Across a range of Flight Centre brands – FCM, Corporate Traveller and Student Flights – the travel mega-company has brought in flexible working arrangements to help you work smarter. We quiz two travel experts…
Flight Centre Travel Group is all about progress. Always looking to innovate, last year they appointed Diversity and Flexibility Champions right across the group whose job it is to help people feel included in the company whether they are young, old, a new parent or simply looking to work on their own terms.
There are heaps of opportunities to benefit from the new initiatives that have since been introduced. You can have paid travel, work from home, or work out your own flexible working times.
But you don’t have to take our word for it. Angela Lindlop and Amanda Hill are two travel experts who have made job-sharing work for them and their families as travel consultants with Corporate Traveller.
Amanda started in the UK over two decades ago with a company called Travelbag before moving to Flight Centre in Brisbane while Angela started in the travel industry in 2000 with Sunlover Holidays and moved to Flight Centre two years later. Together, they now work from the company’s corporate headquarters in South Brisbane and are consistently some of Coporate Traveller’s top performing consultants. Here’s what they have to say…
What is your best advice for young parents who are making arrangements between work and living life?
Angela: We’d definitely recommend starting out with a couple of days to test your limits before taking on more days. As a mother of young children, I would recommend not biting off more than you can chew too early. It’s a lot easier to build up the number of days and working hours than to cut them down.
With greater flexibility to your current role, has it improved your performance and efficiency in any way?
Amanda: Our flexible working arrangement means that we have been able to be more efficient in our roles. While our full-time counterparts have a whole week to cover their workload, we have both learnt to be more efficient in a shorter time frame. We both work three days a week but have a cross-over day on Wednesday where we are both able to download information. By having a cross-over day to share information, this allows for better collaboration between us and ensures nothing is missed.
Angela: We also have the flexibility to work around our family’s demanding schedules (for example, to cover the school drop-off, I am able to start a bit later (at 9am) and finish at 6pm – so I am stress-free on those mornings).
Can you tell me about the company culture and what makes it unique?
The most unique thing about the company culture is definitely the people. Moving to the new open-plan office has also allowed for greater information sharing and collaboration in our own team as well as various other teams.
Who inspires you within the industry?
Angela: Our team leader Anton is the biggest inspiration to us. He is a great promoter of workplace flexibility within our work culture, allowing us to choose the hours we work and negotiate with each other how we’d like to structure our weeks. He’s always encouraged us to ensure we have time for the more important things, as he also has a family and understands the pressures of mixing family life with work.
Looking for a career with greater flexibility?
Flight Centre Travel Group is now hiring across its portfolio of leisure and corporate brands! Enjoy a fantastic work environment within a global company and receive solid training and development to advance your career. Check out Flight Centre Travel Group’s careers page to search for current opportunities.
- READ: PLAN OF ATTACK: How Flight Centre plans to make more leisure sales
- READ: FLIGHT CENTRE: We won’t pay for influencers, our Agents ARE the influencers!
Do you want a more flexible career?
Written by Paul Chai, KARRYON contributor
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