, and feel confident to use it." Furthermore: "Customer service is an ongoing skill as online booking could never replace this. There was therefore an overall consensus amongst employees and employers alike that customer service will always be critical to gain and retain business. With regard to IT skills, another skill that was regarded as essential to future success, one employer commented succinctly: those who can maximise IT skills will continue to be successful A number of respondents agreed that the continuing growth of the Internet would mean that companies would have to be fully IT proficient, be able to market online and produce effective online reservation systems. Another employer stated the need for travel employees to be able to prepare and send information by e-mail, blogs, twitter, SMS, and any other new form of communication that arises. Clearly then, the importance of IT skills is not confined to simple day-to-day computer use but to effectively using internal IT systems and the wider ability to market and sell effectively through all forms of current and future technology. There was also a large emphasis placed on the importance of product knowledge in the future. Interestingly, whilst many respondents commented on the importance of IT skills in the future one employer alluded to the fact that, with a strong emphasis on first hand knowledge, a holistic approach can be the most effective to being successful in the industry: "Technology is always going to be important but I have many years experience in the industry and in my view the most important skill is product knowledge and personal experience. Anyone can use a computer but when it comes down to it, it is not the computer that customer buys holidays from. Over the years I have seen companies take trainees on and send them on selling skills courses. This is all very well but if they do not know their product how can they sell it? More

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companies and tourist boards have to offer the younger members in our industry more educationals, not to far flung places, but to Spain, Greece and Turkey. First hand knowledge is the key and this is the best way they can learn. The cruise companies are getting it right. Ship launches and ship visits are encouraged and look what is happening to their industry." Another employer commented that whilst technology allows customers to find a lot of information for themselves, this can never replace first hand knowledge and a personal touch. With regard to new jobs arising in the industry, feedback from employees was limited. However, many did acknowledge that the travel industry is constantly changing and having to reinvent itself; therefore the job roles and requirements change frequently. As one employee put it: There are so many companies now looking at marketing, graphic design, technology, destination management, account management etc. etc. that new roles are always emerging. Employers were more forthcoming with their responses and there was agreement that new jobs would emerge in communications and in contact centre roles within non travel specific outsourcing companies. There was also agreement that new jobs would emerge in e-marketing due to companies looking to take advantage of new technology. One employer even noted that new jobs would emerge solely for writing relevant applications for the iPhone. Regarding organisations investment in training and development over the next five years it is encouraging to note that over two thirds (67 percent) said they expected it to increase.

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CONCLUSION This report has provided information on a number of different areas with considerable importance to the travel industry. It found that the majority of the travel industry workforce has remained stable or indeed increased over the last year (78 percent of respondents). For those that had taken on new staff, 40 percent said it had been easier to recruit due to such factors as the greater amount of people available and the higher levels of their skills and experience. For those taking on staff directly from full time education, around a quarter (24 percent) said it was very important that the new recruits had undertaken industry related qualifications. However, other attributes such as having the right attitude and an interest in travel were considered to be of greater importance. The vast majority of employers (93 percent) provide training to their staff, backed up by the 85 percent of staff who had received training. Whilst training is provided in a whole host of different areas such as product knowledge, sales and communications skills for general staff and organisational skills, people management and leadership skills for managers, customer service is the one unifying factor which brings them all together. In addition, it is considered by many to be the skill which organisations will be unable to do without in the future if they are to continue to be competitive in the market place. Whilst training is therefore seen as an essential component of a successful organisation for many of the respondents, there were mixed opinions over the efficacy of various forms of training. It would appear, for example, that the extent to which full time training and qualifications prepares individuals for the industry is questionable. However, other forms of training such as apprenticeships were deemed by those with experience of them to be a highly effective method. Respondents were also asked which sources of information they commonly use to access information on training and development. ABTA publications were rated most highly although 70 percent of employers said they would find it useful if ABTA could provide more information. As the prospect of reduced public funding for training raised many concerns amongst those involved in this research, this would seem like an ideal time for ABTA to review their communication channels and look to furnish their members with more detailed information on effective forms of training. Looking towards the future, it seems likely that technology will continue to evolve and organisations will have need to keep pace with this in order to maintain their competitiveness. However, despite the advancements in technology excellent product knowledge and customer service skills will maintain their underlying importance.

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APPENDIX ONE
SURVEY RESPONDENTS People 1st Industry Survey 2010 This survey consisted of in-depth telephone interviews carried out in March 2010. 159 interviews were carried out with businesses in the travel industry. The table below shows which type of market these businesses predominately catered to.
Frequency 23 84 52 159 Percent 14% 53% 33% 100%

The business market The leisure market A combination of the two Total

Training in the travel industry 2010 In total, 559 individuals provided responses to these online surveys which were available online for four weeks between May and June 2010. There were two different surveys; one for employers and another for employees. Employer survey
Frequency 17 8 13 45 5 88 Percent 20% 9% 15% 51% 6% 100%

0 - 10 11 - 49 50 - 249 250+ Don't know Total

Leisure travel agency Business travel agency Tour operator Cruise operator Travel Industry Partner Other

Frequency 5 42 21 21 6 1 18

Percent 48% 24% 24% 7% 1% 20%

As it was thought that some employers organisations were likely to operate across a range of different business types, respondents to the survey were allowed to select multiple responses to the question How would you describe the type of business you work in?. This explains why the numbers in this table to do not sum to the total number of respondents (88).

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Employee survey
Frequency 296 66 49 27 18 15 471 Percent 63% 14% 10% 6% 4% 3% 100%

Leisure travel Business travel Tour operations Other Travel industry partner Cruise operations Total

0 - 10 11 - 49 50 - 249 250+ Don't know Total

Frequency 43 30 40 316 39 468

Percent 9% 6% 9% 68% 8% 100%

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APPENDIX TWO
Britaly Travel case study Established in 1984, by father and son, Britaly Travel Limited is an independent travel agent employing six staff, who deal with over 300 tour operators. People 1st spoke to Director of Britaly Travel, Daniele Broccoli who describes how the small family run business has ridden the storm of the recession, taken advantage of National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) and Apprenticeships and instilled a flexible, open and supportive company culture. Issues and challenges Daniele shares some of the issues and challenges Britaly Travel has faced being a very small and busy travel agent. The recession as Daniele explains, hit us hardmost of us [small businesses] run on the minimum possibleso with the recession the only thing I could cut back was my staffI didnt have the heart to cut anybody back, I just rode the stormnow we are riding it back. Indeed, Daniele explains that key to their strength is the closeness of his staff, who all volunteered to work four days a week but Daniele did not want to implement this. Tour operators that offer cheaper deals online hurts the travel agents financially more than anyonethe average tour operator is selling online ten percent cheaper than we buy it for. The introduction of low cost airlines, initially hit Britaly Travel, given their Peterborough office is 58 miles away from Stanstead airport. Finding the time to train staff, as is the case for most small businesses, is very difficult when you are responsible for every aspect of the business:

You have to do everything yourself, from running the business to emptying bins and cleaning cupsfinding the money and time to train is then very challenging. Typically Italian To deal with many of the challenges, primarily the recession, Daniele knew the business had to change focus and expand its offer. He stresses that you cant wait too long on changing the way the company moves. Typically Italian was introduced in 2008 as a tour operator arm of Britaly Travel and has increased its revenue by 100 percent between 2009 and 2010. Typically Italian is now helping to support Britaly Travel, as Daniele explains making the changes means as a company we are now holding our own. If I didnt make changes and just left Britaly, we would be struggling. What is more, each employee played a part in its creation: We did it altogether, the staff love Typically Italian, they love the business and they love speaking to travel agents.

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Training and culture Key to Britaly Travels success has been Danieles flexible approach to training. He describes the training he delivers as ad-hoc and informal. He says that keeping training simple, quick and easy means it is effective given the time restraints of a small business. Shadowing and mentoring are great methods of teaching staff new skills. Daniele shares an example: My gut feeling with an employee was that she would be good at selling. I gave her the tip that it was about making the travel agent relax on the phoneonce you establish that rapport, they will appreciate it. She would listen and make notes as to how I was selling. The next step was for me to listen in while she was on the call. Then she would put the customer on hold and I would give her a selling tip, for instance to say that the hotel is three minutes from the beach to help with that sale. Britaly Travel make the most of NVQs and Apprenticeships as Daniele says they are ideal for small businesses because the are flexible and they give employees relevant skills and can be done on-the-job. Instilling an open and flexible work environment is equally pertinent to their success. Daniele says he always listens to his staff and everything they do is very much a team effort: I always stand to be corrected if a member of staff thinks we should be doing it in a different way. We will implement something based on the brainstorming sessions and then if it doesnt work, we change it. Tips and lessons learned Go with your gut feeling: the great advantage of a small business is to use that gut feeling. Take informed risks and gambles and learn from your mistakes. Keep training easy and simple: do what you think is going to work for the company, rather than going by the text book. Be flexible: I never look for minutes; I know that if they [employees] are busy they work through their lunch or stay until six oclock and I dont even have to ask. If one of the members of staff has a problem getting her daughter to work, if I am not busy Ill take herother members of staff will do the sameits swings and roundabouts. Avoid target setting: I dont set targets because I think if you set targets it will create pressure and a sell, sell, sell atmosphere in which youll lose that personal service. Make the most of government funded training and qualification: such as NVQs and Apprenticeships, as Daniele says about the NVQs they used it was completely free and the process easy and I would recommend it to other employers. And finally. .dont wait too long before implementing changes and just think it will be OKif you have an idea you have been playing with for years then try it, because if you do believe in it and you have experience in your industry then it will work.

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Further information Produced by People 1st in June 2010. For further information on this case study please contact: Vicki Wolf, Professional Development Manager, ABTA VWolf@abta.co.uk www.abta.com Melissa Dinic, Senior Research Executive, People 1st melissa.dinic@people1st.co.uk www.people1st.co.uk

For further information on Britaly Travel, please contact Daniele Broccoli, Director, Britaly Travel danielebroccoli@britalytravel.com www.britalytravel.com

For further information on training and career progression visit uksp.co.uk

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APPENDIX THREE
Thomas Cook case study

Thomas Cook case study: the benefits of e-learning

Thomas Cook Group plc is one of the worlds leading leisure travel groups with sales of 9.3 billion, 22.1 million customers and around 31,000 employees. In the last 12 months, over 8,500 staff have completed an e-learning programme at Thomas Cook in the UK & Ireland. People 1st interviewed Mari Harrison, Head of Learning and Development at Thomas Cook UK&Ireland, to find out about the benefits e-learning has had on the business and share her advice with other employers thinking of using e-learning. Why e-learning? E-learning refers to using electronic applications and processes to learn. E-learning applications and processes include web-based learning, computer-based learning and virtual classrooms. Thomas Cook wanted to reduce the cost and time of training, without reducing the quality. E-learning was the ideal solution, both from an organisational and employee perspective. Introducing e-learning meant Thomas Cook could: make training more accessible and flexible as it can be done at home or in the work-place at a pace that suits the individual cut the cost of training reduce training time enabling staff to spend more time in their job role and reach competency quicker deliver consistent messages to a large number of people very quickly report and regulate who has completed training

Thomas Cook has been developing e-learning training programmes in-house since February 2009 and delivering courses since July 2009. E-learning is available to all employees and covers induction, regulation, system and product knowledge as well as key people management processes and providing information on the company vision and values. Impact Thomas Cook measures the impact e-learning has had on the business and has seen great results.

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Cost and time reduction The cost of travelling to training was reduced. Had Retail new joiners travelled to a venue for the Systems & Product Induction training, it would have cost over 35,000 in travel expenses. By reducing the amount of Induction training time for Retail new joiners on Systems and Product from three days in the classroom to one day of elearning, therefore increasing the time spent working and producing revenue, Thomas Cook has generated over 25,000 in improved efficiencies.

Our sales consultants have a bespoke e-learning systems programme that they use.that has achieved substantial cost savings as it used to be a two day course and is now a four hour e-learning programme broken down into sections so you dont have to do four hours in one go. Staff satisfaction E-learning has been received very positively by employees: Average knowledge rating of the key sales systems before completing the elearning (out of a maximum of 5) was 2.37 and after completing the course was 3.97.

An enthused employee commented: I really liked the step by step instructions and being able to go over anything you were unsure of as many times as needed. Average knowledge rating of the mainstream in-house products before completing the e-learning (out of a maximum of 5) was 2.92 and after completing the course was 4.14.

Employees commented: It was fantastic to go through all our mainstream brochures in such an engaging way. Great layout you go through a brochure followed by a short quiz with customer scenarios to check what you have learned.

Challenges Implementing change is never easy in any organisation and e-learning is no exception. Mari explains they faced two main challenges: E-learning is not for everyone. People have different learning styles that need to be taken into consideration. Thomas Cook makes sure they offer a balance of training methods and adopt a blended approach for delivering Induction training in particular.

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A new and different training approach takes time and perseverance to embed.

To help with these challenges, Thomas Cook worked hard to show their employees the positive impacts of the change, such as testimonials from managers and examples of employees who have performed well due to e-learning they had completed. Mari recommends: Do a lot of communication, fly the flag for it and have some senior people who champion it and very quickly show the benefits of it. This journey is one that Thomas Cook is still on: You have to be determined and it is very important to know that in terms of embedding e-learning there is not an overnight fix. Tips and advice Making the most of e-learning To maximise the effects of e-learning, Mari suggests the following: On its own, use it primarily for systems and product knowledge: Its very good for imparting technical knowledge, processes and policy its very good for facts Mari comments. Use it as a refresher or to complement classroom training when developing skills.

Lessons to other businesses Whilst Thomas Cook is obviously a large employer, Mari shares some practical tips and advice that could be applied to businesses of all sizes: Dont underestimate the importance of market research. View a wide range of e-learning tools before you decide on your partner there is lots in the market and some are better than others. Ask your employees what they would like to use e-learning for. Thomas Cook held focus groups with front line staff to get feedback. Dont make the e-learning too long and make sure its interactive. Mari recommends breaking it down into 20-30 minute modules. Bring it in-house to reduce the cost and ensure the training fits the company culture. Get your IT / technical department involved from the outset. They can tell you what systems will work in your organisation.

Final words I am a real advocate of it [e-learning], its worth the journeyI am passionate about development and the fact that so many people have been able to receive learning is, for me, a massive win. Its consistent, we can track completion, it has a my development page which holds a history of what each staff member has done so they can track their progress and so can their line manager and I am very proud of the quality of it.

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Further information Produced by People 1st in June 2010. For further information on this case study please contact: Vicki Wolf, Professional Development Manager, ABTA VWolf@abta.co.uk www.abta.com Melissa Dinic, Senior Research Executive, People 1st melissa.dinic@people1st.co.uk www.people1st.co.uk For further information on Thomas Cook, please contact: Mari Harrison, Head of Learning and Development Mari.Harrison@thomascook.com www.thomascook.com For further information on training and career progression visit uksp.co.uk

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APPENDIX FOUR Travel Bureau case study

Improving business performance through training and development The Travel Bureau, established on Gosforth High Street in Newcastle Upon-Tyne in 1961 by John & Rose Scott currently employs 30 staff. There are three sectors to the current business model: corporate travel management, bespoke leisure retail and group travel. Like many small businesses, training and development at Travel Bureau was ad-hoc and in-frequent. However, by carrying out a detailed business review and implementing structured training and development, Travel Bureau have improved their business and its financial performance. Sales and customer satisfaction has improved and staff are more motivated as a result. This short case study describes how Travel Bureau use training and development in their business and provides practical advice to help other businesses do the same, based on an interview with Jeanne Lally, Commercial Director at Travel Bureau. The examples focus on the Travel Bureau Corporate division, which employs 12 people. The challenges Typical of other independent travel agencies with no supporting HR functions, the staff at Travel Bureau Corporate had great technical expertise but lacked the knowledge and skill to market the business offer to new customers. Without a structured training and development programme in place, the customer service and selling skills were good but had not kept pace with the best in the travel industry. To address this, Travel Bureau spent six to eight months working with a staff member from each department, helping them to fully understand the business process from all angles. This allowed them to identify a number of gaps and barriers to achieving a seamless sale, focused on cutting edge customer service. They then put in place a training and development programme to upskill their staff and develop their skills and knowledge in line with the needs of their clients. Implementing change Training and development was key to turning the business around: Performance Development Reviews were introduced for all staff. Online training was used to up-skill staff, whilst keeping the cost of training down. Customer service and selling skills champions were identified internally to run one day training sessions with staff. Managers worked with an external consultant Richard da Costa - sourced via Northumberland Business Service Ltd who co-funded an external bespoke leadership and management course. Richard worked for Tony Weightman
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Associates who have experience of training in the travel and tourism sector. Jeanne explains: Richard provided one-to one bespoke training and development sessions for key members of the management team which proved far more effective for us than offsite training in a group. Richard was particularly effective at building the confidence of newly promoted managers and team leaders. A director within the business took ownership of staff development. Another employee was promoted to team leader to oversee everyday issues such as sickness and lateness thereby freeing the new manager up to concentrate on managing the team for results.

Impact Travel Bureau Corporate has seen significant business improvements resulting from the changes outlined above: Increase in sales: We have seen sales increases in over 50 percent on ancillary bookings, and thats been by focusing on them rather than just selling the core requirements. Customer satisfaction: Being on Facebook and Twitter meant that our customers on the other side of the world (during the ash cloud disruptions) could get regular updates irrespective of being in different time zones and direct to their mobile devices and this has led to excellent, positive comments from customers about our operational capabilities. Staff retention: By putting career paths in, putting people through training and giving them variety to their roles where they are learning something new Jeanne adds We have very good staff retention; this initiative developed skills and reduced errors by 10 percent. Staff motivation: Our staff had great ideas about what would improve the business, their own and the team performance. The business review which included Freshair sessions led to some of their ideas changing the way we work. Rather than managers imposing change, the staff themselves suggested and then helped implement actions that make them more effective, which in itself is motivational.

Lessons learned We asked Jeanne what practical advice and tips she would recommend to other businesses: Carry out a detailed review: Although time consuming, its well worth it to fully understand the processes and identify areas for improvement: you have to go through every part of the business, capturing all the processes and look actively for ways to reduce duplication or make it a quicker process. Involve staff and get their input: Bringing about change is never easy and can be uncomfortable. One way of easing the process, as Jeanne explains, is ensuring employees understand what the objectives of the change are and getting everyones input.

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External training: Get a third party involved. This encourages open and honest discussion and acts as a bridge between manager and directors, as well as providing an alternative view. Recruitment: Have a rigorous interview process: One part of our interview is to give the candidate a technical test and the second part is on soft skills. We use a scoring system as well and ensure two people interview the candidate.

Final words Its well worth carrying out a thorough review of your processes and then implementing training and development to support any changes and fill any gaps its definitely made the business better it does pay dividends because you can discuss performance, career pathways, it definitely improves retention and makes your people more effective because you are managing them more tightly.

Further information Produced by People 1st in June 2010. For further information on this case study please contact: Vicki Wolf, Professional Development Manager, ABTA VWolf@abta.co.uk www.abta.com Melissa Dinic, Senior Research Executive, People 1st melissa.dinic@people1st.co.uk www.people1st.co.uk

For further information on Travel Bureau, please contact: Jeanne Lally, Commercial Director, Travel Bureau Email: jeanne@travelscapeonline.co.uk www: http://www.travelbureaugosforth.com/corporate

For further information on training and career progression visit uksp.co.uk

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