News story

Virgin Holidays scoops Gold at the 2015 Learning Awards

LondonLearning NewsLPI (Learning and Performance Institute)

Learning Team of the Year awarded to Virgin Holidays amidst strong competition.

 

Virgin Holidays picked up the coveted "Learning Team of the Year" Gold award last week at the prestigious Learning Awards 2015 ceremony in the Dorchester in Park Lane, London.

The award, sponsored by CEB, recognises learning and development teams that have had a demonstrable and positive impact on the overall performance of their respective businesses.

With strong competition from Dell, University Hospitals Leicester, PSA Peugeot Citroen, Metro Bank and Financial Conduct Authority, Virgin Holidays was selected by the judges as the most oustanding example of a team providing exemplary results for the business.

Responsible for looking after the development of all employees in over 60 departments, the Virgin Holidays' team devised a series of targeted initiatives, the embracement of new technology, they have significantly impacted the achievement of +88% employee engagement and +86% staff retention. Additionally, the team has shown had a direct impact on sales figures by delivering a bespoke sales programme which enabled an uplift in sales performance of +6% and a customer service values based programme which supports the achievement of a complaints ratio of -1%.

Commenting on the award, Learning & Development Manager at Virgin Holidays, Nebel Crowhurst said, "As a Virgin company, we are passionate about helping our employees reach their fullest potential and this award is a great way to showcase the things we've done to achieve that goal."

On the judging panel, Charles Jennings of Internet Time Alliance, said, "When judging the LPI awards I always look for several key attributes. Vision and focus are at the top of my list. Smart execution is up there, too. Helping to build high performing people and organisations requires the use of as many ‘levers’ as possible. Learning is not something that starts and ends in a classroom or by opening an eLearning package. It is a continuous process, and whether I’m judging 'CLO of the Year, ‘Learning Team of the Year’ or any other category, I’m always looking for evidence of integrating learning and development into the workflow."

For further information about the awards visit www.thelearningawards.com. To find out how you can be involved in The Learning Awards 2016, e-mail: info@thelpi.org or telephone: +44 (0)2476 496210.