HAVING a personality is not usually an essential characteristic for a potential future travel agent.
It helps, of course, but rarely do employers insist that a bubbly,outgoing nature is of paramount importance. But the travel industry’s newest agency chain, Travel Choice, is adopting a new approach as it looks to recruit staff for its shops, 144 of which are planned to be operational by the end of the year.
So far 60 shops have been opened in towns and cities around the UK. The first opened in Reading in May.
The chain, which will provide First Choice with its own in-house agency, is currently in the middle of an on-going recruitment and training drive which it believes will set it apart from the other multiples.
“We are going all out for personality and also for people who have the ability to mingle with our customers,” said managing director Gerry Reilly.
“As we are a new player in the market we needed to have a core who had travel experience, but after establishing this base we are now actively recruiting those who do not necessarily have a travel background, but have excellent social skills.
“We are majoring on the fact that we have friendly staff who are enthusiastic and have a genuine interest in the customers and their needs. We think that the level of service that we provide will give us a competitive advantage over our rivals.”
Reilly said a fresh image for multiple travel agents is desperately needed as the increasing amount of directional selling is turning counter staff into little more than robots who sit behind desks selling a handful of in-house products. Any individual flair is being stifled, he said.
He added that a large part of training would be based on product knowledge and not just limited to First Choice holidays.
“The result of directional selling is that staff have not been encouraged to use their own initiative and personality,” he said.
“As a nation, and as an industry, we are not at the leading edge of service.
“At Travel Choice we are trying to break the mould.
“We believe the way to do that is to employ bright staff who want to interact with customers. This is the main thrust of the agency.
“A member of staff at our Crawley shop even goes into the shopping mall and chats to people, irrespective of whether they are coming into the agency.
“It may not attract people into the shop there and then, but it leaves a favourable impression.”
Reilly said a high number of applicants have come from rival high-street agencies.
Job applicants are given a personality test as part of an intensive recruitment day along with a standard interview and role play.
An assessment team will analyse the group with particular attention paid to the applicant’s social skills.
Reilly insists it is a simple employment strategy but one that other chains have been slow to adopt.
“Travel has been insular and attitudes are a bit parochial,” he said.
The Travel Choice concept is built around contact with the customer. A member of staff meets and greets customers as they enter the shop – and offers free drinks – while individual booths ensure customers have more privacy and strike up a closer relationship with the agent.
“The desk approach is outdated and is akin to a bank. We should be delivering a dream, not acting like a financial institution,” he added.