Power to the people

Jonathan Austin, founder and CEO of Best Companies, the brains behind The Sunday Times Top 100 List, says it’s all about the people.

"People are the lifeblood of a travel agency, there’s no doubt about it. The industry comprises of people talking to other people about wondrous sites in the world that they can explore. Therefore it makes sense that these types of companies should look after its people; working hard to ensure that they are engaged with the business and enthusiastic about the type of work they are doing. Because it’s no secret that employees can make an incredibly valuable contribution to a company’s success.

Two such companies in the travel sector have gone the extra mile to boost levels of employee engagement, and have been rewarded for it by being ranked on the acclaimed Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For List.

Flight Centre and Kuoni came 61st and 76th respectively, staying on the prestigious List for another year, a testament to what can be achieved when companies strive to make their workforce happy. Both businesses showed a strong commitment to improving themselves on all levels.

It appears that their efforts are paying off, as Best Companies, who run and compile the aforementioned Lists, found that travel agencies had higher levels of engagement than the average across all sectors. Overall, the travel sector ranked within the top 20 for many of the engagement factors, including 8th for ‘My Team’, 15th for ‘Giving Something Back’ and 22nd for ‘Wellbeing’.

For any travel company looking for ways to motivate their workforce, perhaps with the hopes of featuring in next year’s Lists, Flight Centre and Kuoni are the best places to seek inspiration.

A huge 84% of employees at Flight Centre said they had fun in their teams, with 78% reporting they felt a strong sense of family – that’s certainly an atmosphere to aim for. Employees are rewarded in non-financial ways, most impressively with a ball held in an exotic location every year. This year will see the teams travel to Las Vegas; the perfect cure for the inevitable wanderlust that arises from working in the travel industry.

Not content with arranging holidays for others, employees at Kuoni are actually encouraged to travel the world themselves through the company’s organised programmes. No doubt this contributes to the 77% of employees who said they ‘love their job’, with 66% of them also saying the company promoted a good work-life balance. But Kuoni understands that sometimes it’s the little things that can make all the difference, which is why they go the extra mile, whether it’s Valentine’s Day cupcakes hand delivered by senior managers, Easter eggs, summer ice creams or pumpkin carving on Halloween. Their ethos is based on fun, happiness and loving what you do.

The inspiration is there, now you just have to use embrace it and make changes within your own business. If you want to enter this year, click here to get the process started. The deadline for registration is October 2, so there’s still time."