Spotlight: Megan Vorster, Global Head of People & Culture, Corporate
Is your company considered a great place to work? It matters if you aim to provide excellent customer experience, create an innovative culture, boost employee morale, and attract and retain top talent.
As part of our parent company, Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG), FCM Travel is accredited as a Great Place to Work (GPTW).
Megan Vorster, Global Head of People & Culture, Corporate, is part of our global team that works on this accreditation. With over 15 years of experience in human resources (HR), we spoke to Megan about what being a GPTW means for our employees and, more importantly, our customers.
What Great Place to Work means
It's not free coffee and bean bags. It's workplaces that create a space where employees feel valued, trusted, empowered, and supported in their professional and personal growth. A GPTW is packed to the brim with people who have pride in what they do and who they work with and for.
How the accreditation is conducted
Great Place to Work is a global authority on workplace culture and an industry-leading research firm that recognises resilient, successful, and sustainable businesses. The certification isn’t handed out lightly; it’s earned through deep analysis and first-hand feedback on how a business creates a positive, people-first environment.
Starting with the people who know our workplace best—our employees. Each year, we engage GPTW to send their, confidential Trust Index Survey to gather honest, unfiltered feedback.
The results then become useful intel to act upon. Highlighting what's working, where improvements are needed, and how we can create a better experience for our teams and, in return, our customers.
“The GPTW survey is the main employee listening tool for us, measuring trust, engagement, and workplace culture. For us, it’s a vital way to understand what’s working well and where improvements are needed. The survey helps leadership make data-driven decisions to create a better employee experience, ultimately leading to stronger retention, performance, and business success,” says Megan.
“The insights from the survey inform key actions across the employee lifecycle—from onboarding and development to retention—ensuring that FCTG continuously improves its culture and ways of working,” she adds.
What happens with survey data
At FCM, we believe exceptional customer experiences start behind the scenes, with a thriving, happy, and supported workforce. That means, taking employee feedback seriously.
“After receiving feedback, one area we worked towards was reward and recognition. Initiatives launched were related to FCM’s DNA, so it’s tied closely to customer experience and while rolled out globally, the initiatives are tweaked locally.
“Sometimes we need additional context off the back of the survey, so we set up listening tours and other face-to-face sessions to hear from a range of people in the business and ask them for further feedback,” says Megan.
Happy employees = happy customers
When choosing a travel partner, you’re not just buying a service, you’re also choosing the people behind it. Would you rather deal with a team that’s just going through the motions, or one that feels supported, valued, and proud?
“For employees, conducting this yearly survey means their voices are heard, their concerns are addressed, and they are part of a company that genuinely cares about creating a great workplace. If our workforce is happy, it will project into their day-to-day roles, which means our customers are happier. Employee experience equals a better customer experience,”
In an industry like corporate travel, where agility and innovation matter, listening to our people matter.
“Travel management is not what it used to be. A positive workplace culture often translates to stronger partnerships, giving customers confidence in FCM's ability to deliver high-quality work,” added Megan.
How FCM drives positive workplace culture
A workplace culture powered by employee trust and transparency can have lasting impact. Here are some of the key steps that we follow:
Everyone’s equal: At FCM, there is no ‘pecking order’. Management is not set up in glass-walled corner offices. Our leaders are constantly visible, interacting with the team and providing business updates to drive service excellence and stay in the know.
Travel & celebrate: We make sure there's an opportunity to get together, as we believe that a strong bond between employees can lead to higher-quality work that benefits our clients. Every year, we throw the ultimate travel conference, Global Gathering, along with each region hosting their own end-of-financial-year event to celebrate.
Be yourself: We don’t have to put on a cookie-cutter corporate face; FCM celebrates individuality and asks people to “come as they are”. From the way our people talk, to the way they dress and how they define themselves, everyone is welcome. When people feel free and safe to be themselves, they bring fresh ideas, mixed perspectives, and authenticity into everything they do, powering your travel program, globally and locally.
What Flight Centre, and FCM as a result, have achieved
Flight Centre Travel Group celebrated its GPTW certification for the second consecutive year in 20 countries - Australia, Cambodia, Canada, China, Denmark, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, UAE, United Kingdom, United States, and Vietnam.
FCM Travel India, which has been certified four times, in 2024 also received the certification in two categories
Top 100 Great Mid-size Workplaces
Best in Professional Services
FCM Travel UK has also spawned more 2024 accreditations:
Best Workplaces in Consulting & Professional Services
#25 in the Best Workplaces Super Large Category
Best Workplaces for Development
Best Workplaces for Women
Best Workplaces for Wellbeing
“Great Place to Work is a core part of FCTG’s People & Culture strategy, aligning with initiatives around employee experience, leadership development, and DEI. The certification helps the lives of our people and brings additional benefit,” said Megan. “It can also boost recruitment efforts, attracting top talent who want to work in a certified great workplace.”
We’ve learnt a lot through our certification journey with Great Place to Work, and it’s transformed how we listen, lead, and deliver.
Ask. Listen. Action. That’s the blueprint. If it’s worked for us, it can work for you. Find out more about Great Place to Work here.