NEWS Event sponsors champions flexible working. Juliet Dennis reports
Alison Jones, Global; Anna Whitehouse; and Nicola Bradley, Global
Lisa Henning, The Travel Network Group; and Sally Cowdry, Travelopia
ms to retain staff’
into work 15 minutes earlier and they said no because it would open the floodgates. I don’t want my daughter to hit the same roadblock [as I did]. Tere should not be a roadblock for allowing talent to continue.” Travel recruitment firms have
reported increasing numbers of candidates wanting to work flexibly – but say the problem is that companies are not willing to change.
Gail Kenny, managing director of
Gail Kenny Executive Recruitment, said: “People want a work-life balance. It’s not just about working mums. It’s about location, not just hours. One of the challenges we face is some of our clients [travel firms] do not see the benefits of it. It has to come from the top and they still want people in the office 9am to 7pm. Te end result is you are not geting the best out of people.” Travel bosses said one of the
barriers to more widespread flexible working practices in the sector was a general ‘fear factor’ about the issue among agents. Lisa Henning, chief operating
Lindsay Garvey-Jones, Holiday Extras; Anna Whitehouse; and Gail Kenny, Gail Kenny Executive Recruitment
travelweekly.co.uk
officer at Te Travel Network Group, said agents oſten did not know how to raise the issue with employers. She added: “You have to feel you can raise it, but not everyone knows how to approach it. Tey are scared. We do training workshops on this but there is so much fear among employees.”
Holiday Extras is a strong example of a travel company that has embraced the need for flexibility in the workplace. Product director Anna Divers said the company was trying hard to
bring about change on workplace issues, particularly for women. Of its 1,000 employees, 60% are women. So far it has run seven forums for women to share experiences and talk about career challenges. Divers said: “We have flexible working for all our staff. We are
learning that we need to evolve and be mindful of the new world. “We had a lot of nay-sayers who deemed us as a bra-burning
movement. We have had to bring them on the journey, including the chief executive. “We have managed to make
Anna Divers, Holiday Extras
changes about women on maternity coming back to the workplace and our mentoring scheme has led to promotions of women who work part-time.” Te company is now set
to run its first-ever session on the menopause. “It will be a milestone moment for us and we are hoping it will impact our policy,” said Divers.
Holiday Extras embraced flexible working as part of its ‘need to evolve’
31 OCTOBER 2019
15
PICTURES: Steve Dunlop
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80
