Training at top of agenda

Michael Vincent (pictured), head of learning and development, said the programme, Accelerator, had been piloted since June and had produced impressive results. It will now be rolled out more widely.

Vincent said agents who had trialled the initiative had seen an increase in sales; greater usage of Phenix – the company’s in-house booking system; a boost in the average number of bookings; and better motivation.

Jim Eastwood, global sales director, said agents participating in the programme had seen a 20-30% growth in business year-on-year over the same period.

The 16-month programme begins with “four months intensive training” in Coach – Travel Counsellors’ in-house training programme which launched in June this year – with support from the business development team.

Vincent asserted that it “required” the Travel Counsellors who joined the programme to be committed to analysing their data, thinking about where they needed to be and to follow a structured business course that covered a wide range of subjects.

“These include mindset, personal development, improving your digital footprint, and thinking about customer and business planning,” he said.

At the end of the first four months, participants set themselves a 12-month business plan.

Other new training initiatives include TC Elite – a six-month programme developed with Manchester Metropolitan University based on a course reviewed by Goldman Sachs and trialled by 1,000 small and medium-sized enterprises. He said the intention was to launch it in early spring 2018 and to pilot it with the company’s Gold Travel Counsellors, before rolling it out globally.