Hays Travel owner Dame Irene Hays and senior managers went back to the shop floor to work in branches across the UK the day the agency reported soaring annual profits of £51.6 million.
The independent agency group’s chair, directors, and divisional and regional sales managers spent Wednesday supporting colleagues during the busy peaks period and gathering feedback from customers.
Dame Irene joined Libby Gray and her team at Teesside Park, meeting customers and supporting colleagues in the branch with meeting targets and completing their daily tasks.
A total of 33 Hays Travel directors and divisional/regional sales managers went ‘back to the floor’, including chief operating officer Jonathon Woodall-Johnston, who spent the day in Eltham branch; strategy director Lisa McAuley, who joined staff in Meadowhall and Crystal Peaks; and retail director Jane Schumm, who headed to Hays Travel Northwich.
Dame Irene said: “Peaks is the busiest time for all our colleagues in branches and the best time to gather insight on what is working well and where we can improve our customer experience.
“Having a day where board members and sales managers spend a day on the ‘shop floor’ enables us to support and encourage our retail colleagues, identify any barriers to review, and gather direct feedback from our customers.”
Schumm added: “As the nation’s favourite travel agent we have to deliver an excellent service to our customers every time, so it was great to spend a day doing exactly what we expect of our teams – from talking to customers about their travel needs, to selling holidays, arranging travel money, to posting on social media.
“I also made a few cups of tea to keep colleagues going – which is very important, particularly at this time of year.
“I’ve had great feedback from everyone who spent the day in a branch, they were all welcomed by enthusiastic colleagues and pushed out of their comfort zone – we would not expect anything less.”