Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
It is a fact of life in travel and tourism that most tasks are
carried out by teams rather than by individuals. Good
products, services and facilities don't just happen, but
are the result of concerted effort by groups of people
seeking to achieve a common goal. By the same token,
the skills of teamwork are not always built into an
individual's character, but frequently have to be learned
through training and experience.
Weblink
Check out this website for more
information on Center Parcs and its
approach to staff training in customer
services.
www.centerparcs.co.uk
Business skills
The most effective teams in travel and tourism are those
whose members have clear team roles, delegation of
tasks and defi ned lines of authority. Staff working in
such teams are often highly motivated and bring many
benefi ts to themselves and their organisation, such as
job satisfaction and increased productivity. Customers
benefi t from high standards of service at all times.
Customer service staff need certain business skills in
order to carry out their duties effectively. This is likely
to include completing relevant documentation,
for example tickets, enquiry forms, booking forms,
passenger lists, etc. They will also need to keep
records that may be needed for internal purposes, e.g.
admission numbers at a tourist attraction or sales of
holidays in a particular week, or for external bodies
such the HM Revenue and Customs or the Health and
Safety Executive. Staff will almost certainly need IT skills,
such as using e-mail, accessing the internet and using
computerised reservation systems (CRS). They may
also need to be familiar with spreadsheets, databases
and PowerPoint presentation skills. Accuracy, legibility
and complying with normal business conventions
are important points to be followed when applying
business skills.
FOCUS ON INDUSTRY
TEAMWORK AT CENTER PARCS
Staff at Center Parcs in the UK are trained to work
in teams right from the outset, in order to benefi t
customers, themselves and the organisation. The
company's website stresses the importance of
teamwork with the following statements:
1.
We work as teams to innovate and improve the
business continuously;
Activity 4.10
2.
We experiment and learn from the results;
Imagine that you have been asked to help write a
job description for a new job of Customer Service
Assistant in a busy Tourist Information Centre. List
the key business skills that you think should be
included in the job description.
3.
We focus individually on where we can add most
value;
4.
We are open and honest with each other and we
seek out and actively embrace new ideas and
challenges to our own ideas;
This activity is designed to provide evidence for P3.
5.
We work in teams and expect team output to be
superior to that of individuals;
Complaint handling
6.
We actively learn from things that don't work
by sharing concerns early, facing up to failure,
analysing mistakes and applying the lessons
without looking to apportion blame;
Most of the time, dealing with customers in travel and
tourism is very rewarding and interesting. From time
to time, however, you may have to deal with customer
complaints. In general, British people are rather
reluctant to complain. When they do, however, staff
in travel and tourism organisations must know how
7.
We work in cross-functional teams right from the
beginning of a process.
