Eighteen representatives of international airlines were invited to the premiere of ‘Crew Engagement Masters’ at Gebr. Heinemann’s Hamburg Headquarters. The Inflight & Catering department, which is part of the company’s Distribution division, already offers airline customers a wide range of uniquely made-to-measure crew engagement services, comprising training options and motivational tools for in-flight sales staff. Now, for the first time, these measures have been augmented with a new, specially created Crew Engagement Masters event, which Gebr. Heinemann premièred in December. The main aims of the two-and-a-half day, expert-standard event were to promote respect and appreciation for the work done by crew members while supporting close professional networking and the provision of background knowledge – a combination that proved a powerful source of motivation and inspiration for those who took part.
“The Crew Engagement event is a significant addition to our service portfolio. For airline clients it is a supplementary service, and for us it is something close to our hearts. As a distributor, we have moved well beyond supplying products for in-flight sale by putting together an integrated service package for customers,” says Iris Irmer, Crew Engagement Manager for the Inflight & Catering team at Gebr. Heinemann. “That’s why we devised the Masters event as a special forum where cabin crew members from different airlines can share experiences with us and each other, learn more about crew engagement and benefit from interesting insights into in-flight processes that they wouldn’t normally be able to access.”
Peter Irion, Executive Director responsible for Distribution at Gebr. Heinemann, welcomed those participating in the event to Head Office. All of the cabin crew members had been personally selected by their airlines for involvement in Crew Engagement Masters well in advance; prerequisites for attendance included outstanding motivation and exceptional dedication to their jobs.
The agenda for the event was packed with concise expert knowledge: aside from a company presentation, it featured talks on the range selection process for in-flight sales and personal training opportunities for cabin crew along with a workshop that developed innovative approaches to crew engagement. In the run-up to the Masters event, Gebr. Heinemann invited participants to join a competition aimed at producing ideas for promoting sales aboard aircraft, offering a cash prize for the best entries. The winners were the cabin crew team from Condor, who duly presented their award-winning suggestion at Crew Engagement Masters. The supporting programme for the event included a tour of the Airbus factory in Hamburg and a look around an A380.
“The airlines have given us enthusiastic feedback on the Crew Engagement Masters event,” says a delighted Iris Irmer. “Now it’s full speed ahead as we plan our crew engagement measures for 2015.”
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