Classic Collection Holidays is recruiting staff from non-travel backgrounds to help overcome a post-pandemic shortage of talent within the sector.
The Worthing-based operator has also refurbished its head office and is offering evening activities such as paddleboarding to entice recruits to apply and encourage existing staff to remain.
Oliver Garner, chief executive of Classic Collection Holidays and sister brand Classic Package Holidays, said recruitment is a “burning issue” for the sector
He said the company is in a “very good place”, having been on a recruitment drive since last August and now has a 163-strong workforce. It is on the lookout for more, to bring its headcount to 180-185.
More: Classic Collection plans online bookable platform for agents
About 60% of staff work in the office, and 40% work from home.
Garner said “traditional means” of recruiting from within travel have been “ticking along” but are not sufficient so the operator has “expanded its horizons”.
The firm has sought staff from other retail and office sectors and established a training team to give new recruits a background in travel.
“A lot of people left travel, obviously, during that [pandemic] period…we might not ever entice some of those that left for good therefore we need to be creative and entice them from other industries,” he said.
“Is financial services as sexy as travel? I would argue not.”
The office refurbishment aims to make the brand “more enticing to external candidates” and encourage current staff to spend more time in the premises.
“Our car park is jam-packed full each day,” he said.
With the beach on the doorstep, there are evening activities such as paddleboarding.
“You can only deliver good service if you believe in the business,” he added.
“You cannot smile and be happy to a customer and an agent if you are sat there full of resentment and don’t want to work there.
“We need to be as diverse and inclusive as possible and somewhere that people want to be.”
Another key strategy is “bottom-up recruitment”, with a second intake for the Classic Academy due in August.
It will see eight recruits, from any industry, take a three-month course within the business then move to sales roles. Future intakes can be recruited for other roles.
“It’s the kick-off platform into a travel career,” said Garner.
The academy intake is predominantly young students but they can be of any age.
The firm has also visited the local chamber of commerce, colleges and careers fairs “to inspire the next level of travel”.
Picture by vectorfusionart/Shutterstock