Placement Experience and Personal and Professional Development - Essay Example

Placement Experience and Personal and Professional Development Introduction In order to fulfil the criteria of my degree, I commenced my placement by working for Hino Travel Limited, which is headquartered in Nottingham, England and primarily engages in travel operations. The company is the largest travel operator in East Midland area. The company mainly aims to develop delicate tours across England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Egypt and rest of Europe. It is the first of its kind in the tourism industry that offers superior quality leisure travel service to Chinese students, academic scholars and Chinese business travellers in the United Kingdom (Hino Travel, 2011). I had joined the company as a sales representative, where I was predominantly assigned with the responsibility to conduct marketing activities in schools as a representative of sponsors in various events organized by Chinese students. My main job role in such events was to promote the products and services offered by my company and persuade students to avail the same. I also served as a support executive, where I was responsible for providing assistance to existing customers who showed great confidence in our services. I had to process their travel documents and schedule the tour according to their flexibility. In addition, I was also assigned with the responsibility to handle queries of customers who are already in the middle of a tour or those who are about to go on a tour. Queries were mostly related to payment, travel tickets, travel documents, immigration and local guidance. My duty was also to process the queries and delegate them to my superiors in cases where handling those queries were beyond my capability as well as authority. Another major responsibility was to notify clients of any modifications in the tour plans and other updates related to date of departure and arrival (such as, notifying any flight postponement or delay). Alongside that, my job role required me to gather feedback from our customers regarding quality of products and services offered by us. Thereafter, I was supposed to deliver the feedback to my superiors as well as manager in order for them to identify area of strengths and improvements. Lastly, I provided assistance to my manager so as to finish the day’s task. Discussion Being the sales representative in Hino Travel Limited, my major responsibility was to attend customers who come for consultancy and provide them with all necessary information regarding products and services that we had to offer. In such a situation I had to use my presentation skills combined with a positive attitude in order to persuade them to choose the deals that we had on offer. I was able to do so by developing an exhaustive picture of needs and expectations of the customers. This was a part of customer relationship management, which required me to utilize my customer relationship management skills so as to influence their purchasing behaviour. Customer relationship management – Its importance and application As stated by Hoots (2004), CRM is a process of developing a comprehensive picture of customers’ needs, expectations and behaviour. My job responsibility required me to amalgamate these factors for improving performance of my company. Since tourism falls under the service industry, involvement of CRM has revolutionized the way services are offered to clients. For example, as a sales representative, I was also assigned with the responsibility to study the buying pattern and trends of our customers. This enabled me to match the levels of products and services that can be offered to them, which in turn will yield a twofold result; firstly, it would boost revenue of the company and secondly, it would enable the company to attain an increased customer satisfaction level. Thereafter, this will allow the company to achieve a higher customer retention rate. Such has been the case in my company as well. Given the fact that I did a detailed study of buying patterns of our existing customers, it had allowed me to offer them well-customized deals, which were hard to refuse. Such an in-depth study combined with my skills enabled me to convince customers quite often and thus, maintain a good conversion rate throughout the program. In order to design the tour packages efficiently and take the tour through to conclusion, I had to coordinate and synergize overall business activity conducted within the company along with the sales and marketing division. This coordination is very important as stated by Raihan, Hamid and Akhir (2013). The author explained that a strong synergy and coordination between the two abovementioned factors enable a company to increase customer loyalty and maximize value for the shareholders. This statement has been proven true in case of Hino Travel Limited and is evident through significant profit margins realized by the company as depicted in their financial statements. According to Zablah, Bellenger and Johnston (2005) and Garcı´a-Murillo and Annabi (2002), lack of fragmented research field and universal theoretical ground regarding customer relationship management have created a sphere, which operates at different levels of conceptual, empirical and practical analysis. Thus, in such a context, customer data analysis bears a special importance. It has been used by our company as input resources in order to accrue benefits. During my tenure, I learned to conduct customized marketing segmentation and communication as well as acquired the skill of cross-selling products. These activities as mentioned by Winer (2001) cater to obtain the value potential of customer data. By doing so, I was able to enhance my ability to sell more products and manage the relationship with our customers effectively. The company has always believed in creating value for customers and henceforth, supporting the value. This is precisely because supporting customer value creation is one of the key determinants of providing service, as far as logic of business is concerned (Saarijarvi, Karjaluoto and Kuusela, 2013). This has helped me and the company as a whole to achieve greater customer loyalty. Customer loyalty and brand value It is widely understood that loyal customers will always expect for services that are beneficial to them. Providing them with quality of services that is beyond their expectation will enhance brand reputation or image of the company (Aaker, 1991; Bennett and Rundle-Thiele, 2002; Chaudhuri and Holbrook, 2001). Hino Travel Limited has always believed in doing the same. Considering such a perspective, it has to be mentioned that one of my job responsibility was to provide them with necessary information regarding services and products in order to help them make an informed choice about services and products that could or could not be availed. This is a very crucial factor that ensures attainment of customer loyalty (Kapferer, 1997; Keller, 2008; Kotler and Keller, 2007). In such a way, customers were presented with a world class buying experience (McKee, 2010; Olivier, 1997). In order to assure that brand value of the company is maintained appropriately, extensive services were given to them on deciding to accept our offers. My duty was to design the tours appropriately as per needs of customers. Thereafter, I was responsible for scheduling the tour according to their convenience. The company also looked after all the paper works related to the tour and customers had to only fill up few details and be at the airport on time. Most of the processing was done through me and I gradually became very efficient in conducting the overall process. I was also assigned with the role of updating customers with any important news. This required me to keep track of all the latest information available. This significantly enhanced my IT skills, which is one of the most important skills that one needs to possess in this competitive business world, besides an excellent communication skill. After commencement of the tour, I was also responsible for overseeing the tour through to its completion, thereby addressing any customer issues while the tour was in process. This enabled me to enhance my multitasking skills since I had to address issues of many customers simultaneously. Nonetheless, the services were not limited to that. After the tour of a particular client completed, we were supposed to gather feedback from them in order to identify areas that can be improved. This made customers believe that their opinions are important to us; this enhanced brand value of the company. This in turn also enabled us to achieve a long-term loyalty of customers. Importance of facilitating cross-cultural communication as a leader Having performed consistently well, I was promoted to the position of team leader for a group of talented sales representatives belonging from different cultures. Working as a team leader has enabled to enhance my leadership skills and also provided with valuable insights regarding ways to conduct effective intercultural business communication (Deal and Kennedy, 1982; Dinsmore, 1984; Chan and Tam, 1995). Culture is referred to as the combined programming of mind that distinguishes member of one category from other (Borcherding and Garner, 1981; Bjerke, 1999; Betts and Ofori, 1992). Given the fact that we live in a global age where technology has a significant contribution in bridging the communication gap between individuals, it has been witnessed very often that culturally diverse people are working together and engaging in frequent communications (Barrett, 1993; Avolio, 2007; Alvesson, 2000). The effectiveness and efficacy of this communication is key determinant of a company’s success (Hoecklin, 1995; G. H. Hofstede and G. J. Hofstede, 2005; Naoum, 2001). This fact suggests the importance of effective cultural communication. As a leader, it was a requirement for me to understand each and every culture and make sure that they are respected equally. Working with culturally diverse people gave me a valuable insight regarding ways to adapt to different cultures as well as to enhance my people management skills. My duty was to delegate tasks to every single group member and address specific issues that escalated while their work was in progress. I have always followed a team or sound style leadership, which enabled me to earn respect of my team members. Efficiency and productivity of my team was the highest among all groups that worked within the organization. Other job responsibilities and learning outcomes In addition to performing these duties, I was also responsible for promoting products and services offered by our company in events sponsored by the company itself. My duty was to persuade students and other audiences into availing the tour packages that we had to offer. This is an essential activity as proper promotion and advertisement enhances brand reputation and image. This was one area that I specifically enjoyed particularly because of the fact that I was always afraid of speaking in front of a large crowd. It was in events like these, where I was able to shed off my stage fear. Even so, I identified one of my major weaknesses as slightly inadequate communication skill. I realized that I had an accent, which was difficult for native people to understand; but this inadequacy was overshadowed by my positive attitude and excellent negotiation skills. Overall, as commented by my superiors, I need to work on my communication skills. I believe that once I excel in this particular area and then combined with all the other skills; I will be able to be one of the best sales representatives in the tourism industry. Conclusion On completion of the placement program, I have been largely successful in enhancing my employability skills and now I have gained distinct understanding of the tourism industry and sectors that I want to explore. Working for Hino Travels Limited has enabled me to achieve an all round development. As a sales representative, I was able to work along with a group of talented members who were able in their own respect. Working with the group has enabled me to gain valuable insight about different ways of adapting to the working environment. Each and every team member was assigned with the role of team leader on a rotational basis and when my turn had come, I grabbed the opportunity with both hands. Leadership is one of the most essential skills that one needs to possess in the contemporary competitive environment (Cope and Wadell, 2001; Natale, Sora and Kavalipurapu, 2004). By assuming the role of a leader, I was able to comprehend different traits of leadership behaviour. There are various leadership styles as explained in empirical literatures such as, the impoverished style, country club style, produce/perish style, the middle-of-the-road and the team or sound style (Zeidan, 2009). Authors have stated the team or sound style as the most appropriate leadership style (Silverthorne, 2001; Evans, 2012; Miller, Butler and Cosentino, 2003). I totally agree with them and this agreement comes from my personal experience of exhibiting same leadership style. The reason behind the agreement can be attributed to outcomes that I obtained during my tenure as the team leader. Alongside that, working as a sales representative has instilled in me a new confidence. It has enhanced my communication skills, which in turn amplified my people skills as well as negotiating skills. I was able to convince people with my choice of words and a positive attitude. I was more often than not successful in persuading people and influencing their purchasing decisions in favour of availing our products and services. The managerial role that I had to assume during my tenure in Hino Travels limited has helped me to learn skills of managing others and to be patient and persistent in my actions. I was able to constructively criticise the work of my team members and offer them with valuable guidance. In the due process, I was able to learn from mistakes that were committed during the tenure. This particular fact made me realize that every person has a different way of working and that it is one’s duty to adapt to different working styles and work their way around. After completion of the placement program, I was able to realize the areas of my strengths and weaknesses and now I am in a better position to work on the areas of improvement. I identified that I had developed stage fear, which had always put me in uncomfortable situations while conducting presentations for a group of professionals. This is one area where I need to excel. In addition to that, I also need to work on my accent and make it as neutral as possible. This is precisely because I have often witnessed that some of our customers were not able to understand my words because of my accent while orating something. Furthermore, I also need to work on my computer skills; as in the initial days, it took me quite some time to process data over the computer. These were some of the areas in which I was relatively weaker than my cohorts. As far as my strengths are concerned, I was very good in negotiating terms and conditions with our customers and at the same time, offer them a very good deal. My conversion ratio was very good, which is evident from increase in the number of customers for Hino Travel Limited after I joined the company as a sales representative. Having experienced the placement in Hino Travel Limited over the last one year, I feel that I am more confident being a sales representative than I was a year ago, when I had started the program. I find the job very enjoyable and it suits my nature, given the fact that I like meeting with new people and forming new networks. In addition, working with a diverse workforce is very exciting and it has been the same for me as well. Although sometimes I had to face certain challenges, fulfilment occurred when I was successful in mitigating those challenges. Therefore, having been offered the opportunity to work with a company of the stature of Hino Travels Limited whilst pursuing my Postgraduate degree has greatly inspired me and hence, I decided to take this opportunity with the sole belief that this will bring about an all round development in me; in my academic, professional and personal life. I take immense pride in saying that experience of working with Hino travels Limited has been worthwhile and has affected me positively in all aspects of my life. Although it has not been made official, there has been serious consideration among the management of Hino Travels Limited about offering me a permanent employment as a senior sales representative, after completion of my degree. If such happens, it would be a great stepping stone for me in this exciting industry. Reference List Aaker, D. A., 1991. 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The Leadership and Organization Development Journal, 254, pp. 362–368. Naoum, S. G., 2001. People & Organisational Management in Construction. London: Thomas Telford Publishing. Natale, S. M., Sora, S. A. and Kavalipurapu, S. B., 2004. Leadership in teams: managerial responses. Team Performance Management, 103(4), pp. 45-52. Olivier, R. L., 1997. Satisfaction: A Behavioral perspective on the Consumer. New York: Irwin/McGraw-Hill. Raihan, N., Hamid, A. and Akhir, R. M., 2013. Beyond technology-based customer relationship management – it is total customer experience management. Research in Business and Economics Journal, pp. 1-15. Saarijarvi, H., Karjaluoto, H. and Kuusela, H., 2013. Customer relationship management: the evolving role of customer data. Marketing Intelligence and Planning, 31, 574-600. Silverthorne, C., 2001. A test of the path-goal leadership theory in Taiwan. Leadership and Organization Development Journal, 224, pp. 151–158. Winer, R. S., 2001. A framework for customer relationship management. California Management Review, 43, pp. 89-105. Zablah, A. R., Bellenger, D. N. and Johnston, W. J., 2005. An evaluation of divergent perspectives on customer relationship management: towards a common understanding of an emerging phenomenon. Industrial Marketing Management, 33, pp. 475-489. Zeidan, H., 2009. The Blake Mouton Managerial Grid Identifying five different leadership styles. The Certified Accountant, 39, pp. 82-85. Appendices Appendix – 1: Discussion with the Placement Development Advisor. Stuart Liversidge, my placement development advisor, had a significant contribution in success that I have achieved today. I met with him in between my placement programme in July 2013. We had a thorough discussion regarding my experience of working with Hino Travel Limited till then. He asked me questions regarding my main job responsibilities, my approach towards fulfilling those responsibilities, the customer base that I need to attend and way in which I go about doing the same and so on and so forth. The discussion was very interactive and I was able to convey all my thoughts very freely to him. This enabled him to understand my position, strengths and areas of improvements. Following my answers, he provided me with valuable suggestions that have enabled me to fill the skill gaps that I had within myself. We spoke about the skills that I need to learn and develop during continuation of the placement, that includes nurturing my IT skills, self-management and people skills and to an extent, my communication skills. He was very happy knowing that I was able to demonstrate a good leadership capability and simultaneously was able to serve customers very well. However, Stuart also suggested me to harness my team working skills as he believed that later if I work for a bigger and better company, I will face bigger problems; one of which will be working along with a diverse team. Thus, I need to be well-prepared beforehand. Appendix – 2: Self reflection on the Employer’s feedback I have always been very committed to my job responsibilities in the company as well as very conscientiousness, responsible and proactive in my duties. My scheduling techniques have been largely appropriate to needs of the company whereby I was able to complete regular tasks well before deadline. This is evident from the recognition that I got from my superiors after completion of my first month’s work. I concur than I have been a very good consultant in Northampton area, where my main duty was to discuss different tour packages and deals with potential customers as well as terms and conditions of such deals. Because of prudent negotiation skills, I was able to more often than not convince the guests into accepting our offers. This is evident from my increasing conversion ratio that I have maintained since my joining. I do believe that I have a lot of patience combined with good selling skills; this has been reflected frequently in favourable customer feedback that I have received over the past year. This is also why my superiors as well as the management have commented that my work is far better than that of my colleagues. As a consequence, my training period was also shorter than others and I required almost no supervision since completion of my training period. I have been regarded as very creative who comes with new ideas and follows it through to implementation. However, there are certain areas where I lag behind; some of these include my communication and team working skills. I do realize if the areas of my strength are correctly tapped and if I can work upon areas of improvement, then I can surely be one of the best in my field of work. Read More