Customer experience management with Center Parcs

Review

In 2012 we carried out ‘mystery shopper’ visits at Center Parcs as part of a full review of the under 12’s activity programme. The team took the time to thoroughly understand every aspect of the activity offering and customer experience. This became a consultancy project where we created a framework of criteria that all the activities had to meet. We reflected on whether they met the criteria and would stay in the programme, if they needed to be developed, and what key changes would be required to ensure these activities could offer the exceptional experience Center Parcs guests expect.

Design

The initial review project led to a hugely successful project of re-design which took two years to complete. We restructured all of the activity sessions, introduced new mini adventure activities for both creche and children’s clubs as well as a families together programme, one favourite was den building and decorating. We rebranded ‘time-out’ childcare to ‘the den’ and introduced activities that involved parents. Children had the opportunity to ‘show and tell’ and take away something memorable to remember the experience by. Throughout, it was key for Center Parcs that their under 12’s offer was really unique and on brand and we pulled out all the stops to achieve this.

Transform

This led to widespread training of Center Parcs staff teams across different functions. Initially working with large leisure teams within the Center Parcs Villages, we created a bespoke training module to inspire colleagues to deliver activities to the best of their ability and to provide outstanding customer experiences. The impact was transformational and In2action moved on to design and implement an innovative behavioural workshop for new colleagues, initially delivered as a “Train the Trainer” course and now delivered to every new starter within the business. We also supported with the launch of two brand-new Villages, Woburn Forest, and Longford Forest, delivering transformational courses to ensure teams achieved the high standards set by Center Parcs.

More recently in 2021, we supported with the identification and training of Center Parcs internal “Super Trainers”, who have been tasked with raising the standards in their departments. In2action mentor these trainers on an ongoing basis to ensure they can deliver their courses to the highest standards, and we have designed monitoring systems to help with their development. Finally, we have designed and delivered a range of bespoke training workshops as required. Examples of these are; engaging customers in a brand new pool facility, re-engaging and re-invigorating colleagues after time away from roles due to the pandemic and a winter wonderland workshop designed to train elf and pixie characters in games, tricks and activities to make the Christmas magic come alive at the Village.

Initially face-to-face, training gradually moved online and In2action now provide a blended approach to training, including face-to-face training where appropriate, online webinars, interactive content hosted on the learning platform and videos.
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Support

As the years have passed, In2action have remained involved in activity design and the delivery of training to managers and staff teams, continually refreshing and redesigning activities and training for an exceptional customer experience. This is achieved with the insights gained from our annual audit for Center Parcs. This was designed to benchmark services against goals and to ensure areas needing development are identified and have the support needed to continue driving up standards year on year.

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"We have engaged In2action in a variety of training projects and from the very first session I attended with the training team, I was completely inspired by the passion, enthusiasm and drive they have for engaging colleagues and transforming our people. We have now worked closely with In2action for over a decade and the quality and consistency of their work cannot be matched. The training In2action have provided has been instrumental in driving up our standards of delivery and guest experience across our villages and this has been reflected in our guest feedback."

"They understand our vision and have consistently designed on brand, unique, fun and inspirational workshops that always contain something that surprises and delights us and our colleagues. Their training delivery is dynamic, engaging and emotive and really transforms the behaviour of our colleagues, buying them in to their impact on our guests and the importance of going above and beyond to deliver the fantastic standards and experiences that our guests expect from Center Parcs. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend In2action and we look forward to many more years collaborating on training projects with the In2action team.”

-Heather Perry, Group Leisure Operations Manager, Center Parcs

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