Kuoni launches ‘Talent Finder’ service for staff made redundant due to Covid

Kuoni has launched a new online portal to help its staff who have been made redundant find new roles.

It said the Talent Finder initiative was a way for it to support staff leaving the business as a result of Covid-19.

It includes the CVs of more than 60 people who have worked at all levels and divisions, including sales, marketing, product, IT and finance.

CEO Derek Jones said: "This is a crisis unlike any other and whilst it seems counter intuitive to be promoting our staff to other employers, it’s a commitment we’re making to support the exceptional individuals who are sadly leaving us.

"The travel industry has been severely impacted by Covid-19 so for a while we’re going to need fewer staff. We want to do all we can to support them and find our much-loved colleagues new roles, which is why we’ve created the Kuoni Talent Finder – to promote the skills and experience of these outstanding people who are now open to new opportunities."

The Talent Finder site is also divided up into regions, with details including length of service, role profile, skills and testimonials, making it easy for anyone to search and review individuals.

Each profile includes either a connection to their LinkedIn profile to connect directly where possible, or an email for the Kuoni HR team for employers who are interested in speaking to someone they think would be a good fit for a potential job.

Talent Finder is one of a number of initiatives which have been created to support colleagues leaving as a result of the restructure triggered by the coronavirus crisis, said Kuoni.

It is also offering staff sabbaticals until at least June 2021, with the possibility of returning to work at the end if business has picked up or redundancy pay if not. Kuoni said the option had been taken up by ‘a number’ of staff.

Departing staff will be emailed details of new roles created in future as the situation for travel improves.

An outplacement support package has also been agreed, which supports people with one-to-one consultations, CV writing, interview skills and re-skilling if they wish to change industries, said Kuoni.

Derek added: "Every job matters and we have done our upmost to think creatively about how we can protect as many as we possibly can.

"Through consulting with our people we’ve come up with ideas together that will either keep people with us, give them the prospect of returning at some point in the future or find employment elsewhere."