How to successfully onboard new recruits from outside of travel

A rock star team of sales staff can hugely boost a travel agency’s success but finding new team members isn’t always easy.

Increasingly agencies are casting their nets beyond the safe harbour of the travel industry to find candidates with potential. But where do you start when you have a new recruit with no prior knowledge of the systems, product and customer service skills that your business requires? We speak to agencies with first-hand experience of onboarding new-to-travel recruits successfully.

ALL IN THE TIMING

When running a busy agency, a key concern is how long it might take to ramp up staff with no prior experience. Abi Hyslop runs Designer Travel’s academy for new recruits. She explains that this dedicated section of the business allows the agency to take on one new-to-travel employee each month, aiming for them to be selling independently after a year.

“New recruits have a two-day intensive induction. Day one is a webinar and on day two I meet with them face-to-face. Then there are follow-ups with a business development manager and they can start selling with me as a mentor,” she explains.