Flight Centre Named NZ"s Best Employer

 
Please find attached a Media Announcement from Flight Centre:
 
Flight Centre Named NZ"s Best Employer

Total travel specialist soars above the competition with record seventh win

Media Release: NEW ZEALAND, Thursday, 27 November, 2008: Flight Centre has consistently been acknowledged as the country’s top employer in the annual unlimited/JRA Best Places to Work in New Zealand survey.

This year was no exception with the organisation winning the large workplace category accolade for the seventh consecutive year at a glitzy gala ceremony held in Auckland last night.

Commenting on the award, Flight Centre Human Resources director Sue Matson said she and the 900-strong nationwide pool of Flight Centre consultants were honoured to have been recognised as an organisation committed, first and foremost, to the quality and development of its people.

“With over 130 stores throughout the country, the culture we have created at Flight Centre is at the heart of everything we do and it’s absolutely fundamental to what makes our company such a great place to work. All our employees are passionately engaged with our business and they deliver exceptional levels of customer service because that’s an integral part of the way we operate,” Matson says.

“Our understanding is that we won again simply because we possess all of the hallmarks of a great workplace: a clear, strong vision, a real sense of community amongst our employees, a commitment to grow and develop our people, and a culture of high performance. And we never compromise on the things that truly matter to our people such as development and learning opportunities, entertainment and investment, which is something we’re particularly proud of,” she adds.

New Zealand’s largest travel specialist, Flight Centre is committed to providing its customers with the best in domestic and international airfares, coupled with accommodation, car hire, travel insurance, cruising, coach, rail touring and adventure travel deals.

Matson also said a crucial component in the Flight Centre culture was consistently reinforcing to its people that they had a clear pathway for progression within the organisation.

“We recruit consultants based on their travel experience, customer service ability and their love of making other people’s travel dreams become a reality. We then hone their aptitude and ability by investing heavily in creating the right infrastructure and systems to enable them to develop their leadership skills,” Matson says.

“We supplement that with regular staff celebrations and social events, annual awards and ongoing incentive-based initiatives that encourage our people to be the best they can be both as individuals and as part of the wider team,” she concluded.

The unlimited/JRA survey is the largest and most comprehensive employee engagement exercise of its kind in the country. Employees complete the survey confidentially either online or in hard copy; JRA’s online survey technology instantly reports results back to the organisation.

At the end of the survey period, JRA ranks the organisations in each size category, based on their overall results. The CEO of each finalist is also interviewed  The judging panel, which includes the survey sponsors, together with JRA and Unlimited, then select the overall winner.

ENDS

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