Kuoni's award-winning workplace initiatives

Offering fun events, flexible working policies and good staff communication, Kuoni places a keen focus on employees’ wellbeing, mental health and work/life balance. It was this dedication that saw the brand scoop the Best Place to Work in Travel Award at last year’s Travel Industry Awards by TTG.

Recalling the announcement, HR director Nicola Sadowski says: “It was an extremely proud moment. Kuoni has a great team and is an incredible place to work, and for an HR director it’s the best award you can possibly win.”

She says there is a camaraderie among the business’s 300 employees. “The team, ethos and culture at Kuoni are second to none. We refer to ourselves as a family and take a one-team, one-spirit view.”

Numerous initiatives kept staff engaged and connected throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. Within days of the first national lockdown in March 2020, Kuoni TV launched, sharing updates in weekly shows presented by chief executive Derek Jones. The programmes have continued, now with a focus on training.

After a popular online Christmas party in 2020, Kuoni continues to use the same virtual experience platform for regular coffee mornings. Guests bring their own drink, upload a photo and move between virtual tables. “They’re a chance to mingle and see people beyond your direct team,” Sadowski explains.

To further boost the mood of the team, Feelgood February ran in 2021, with daily free virtual events, including laughter yoga classes and life coaching.

VITAL SUPPORT

While the challenges of the pandemic inspired many innovations for the business, it also forced tough decisions. In June 2020, Kuoni looked to reduce its staff and shrink its store network, initially offering voluntary redundancies, halting recruitment and reviewing contract roles. “When we had to make [compulsory] redundancies, we did everything we could to do it in the best way possible,” Sadowski explains.

An outplacement support company provided assistance for those seeking a new job, including help with CVs, building LinkedIn profiles and interview training. Kuoni also launched its Talent Finder website, featuring more than 60 profiles, which was shared heavily on social media to promote departing staff to prospective employers.

For the remaining staff, the past two years have seen drastic changes to the way they work. When Kuoni’s stores and concessions were shuttered during the pandemic, a virtual call centre was quickly established, still operating as a 30-strong homeworking team.

FLEXIBLE STANDARD

This March, the firm launched a trial of its new flexible working policy, which allows the 120 employees based in its Dorking head office to choose how often they attend. Staff were invited to a relaxed “welcome back day”, with coffee, croissant and crepe stands parked outside. In another move to make staff more comfortable, the company recently scrapped retail uniforms, inviting personal travel experts to choose their own outfits using an allowance.

Kuoni’s Right to Disconnect policy, launched this March, stresses that staff are not expected to answer communications outside of their working hours. “It’s very easy to leave your laptop on and hear it ping, and then people are never fully distanced from work. We wanted to prioritise employee wellbeing, so they can manage a healthy and sustainable work/life balance,” Sadowski explains.

The award judges were impressed by the emphasis Kuoni places on mental health. Staff can speak to external experts through the firm’s employee assistance programme and a team of internal trained mental health first aiders direct colleagues to support options. Line managers have also received training. “It was really important for us to have different channels where people could get support and assistance,” Sadowski adds.

Colleagues fundraise for mental-health charity Mind, with the management team raising more than £10,200 last October by attempting to reach the summit of Snowdon.

OPEN TO EVERYONE

The business also focuses on diversity and inclusion, and Sadowski says having five women and four men on the Kuoni board “is a good starting point”. The firm has an LGBT staff steering group and network, and employees have received LGBT-focused training to help them when selling holidays and communicating with colleagues.

The company recruits through LinkedIn and its @workatkuoniuk Instagram account, which shares inspiring updates from all teams.

While Kuoni has been operating in the UK since 1965, it continues to innovate in its approach to the world of work. “For a company with so much amazing heritage, there’s never a standing-still moment,” Sadowski says. “We’re never frightened of change, and our team are brilliant at inventing and creating opportunities.”

TC’S 5 WAYS TO SUPPORT STAFF

Travel Counsellors was highly commended in the Best Place to Work in Travel category at the Travel Industry Awards by TTG. Here are five ways the homeworking specialist supports employees:

Staying connected: The global team keeps in touch through digital forums, message boards, virtual coffee mornings and the online community platform TC World. News and views are shared on regular TCTV webcam programmes.

Staff wellbeing: The digital wellbeing hub has sections on mental health, money management, mindset, healthy eating and exercise regimes.

Mental health assistance: Colleagues can speak to external experts through the employee assistance programme. Professional counsellors are also available, and support continues internally with a team of mental-health first aiders and the TC Welfare Fund.

Supporting learning: A raft of free training and personal development options includes an in-house platform, skills-focused webinars and online courses, with a dedicated “learning hour” each week. The performance development system Culture Amp launched during the pandemic.

Work/life balance: Staff get three days of paid leave a year to volunteer with their chosen charity and a day off to do something special. The firm has enhanced its maternity package and extended the policy to those adopting and added support for those having fertility treatment.