Hays Travel vows to stop referring to ‘ex-Thomas Cook staff’
Hays Travel has vowed that from now on, it will no longer be referring to any staff as ‘ex-Thomas Cook’.
Speaking at the company’s conference this week, retail and training director, Jane Schumm told agents and suppliers: "From now on we are all part of the Hays Travel family."
Hays bought the entire retail portfolio of Thomas Cook for £6 million, doubling its workforce and trebling its shop numbers.
Branch managers at the conference were told they can manage their own branch Facebook pages and tailor each post to their individual customers, something that is totally new for ex-Thomas Cook staff.
"We have absolute confidence and trust in the skills and commitment of our colleagues to use all channels to develop strong connections with customers, so that they always book the right holiday for the right client," said Hays Travel co-founder John Hays.
"They have the freedom to communicate unscripted to our clients and can use their talent to the full to sell the unlimited range of holidays we can provide as the UK’s largest independent agent – and they tell me this is an important part of their job satisfaction."
As well as more than 2,000 recruits from the former Thomas Cook shops, Hays has taken on an additional 289 employees and is continuing to recruit.
In the last four weeks as more than 475 new shops have opened.
Hays shared his vision for 2020, with the main theme being ‘happy staff equals happy customers.’~
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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