Travel organization TUI has weathered the corona period relatively well. Customers feel like going on holiday again. It's nice and busy again in the shops and in the contact center. But the Customer Services Center has had to absorb the necessary blows. Modernizing TUI Group's IT will help accelerate business processes, increase traveler self-service and increase agent productivity. Among other things, a new platform is being built based on Amazon Connect, which will provide more options for better handling of customer contacts.

Text: Theo Loth

TUI Group, the parent company of TUI Netherlands, is working on a thorough modernization of ICT and the applications that support the primary business processes. “We are working on new systems for reservations, CRM, customer contact and social media management. We want to provide a company-wide 360-degree customer view for everyone who interacts with the customer. In the contact center, on the flight and at the destination.” That says Ron van Munster, Head of Customer Services at TUI Netherlands. SAP C4C CRM is central. Proper integration of all business applications will enable customer and data-driven operations and provide greater convenience for the traveler.

TUI, facts and figures

TUI offers holidays for every traveler and every budget. You can book a holiday at TUI online, at a (TUI) travel agency, an independent travel advisor from TUI at Home or the Customer Services Center. In addition, TUI Netherlands has its own airline, TUI fly.
TUI Netherlands is part of TUI Group, with travel organizations in 31 countries, more than 220 travel brands, 1.600 travel agencies and 70.000 employees. TUI Group is listed on the stock exchange (London and Hanover). TUI Group provides holidays for around 27 million holidaymakers every year. In addition, TUI Group has four airlines in addition to TUI fly with a combined fleet of more than 150 aircraft, 400 own hotels and resorts and cruise companies with 16 cruise ships. TUI Group's head office is located in Hanover, Germany. TUI Netherlands, together with TUI Belgium, forms the TUI Benelux cluster. Both countries operate their own internal market, but work closely together in many areas and benefit from the joint scale.

TUI in the Netherlands

• 750.000 travelers (2021)
• 10 aircraft
• 2.400 employees
• 140 travel shops
• 130 FTEs in own contact centers
• Own contact centers on Curaçao and in Enschede and Rijswijk. Outsourced contact center in Groningen
• 24/7 service desk at Schiphol
• Due to corona, 40% increase in call duration, from 8-9 minutes to 13 minutes

Integration is done by TUI itself

In various tenders, TUI Group has chosen sub-applications that best suit the business strategy. Adjusting, integrating and implementing the chosen applications is done by the organization itself. Van Munster: “We know our business and our needs best.”

TUI has been working on this large-scale innovation since 2018, which is being rolled out application by application, with various countries serving as test areas. The project is managed group-wide by various project teams and is an effort from the entire TUI group. The main goal is to provide the customer with maximum service and, where necessary, to give them control over what they want to book or have booked with TUI on a self-service basis. The fact that the efficiency and productivity of the organization is also enhanced is a bonus.

AmazonConnect

With his Belgian & Dutch colleagues, Van Munster is involved from the so-called BeNe organization in devising the structure of the new reservation system and how it will function. With the next project already at the door, AmazonConnect. “We don't have customer recognition in our current contact center. That will be one of the things that will be possible on the new platform – the link with the new CRM system being extremely important.” By 2022, most of Amazon Connect will be deployed company-wide. The Dutch customer organization is also involved in the implementation of the chatbot and live chat. “Chat in customer contact is well accepted in the Netherlands,” says Van Munster.

Disruption of the labor market

Due to corona, a new situation has arisen in the field of customer service. In fact, the government has been unintentionally disrupting the market. With all good intentions, the GGDs have set up a large organization for testing, vaccination and booster. The attractive salary has been a strong incentive for people from all kinds of sectors, including the travel industry and the hospitality industry, to work there. The travel world has therefore acquired a new competitor on the labor market with the GGD, who has also laid a new floor under the wage structure. Van Munster: “The hourly wage has increased by about 20 to 30 percent in two years.” The bottom line is that the travel industry needs to do more with fewer people.

Shortage of staff and longer call times

“Both online and in our travel stores are doing well and busy. Employee productivity is therefore more important than ever, especially since corona has increased the need for information. People are insecure and seek contact more often about their journey: the contacts also last longer. Up to almost XNUMX minutes per customer,” says Van Munster. The shortage of employees is felt throughout the entire travel chain, including at Schiphol, at check-in and baggage handling. “Airlines have already had to cancel flights because crews were not available. There is also a staff shortage at the destinations in all sections of a destination, including the hospitality industry and hotels.”

Van Munster was able to shift part of the extra workload to the TUI Customer Service Center on Curaçao, where the scarcity of good people is less severe. And long before corona, TUI introduced Omnichannel customer contact with working from home or in the travel shops. Customer contact could therefore continue during the lockdown and the mandatory working from home.

Secondary conditions make the difference

Fortunately, the GGDs can now scale down and many people will become available again. “But getting them back is difficult and comes at a significant cost.” Van Munster has about 15 vacancies to fill per month. TUI is looking for the solution partly in higher salaries and partly in attractive fringe benefits, such as giving staff discounts on travel and accommodation. Van Munster: “In addition, we also pay attention to sustainability, for example by offering a bicycle plan in which employees can opt for a bicycle instead of another payment for transport.”

“This profession requires more and different skills than a few years ago.”

TUI also works with the UWV to retrain people to become travel specialists and, as always, the company uses trainees from tourism training. Van Munster: “This profession requires more and different skills than a few years ago. Customers have become more vocal and critical. You have more to explain and we also notice that travelers prefer to receive a personal confirmation than to look it up themselves in the FAQ. Despite all the travel information we provide by e-mail and SMS at several moments before the trip, in the heyday of Corona, about 10 to sometimes 30 people were refused flights at Schiphol every day because they could not provide the correct papers or did not receive test results on time.”

Ron van Munster has been working for the Dutch TUI organization for 38 years. “I've done everything, Purchasing, Yield Management, Product Management, Customer Service department, etc.…” Since 2006 he has been working at management level at the Customer Services Center. What appeals to Van Munster about his job is the combination of technology and dealing with customers. But the human touch remains the most important. “You shouldn't go too far with technology. You can automate everything, but then you will no longer be able to respond to calamities. We regularly see examples of this. Resilience, agility and empathy must come from the people. And the employees convey the personality of the company.” Customers expect this human approach, in the store, on the phone, at Schiphol, upon arrival at the airport and at the destination. “It's about attention. If there are problems, you must first listen carefully to the customer. Pay attention to resolve the problem to your satisfaction afterwards. And if necessary give the customer the benefit of the doubt. You can't let a system do that, only an employee who knows the business is given the space to come up with a solution.”

(Ziptone/Theo Loth)

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