Helping reps to find work for all seasons

Helping reps to find work for all seasons

Thomson is now able to offer its overseas reps full-time employment, combining their work in resort with a stint in its head office in the UK. Jane Archer reports

RESORT reps used to hopping between tour operators in search of summer and winter work are being given the option of settling down in a full-time job that combines repping and office work under a new initiative launched by Thomson.

The scheme was piloted last year and proved to be such a success that it was rolled out across 300 resorts this summer.

It enables reps to sign full-time contracts, under which they spend their summer in resort and then come back to the UK, to work in another part of the Thomson Travel Group, adding staff resources as the busy booking period approaches.

The choice of where to work when they return to the UK includes positions at Lunn Poly or at a Thomson call centre, where reps’ experience is invaluable as they can give first-hand knowledge of resorts to customers.

Alternatively they can move to head office, where they can work in recruitment or training.

The first reps to take part in the scheme took up their UK positions at the end of October.

Overseas holiday services director Lee Ormesher believes Thomson is the first operator to offer year-round continuous employment to reps, although Travel Choice is combining retail and rep skills in a new training course (see box).

“We wanted to offer career paths for resort staff as they have such extensive knowledge and experience of the product,” she said.

“In the past we have had to let some good people go. This way we get to retain experienced staff.

“Working overseas is a very important job within our industry therefore we want to retain these people. From a business, customer and individual point of view this has got to be right way.”

Not everyone is eligible for Thomson’s full-time package. Those who want to take advantage of the scheme – Ormesher acknowledges that some do not want to work year-round – have to complete a personal development review which assesses their competency, skills, attitude and behaviour.

They also have to come up with an objective for the season and devise a personal development plan.

Thomson employs about 2,500 reps in summer, 1,500 in winter. Of those spare 1,000 seasonal staff, about 66% were offered full-time employment and of those, more than two-thirds accepted.

“The feedback has been really positive,” said Ormesher.

One of the major benefits for those who take part in the initiative, apart from the guarantee of a year-round wage, is the fact that they can join Thomson’s pension scheme.

“Also, if people want to change career within the group, to build on their experience, we can now meet those needs,” Ormesher said.

She added that the changes are part of the Service 2000 initiative introduced this summer to bring a different way of working to Thomson’s overseas operation.

Other changes include the introduction of guest service managers – a team of troubleshooter reps who can handle clients’ holiday problems on the spot – and new ways of handling the welcome party.

Now, clients attend a ‘What’s On Welcome’ where they learn about the resort’s top 10 ‘highlights’ based on reps’ recommendations and comment cards filled in by the previous week’s holidaymakers.

Travel Choice

TRAVEL Choice is launching a training scheme this autumn for up to 100 new and existing staff.

The scheme will give employees two months’ experience working in a Travel Choice agency before spending six months as an overseas rep for First Choice.

The trainees will then return to the UK to work in a call centre or head office, and at the end of 18 months will be able to choose which strand of the group they want to work in.

Travel Choice said the scheme will create a new tier of agents who can work in agencies or the call centre in winter and the move to resort for the summer.