Dame Irene joined the team at Hays’ Teesside Park branch on Wednesday (17 January), meeting customers and helping with daily tasks, while chief operating officer Jonathon Woodall-Johnston spent the day at Hays’ Eltham store.

Director of strategy Lisa McAuley, meanwhile, divided her time between the Meadowhall and Crystal Peaks branches, while retail director Jane Schumm worked at Hays Travel Northwich.

Dame Irene said getting the Hays management team and directors back on the front line would help them identify areas for improvement, and gather information from customers.

Schumm added: “I’ve had great feedback from everyone who spent the day in a branch, they were all welcomed by enthusiastic colleagues and pushed out of their comfort zone – we would not expect anything less.”

It comes after the agency, the UK’s largest independent, this week revealed it has more than trebled its profits following the industry’s post-Covid bounceback, reporting turnover of £51.6 million in the 12 months to 30 April 2023. 

In recent days, Hays has also reported two weeks of record sales, with thousands of customers queuing at branches across the country to book a holiday.