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Our Employee Newsletter - The Pulse
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1
The Pulse
Volume 3 Issue 3 Leisure Inbound- Employee Newsletter May 2015
Inside this issue
The Other Side
Largest ever MICE movement
Inbound Force
Strengthening the supply chain
Building Dreams
Big Match Fever
Sports
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5
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Voice of Employee Survey
At the recently concluded VOE survey Walkers Tours
and Whittalls Travels achieved a score of 88.05%.
The team spirit and the quality of work life directly
contributed towards this achievement and we are no
doubt proud to be a part of such an amazing team!
Walkers Tours Limited and Whittalls Boustead (Travel) Limited continuously striving to achieve high
levels of quality, successfully passed the periodic audit with zero non conformities. Adopting industry
best practices and providing high quality services to its clients have been of prime importance. It
continues to challenge the status quo and move forward with the support of its dynamic workforce
and strong supply chain.
Leisure Inbound Sector performed well in
all of its sustainability indicators in the
recently concluded financial year 2014/15.
Striving towards integrating sustainability
practices in to every aspect of the business
has been a key driver which has resulted in
the performance displayed above. Many
awareness sessions along with adopting
best practices too have contributed to the
above success.
Walkers Tours & Whittalls Travels Successfully
Passes the ISO Audit
Sustainability Performance on the Move Up!
2
Lasanthi
Lasanthi has been in the Whittalls UK Market for a little over one year. Generally very serious when it comes
to work, however joins in on the fun all the time. The market is more or less like family to her and she has
come up with descriptions for every one of her team members which are as follows: The world book, the
stress reliever, the Ladybird who gets bugged, the so called sportsman, the English teacher, the brainiac, the
Athlete, the flirt, the counsellor, complements frequently and Ben 10.
The Other Side Team Whittalls UK
Vinodhini
Vino has been a part of this team for more than eight years and in fact this is her first job. She is sometimes
known to be the loudest lady in Whittalls
falls ill for the slightest sneeze from her colleague next door. Vino loves being independent and is a
perfectionist in what she does. Her belief is that there is nothing impossible in this world if you have the
right commitment and passion towards your goal. She is so proud to be a part of most enthusiastic and
intelligent team.
Prabuddha
Joined on a sports contract 7 years ago but is now a full time employee of Whittalls. role in the
a crazy joke. He loves the fact that all the work is done to the point with
the least amount of mistakes, all while having fun. The best quality of the market is that they are process
driven therefore there is an easy solution to every problem.
Kalpani
Moved to Whittalls from Walkers just over a year ago, Kalpani immediately felt at home at the UK Market.
All her colleagues warmly welcomed her and the transition happened in a blink of an eye. She credits it all to
the closeness of the team and loves working with them.
Shan
Shan has been working in UK market for exactly 1 year, 3 months and 18 days (probably a bit more when this
to disagree a bit. He feels everyone in the market is extremely talented and efficient. The team gets into a
frenzy of jokes and laughter out of nowhere which the whole office hears, which sums up the amount of fun
going on over there.
Jayamali
Five years ago Jayamali joined Whittalls UK and is the central
contact point for the whole team, not forgetting the Destination Management Representatives and Airport
Representatives. She also acts as general counsel to the market which is sometimes tricky and requires extra
attention and focus. The team has a great work ethic and strongly believes in team work, which is admirable.
The team is strongly gelled and continue to smile even during the toughest times
For this issue of the Pulse we decided to feature the Whittalls UK mark
take a look at what makes them tick
Nalika
W , Nalika heads the Whittalls UK market and drives the team with passion and
commitment. She feels the team is extremely fabulous and points out the fact that they are always in
action. She credits the success to the passion that runs through the team and the key driver is that they are
-
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Renuka
Renuka has been in the Market for seven years. The best quality of the team is the efficiency &
effectiveness in which they operate. She says the colourful personalities within the team make it
extremely interesting to be a part of this fabulous team. Team work is something they all believe in
and it has worked to their advantage so far. She hopes the team will reach greater heights in the near
future.
Sithara
Sithara Whittalls. In fact she was planning on going
overseas for higher education. But things took a turn for the good and she ended up in the WhittallsUK
market and has been a key member of the team for almost 9 years. She enjoys the fun and laughter within
the team and also contribute with a joke or two once in a while. She is really happy with her work and hopes
to keep contributing as much as she can.
Sithum
Sithum is a new face to the Whittalls UK Team. Words that describe him best are "Silent but Deadly",
straight out of a James Bond movie.
The best part of the team is that they are very helpful and cheerful. He says they were so welcoming in his
first few days and now quite a few friendships have blossomed. Working for the Whittalls UK Team has
been an amazing experience, and will continue to be one for Sithum. He believes that the Team is one that
will prosper because of the friendships formed and the hardworking personalities in the team.
Kalum
A veteran in the market as some would say, Kalum has been there for almost 10 years. His role in the market
Kalum loves when a
passed
around. When all is said and done, he feels this is a good team to work for. He strives to avoid mistakes and
more importantly getting on the non-conformities list.
Mevantha
Meventha has been with the Whittalls UK team for just about 3 years. Started out as the baby of the
team but with the flow of new blood into the market, this is no more the case. A mixed bag sometimes
rganized
he feels they are a force to be reckon with and proud of who and what they represent, their company
Whittalls and John Keells the greater organization.
Prashani
Prashani is very satisfied with her contribution towards the organization during the past eight years. The
Market has been fun to work with and she enjoys working with the team day in day out. She believes that
the results directly reflect all the hard work and commitment the team puts in and is proud of everything
they have achieved. Prashani is looking to continue this and extend her support to the organization in the
future.
Chathura
Eight months in Whittalls UK, Chathura has learnt about life, work & of course fun. He is Infamous for bugging
team members in order to know something while they are busy with their work. The UK team at Whittalls is
the most balanced team when it comes to work & fun according to Chathura. The friendly environment
helped him to sync in fast and grow to the best of his abilities faster and he feels the team is very well
organized in order to maximize efficiency. In his opinion he thinks KUONI UK market is the best market to
work throughout the whole leisure sector!
Peumi
Peumi has been with the Whittalls UK market for 5 years. She handles weddings and feels the team has
been very supportive.
part of it due to the warm and friendly nature of every single team member.
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Largest ever MICE Movement
Walkers Tours handled the largest ever MICE group which consisted of over 1600 Phillips employees who travelled
from all parts of India to attend a series of conferences which was held in Colombo from 16 to 19 January. The Philips
Group of India was represented predominantly by the Lighting, Consumer Lifestyle, Healthcare and Corporate sectors.
The group occupied more than 800 rooms for several days at leading hotels in Colombo. Simultaneous meetings,
conferences and events were held each day. Enthuse Answers, the event management agency from India which
managed this group with Walkers Tours, was extremely satisfied with the way attention was given to each detail during
the entire movement. The entire logistics plan was handled with such ease that each one of 1600 guests went back
with happy memories of Colombo. The conference was held at the Sri Lanka Exhibition and Convention Centre over a
period of three days while the catering was provided by the Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo. This was one of the largest
catering services provided at the SLECC and showcased the ability to handle catering
cricketers Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan, special guests for this event appeared for one-on-one interviews and
Question & Answer sessions conducted on the final day of the conference.
Employees from different divisions came in to support this movement for the event to be a success. Following are few
experiences shared:
Andre
charge of handling the SLECC operation at which the conferences and entertainment events of the group were held. A great
deal of planning had to be done for each element of the Philips groups program and every nitty-gritty had to be carefully looked into. The
experience of handling such a large group was certainly priceless and satisfying 1500 Indians was no easy task at all, but our team at
Rashmika
spirit
Sachintha Indians are known to be difficult. Dealing with tired and disgruntled Indians who discover that their names are not appearing in the
Those 5 days were hectic and crazy! But as always Walkers pulled it off and we did it with panache. The best part was getting to know the Walkers Indian team who I previously did not know very well and they turned out to be a bunch of fun and amazing people. The
backs, always!
Saptharangi Philips Group India. Enjoyed every bit of
Riyaz As I was handling the entire transportation and logistics for the
micros with 1500 Indians. Clients arrived and departed in 55 different flights and stayed in 6 different hotels, yet I managed to allocate
vehicles on time for their transfers. Even though I had sleepless nights during those days, I can proudly say that we did a successful event
5
Celebrating
Indian Movement - Experiences
ndation has been a scheduled
event at Walkers Tours for the past two years. This year too we visited the Home for battered and abused women
managed by Emerge Lanka Foundation which supports Sri Lankan girls who have been removed from their homes due
to abuse or threat of abuse. Every girl was gifted with a Fancy pack which included items which were donated by ladies
of Walkers and Whittalls. We also spoke to them of the importance of savings as they are engaged in funding
themselves by making and selling jewelry.
All 89 ladies of Walkers & Whittalls were gifted with a token of appreciation (an inspirational Movie which speaks about
the ability to create Change The Help). We also put together a video in appreciation of our ladies and to celebrate
them!
6
Having obtained the ISO certifications for both 9001 and 14001 Walkers Tours is on a journey towards continuously striving to achieve higher standards of quality. A specialized team is in place to ensure all our Ancillary Suppliers meet the minimum requirement in terms of quality and safety which is imperative in the industry we operate. Thilangani, one of the new faces at Inbound, is an integral part of this team and is continuously looking at strengthening the quality aspect of the supply chain. Coming from an Air Force background to the Tourism sector is quite a leap. She has been at the helm for four months and has already covered a few Ancillary supplier inspections. The editorial team of the Pulse caught up with her and inquired about her experience conducting these inspections and been a part of the tourism industry; this is what she had to say.
and Kalpitiya. The Inspection team consisted of Sachintha, Yudesh, Keerthi and I. In Trincomalee we inspected the Nature Trails boats and at Habarana & Wilpattu we inspected Jeeps. During the inspection we made sure all the relevant documentation was in order and all the ISO quality standards were met. We left Wilpattu and began our journey to Kalpitiya, but not before securing a new supplier. In Kalpitiya we managed to inspect three suppliers out of which two were newly secured. It was really a fantastic first inspection and an amazing experience to be a part of. It was a three day inspection and even though it was quite a bit of work, I was excited by the exposure I received. One of the most important elements of inspections is that we need to advice the suppliers on how to deal with our clients, because they would interact with the client directly and it has an impact on the overall experience of the client. The tourism industry on the whole is a very astonishing. It is unlike anything else I have encountered during my career at the air force. R
woman, but I took the cho
deserve it and communicate in the
Inbound Force
Strengthening the Supply Chain
From left to right Amali (Finance), Nevanka (E-Commerce), Anjali (France), Aindra (Kuoni
France), Viranga (Thomas Cook), Shaminda (Kuoni France), Suky (China), Mahasen (China),
Kevin (Middle East)
7
Chantelle
Sachintha
That fact that we were actually helped build a house which will become a home to a family was such a great feeling.
Building Dreams
The John Keells foundation was represented by 20 volunteers at the Habitat Youth Build which took place in Trincomalee
on 21st of March. Habitat Youth Build uses volunteer assistance in building houses which is a basic right for several families
across the Island. As part of one of their projects to achieve this, the Habitat Youth Build 2015 took the initiative of building
some houses already part of an Indian Government funded project in Trincomalee,
The highest contingent of volunteers was from Walkers Tours and Whittalls Travels and the experience they gained has
been priceless. Following are the experiences shared by our volunteers:
Amrick
It was a truly unique experience. It was great working hand in hand with people who really enjoyed having us there and welcomed us,
strangers, into their home as if we were known to them. I was surprised and proud of all the support that Habitat for youth had and look
forward to many more of their projects.
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Abdul
It was indeed a great experience. Building those houses in the scorching sun was a tiring task, but the smile on those faces for
whom we built hose houses was satisfying. The experience got even better when a cup of tea was served by the house owners to all
of us and it was shared with the helpers as well. Truly a challenging but fun experience
Stephani
Big Match Fever at Inbound!
Walkers and Whittalls had a day of celebration in the month of March which brought to life the school spirit under the theme
.
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Netball Queens 4 years in a row!!!
Team Walkers retained their Netball championship yet again, this time defeating JMSL in the final. Our ladies were unbeaten
throughout the whole tournament, displaying their dominance over the other teams. Gayanga Botejue was awarded the best
shooter award for the fourth consecutive year while Sachintha Fernando was awarded the best all-round player of the
tournament.
10
Travel Trade Football
Travel Trade Bowling Team Walkers & Whittalls was placed 5th among 60 teams at the recently concluded Travel Trade Bowling Championship.
tournament. They met eventual
champions Sri Lankan Airlines in the group stage and held them out to a draw - the only team to do so.
Are you a trendsetter us? The albums can be viewed at
http://www.facebook.com/CareersatWalkersWhittalls