The brand is “actively recruiting” and will be looking for new employees from both within and outside the travel industry said Ailsa Pollard, chief executive UK and Europe of Gold Medal parent dnata.

“We are trying to recruit for different audiences to get a really diverse mix,” Pollard told TTG editor Sophie Griffiths during TTG Media’s latest Agenda 2021 seminar.

“We’re working with local councils to look at how we can tap into different communities to make sure we use the opportunity, as we are scaling up and recruiting, to broaden our diversity.

“We will be recruiting from both inside and outside the sector. We’re looking for some experience, but we’re recruiting on attitude and enthusiasm as well.

"It’s about making sure we’re getting energy coming through the diversity of people we’re recruiting.”

Pollard, who has worked for dnata Travel Group for 12 years, has now assumed responsibility for the company’s UK brands including Gold Medal, Travel Republic, Travelbag, Netflights and Sunmaster.

She said the company would be looking to improve the diversity of its workforce across gender, disability, ethnicity and LGBT, while also recruiting from communities such as those who have recently left the armed services. “We recognise there are different skillsets that can be brought to travel,” she said.

Pollard stressed the team would not grow “too quickly” and that she was aiming for “good but steady growth” at Gold Medal. She also praised Gold Medal’s existing staff for their “wealth of knowledge” and added that dnata has been using technology to automate back-end processes to allow staff more time to work with agents and customers.

Meanwhile, asked about Travelbag’s high street agencies, Pollard said they were “always on the lookout” for potential new shops, but there was “no specific growth plan for the stores”.

She confirmed there was no intention to close any of Travelbag’s existing shops and emphasised the “halo uplift” these stores gave the brand in their local areas, which compared favourably with other marketing avenues, such as online PPC (pay per click) advertising.

Pollard added the recovery from Covid-19 would also be difficult for the industry with the transition away from “crisis management mode”, as well as dealing with the mental health challenges faced by staff who were now “fatigued” after the past 18 months.

“The next year is going to be just as hard as the last year, but in different ways,” she said. “People are struggling with limited resources. Where do you spend money as the market comes back? We have to help our teams get out of crisis mode and ensure we’re not missing opportunities.”

Pollard said dnata’s UK brands would not be going down the road of heavy discounting to drive sales as part of its post-Covid strategy. “What the industry has to be careful of is racing to the bottom and discounting to try to get the cashflow in,” she warned. “I don’t think that’s coming out better as sustainable businesses. That’s definitely not something we’ll be playing into.

“We’re focused on providing great value and service for customers. I’m sure others will play that heavy discounting game and selling at losses to get cashflow in. It’s easy to get hooked on growing the top line when actually you’re throwing a lot at the bottom line and you don’t realise all the costs associated with that.”

Pollard also addressed the issue of making travel more environmentally friendly and added she would “prefer all travel to be more sustainable”. “We will look to focus on improving year-on-year to make it meaningful for customers,” said Pollard. “While not forgetting we’ve got big [sustainable] targets in the future.”

Looking forward to peaks, Pollard said dnata had “plans in place” but they would need to be flexible and make quick decisions when necessary. “What the crisis has taught us is the importance of agility,” she added. “Speed of decision-making is very important so we can make the most of opportunities.”

She said dnata’s UK bookings had been “very lumpy” up to September, but there had been a “more gradual build-up” since the government’s announcements on easing international travel restrictions in mid-September. “We’ve seen a bit more consistency since then,” added Pollard. “I think peaks will be drawn out longer than normal, but who knows.”

TTG+ members can watch TTG’s full Agenda 2021 interview with Pollard on-demand now here.