New Horizons - Issue 4 - 2013

RCI EMEAI

Issue No 4 2013

THE NEWSLETTER FOR STAFF IN EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST, AFRICA AND INDIA

Business News ››

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Company Initiatives and Charity Events ››

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Meeting Your Colleagues ››

17

Recognition ››

18

Learning Zone ››

26

Staff & Social News ››

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Welcome to New Horizons A message from Sean Lowe, Managing Director RCI EMEAI to Jen Semanovich who will be in Kettering as part of the global Marketing exchange program.

India is still rocking away the year, having smashed through the elusive 100,000 member barrier; trading is strong and relationships with developer clients are fabulous. The win-back initiative in partnership with our largest client Mahindra, has brought back over 3,000 members. The success that India is having is testament to the empowerment of our staff to make decisions at all levels of the organization and the fresh look at the business that Pali Badwal has made.

Dear colleagues, Thank you to everyone who has been working on the major systems release that took place in August. There are a few tired faces around the business after some mammoth late nights and weekend working in Finance, IT, Projects and Product. Hopefully those final bugs will be fixed soon and people can take some time out to re-charge. Sue Foster was even taken to napping on a Saturday night in the Kettering building medical room! Everyone’s efforts on this release are much appreciated here and by our friends in Parsippany.

In South Africa, client relationships are also at a new high, with new affiliations in a market that had not seen growth for some time. Dimitris has even decided to holiday there with his family using his RCI exchange to get there!

In the North of the continent, please spare a thought for our friends in the RCI Cairo office.

The office had to close on one day because of the political turmoil and violence. All our staff are safe and we wish them well for a return to normality.

September is looking busy with budget planning for 2014, as well as the annual RDO meeting in Europe. RDO is the trade association for timeshare in Europe and its annual conference is the best opportunity to see generally how the industry is doing and to catch up with the top European players. It is also a good chance to see all our Business Development associates in one place at the same time.

Finally, the tragic passing of Sharon Pearce has been hard for many staff in Cork and Kettering with so many people having worked with Sharon across both locations. In her memory we will plant a tree in Cork and Kettering to mark her passing. For anyone wishing to make a donation in memory of Sharon, her husband Dave has asked us to consider the following charities; Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, Irish Cancer Society, Food for the Hungry. We will miss Sharon greatly.

In September we will also be inviting everyone to participate in our Associate Opinion Survey (AOS) in partnership with Great Place to Work.

This survey lets us gather your opinions and feedback so we can continue to build on our culture and develop meaningful programmes to enhance your experience at WER. Your opinions count so please take time to complete the survey which will open on 2nd September.

Best wishes

We have a few new starters this month, welcome to you all and thank you for joining the RCI family! Also, please extend a warm welcome

Sean 4

Business News - EME ››

Award-Winning Year for RCI - By Helen Foster 2013 has been a rewarding year for RCI and The Registry Collection so far, with our brand products and services picking up a multitude of industry awards. Here are some of the ways in which our industry counterparts and associates from around the world have recognised the quality and value RCI and The Registry Collection brings to both timeshare owners and resort developers.

RCI Adds to Long List of Accolades with Five ARDA Awards.

RCI was honoured with five awards at the ARDA 2013 Awards Gala Dinner in Hollywood. These awards recognise RCI’s recent accomplishments and innovations, clearly cementing the company’s leadership position in the vacation exchange industry.

“It’s rather apropos that we began the ARDA World 2013 Convention & Expo by showcasing our latest innovations and ended another great convention by seeing RCI recognised for our outstanding technology achievements and our amazingly talented team of professionals,” said Gordon Gurnik, president, RCI. “We are truly fortunate to have the best people in the industry who are helping keep RCI and our affiliates one step ahead of the competition.”

RCI’s Global Information Technology Team was awarded with the Technology Manager/Team award.

Judges’ comment: “This team has created innovative solutions to better serve RCI’s subscribing members and affiliates, making RCI the industry technology leader it is today. Through products, services and leading technologies over the last four years, the IT team played a pivotal role in transforming the RCI business and the landscape of the vacation exchange industry.”

Julia Geffner of the US team was recognised, not only with the ACE Women on Their Way Award, but also with the Marketing Management Executive award. Judges’ Comment: “Both honours are a true testament to her commitment to marketing innovation. As an advocate for the timeshare industry, Geffner’s exemplary work ethic and proactive leadership continues to deliver exceptional results for our affiliated resort partners and their owners.”

The RCI Public Relations Team took home the Communications/Public Relations Professional or Team award. Judges’ Comment: “This team has worked tirelessly to promote positive messages in the media, not only about RCI, but about affiliated resorts and the timeshare industry as a whole. They have seen success through a series of consumer awareness initiatives in a challenging media environment.

RCI also won in the Innovative Marketing, Public Relations or Social Media Campaign category for large companies for its Abandoned Search Email. Judges’ Comments: “This innovative email campaign revolved around personalised and relevant member-centric content. It targeted members actively searching on RCI.com by providing them with personalised recommendations based on past search history and confirmations made by members with similar vacation preferences.”

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Business News - EME ›› RCI and The Registry Collection win six awards at GNEX RCI took home several awards at the annual Global Networking Expo, GNEX 2013.

The awards were presented at the Perspective Magazine Awards Gala Dinner on in Beverly Hills, California, where several of our affiliated resorts were also recognised.

The resorts affiliated with RCI and The Registry Collection programme that took home awards included: • Best Fractional Resort – Worldwide: Grand Residences by Royal Resorts • Best Fractional Resort – Latin America: Grand Residences by Royal Resorts • Best Fractional Resort – Europe & Middle East: Vilnius Golf & Spa Resort • Best Fractional Resort – Asia Pacific: Karma Kandara • Best Individual Marketing Professional Award: Kelvin Smith, Wyndham Vacation Ownership • Best Individual Sales Professional Award: Suraj Naik, Karma Royal Group • Best Industry Leader Award: Barry Robinson, CEO, Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific • Best Project Team Award: Wyndham Vacation Ownership Hospitality Learning & Development Team Gordon Gurnik, president, RCI, said: “We are delighted to be recognised for our efforts at this year’s Global Networking Expo. And while it’s wonderful to take home six awards for RCI and The Registry Collection, it was equally exciting to see so many of our affiliated resorts recognised by the industry for their quality services and products. We are proud to be affiliated with so many frontrunners in the industry.”

RCI and The Registry Collection received awards in the following categories: • Best Consumer Product Award: RCI Points – RCI’s points-based exchange system provides the maximum flexibility in vacation planning, and has received many enhancements in recent years to add even more value for RCI subscribing members and affiliates.

• Best Place to Work: RCI – This award acknowledges RCI’s positive company culture, including a hospitality service pledge and core values that create an engaged and passionate workforce.

• Best Online Media Award: TheRegistryCollection.com – The Registry Collection programme, RCI’s luxury exchange programme, marked its 10th anniversary year with a website relaunch. The enhanced site provides a fresh look and intuitive user interface to make vacation planning even easier.

• Best Print Media Award: The Registry Collection Programme Directory – The directory, which is beautifully printed to also serve as a travel-inspiration coffee table book, is an easy-to-use tool that helps members of the luxury exchange programme navigate their vacation options.

• Best Green Initiative Award: RCI Green Award Programme – The RCI Green Award programme celebrates RCI affiliated resorts that actively engage in sustainable practices, including innovation in energy and water conservation, waste management, community outreach and environmental management.

• Best Technology Award: RCI Presenter – RCI Presenter is interactive software pre-loaded with engaging content that RCI affiliates can use on touch-screen monitors or tables to show potential owners the benefits of vacation ownership and exchange.

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Business News - EME ›› Business Builders - By Lorraine Karabin For this edition we caught up with Vicky Funnell, Resort Servicing Manager, to find out what life is like in the Business Development world …

Where did you work before RCI, and how did you come to join the company?

I used to work at NCH Marketing as a Sales Executive, they managed coupon campaigns for product trials and customer loyalty. When I had my first child Jordan, I worked part-time and then I heard about RCI through Fiona Downing.

Like many other RCI employees, I started out in the call centre, progressing to Team Leader. After some time I became a Project Co-ordinator, managing call centre incentives and educationals which was a fantastic role. When the call centre relocated to Cork, I started in Resort Operations.

Then I became Resort Servicing Manager almost four years ago, and I absolutely love it!

approvals of our marketing campaign proofs when necessary, to being out on the road visiting resorts or attending Annual General Meetings. We will support and assist any resorts with any issues or those who are at the end of their lease, so it’s a great opportunity to meet both developers and timeshare owners.

What do you like most about RCI and working for the company?

Which RCI affiliated resorts do you manage, and which are the biggest?

I love all the different personalities I encounter each and every day, both at RCI and among our developers and suppliers. With our developers, it’s important to build up trust and develop a rapport so I love being able to achieve that.

I have about 47 resorts in my portfolio, including the canalboats, and I am also responsible for the operational side of the Diamond Resorts relationship, which is the biggest one I manage in conjunction with Andy Miln, who manages the contractual aspects of this affiliation.

Who are the people within RCI you deal with the most in your work?

Other affiliates include Clowance Estate (also affiliated with Interval International), and this resort has provided us with a lot of inventory this year, so it is particularly important to maintain this relationship. Also Tresco is a key affiliate, which is starting to sell timeshare again and has also provided us with a lot of inventory, so we are running a lot of PR coverage on them within RCI publications and collateral.

I deal with the support team in Malaga on a daily basis, the Resort Operations team on loading and queries, Revenue Management on any Rentals and deals, from a Marketing perspective I work with Jonathon McNeillie and any customer care / Helpdesk related queries are directed to our Cork office.

Describe your typical working day A lot of people probably say this, but in Business Development no two days are ever the same! I am the ‘go to person’ between the resort and RCI, so my role involves anything and everything from reviews with resorts for the Resort Recognition Programme, managing resort

Describe one of the most challenging issues you have had to address with a resort and what the outcome was The biggest challenge with managing my resorts, is helping them to become more active in selling

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Business News - EME ›› timeshare and finding new owners for weeks that no longer have an owners who is paying the maintenance fee. It is very much a case of drip feeding information to resorts on how they can progress their resorts through various channels. It is a very slow process which relies on trust.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I love spending time socialising with family and friends. I have recently taken up Zumba and it’s a favourite of mine!

And I also enjoy going for walks to keep fit and often my friend and Ryan, my youngest, will come with me so I can combine the two – socialise and keep fit!

Where is your favourite place to holiday?

Cornwall is beautiful, so peaceful and I just love the way of life there. The beaches of St Ives are idyllic and it doesn’t matter if the sun isn’t shining all the time, it’s still lovely.

We are going there again in August, and even though the kids are that bit older they still want to come with us, so there must be something special about it! Further afield, I love New York – we went there last October and I would plan to visit again.

Business Development Open Days hailed a success - By Lorraine Karabin In July, the Business Development team visited the call centre in Cork to run Business Development Open Days. The nine sessions held over two days, were designed to give call centre and support staff an insight into who the BD team are, where they are located and how they work with our affiliates.

Approximately 150 staff attended, with information provided on the lifecycle of an affiliation, roles and responsibilities including team maps, as well as details of our top affiliates and tools used to assist them on resort sales decks.

Sessions were interactive and varied, with video diaries from the Greek and Turkish office and a demo of RCI Presenter, as well as examples of marketing pieces used, including RCI Ventures, Affiliate Newsletter and BD Biz email, which were all received positively.

Call centre staff were also given the opportunity to comment on the sessions as part of a quiz to win prizes and the feedback was positive with requests to hold BD Open Days on an annual basis due to their usefulness, hailing the day a success. Stay tuned for future updates!

Click here to learn more on BD regions » LtoR Dee Bourke, Susan Duncombe Johan Fourie, Matt Holmes, Frank Buckley, Shafi Syed, Cortney Haber, Dimitris Manikis, Gregg Anderson, John Murray, Andy Miln, Zareen Aziz, Isabel Santos, Ovidio Zapico, Riitta Halme, Vassils Themelidis 8

Business News - EME ››

Holiday Money Made Easy! - By Gill Jenkins The Product team in RCI EME have partnered with Corporate Pay to bring a new benefit to its UK members – The RCI Visa Prepaid Currency card.

The currency card is a safe and easy way to carry money when going on holiday and carries a range of benefits, some of which are exclusive to RCI. The card is available in three different currencies, Euro, US Dollar and GBP. Benefits include competitive exchange rates, no ATM withdrawal or transaction fees abroad, chip and pin protection and the card is widely accepted at ATMs worldwide and merchants displaying the Visa Brand Mark.

Signing up for the card is very simple, members simply visit www.rcicard.co.uk to register and following a simple verification process their card will be delivered to them within 10 working days.

The product is a complimentary service to our UK members where currency cards are expected to be the ‘New Electronic Travellers cheque of the 21st Century’ Over 4000 cards have already been sent out to UK members travelling from mid-September onwards.

This exciting new benefit is also being made available to RCI staff, although you must be a UK resident to take advantage of the card! All you need to do to receive your card is register on the above link with your Travel number starting with 6020. This can be requested from Staff travel if you do not know your number.

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Business News - SA ››

Back after 3 Years!! - By Caro Napier Well done to Johan & Yolandi - through the team effort of our two new kids on the block we were able to get Alpine Heath Resort back onto our books as a rental contract! Within the first month 61 bookings were confirmed through our call centre for this property!!

Alpine Heath Resort is nestled in the picturesque Northern Drakensberg Mountains. This resort is a unique village that offers excellent accommodation, fine cuisine and splendid conference and wedding facilities. The resort has fully-equipped chalets offering a bird’s eye view of the mountains from comfy lounges, a fireplace, kitchen, patio and satellite TV. Indulge in the splendid on-site spa or a choice of four on-site eateries. Nearby activities range from horse riding and fishing to quad biking, paintball and canopy tours. The Royal National Park, the historical Spioenkop Battlefields, picturesque Tugela Falls and more natural wonders are easily accessible.

Out with the old and in with the new! - By Caro Napier Over the last couple of weeks the BD SA team have embarked on a quest to update outdated and incorrect data off our local system. Did you know that RCI SA is the only RCI office to use its own reservations system for local bookings and we also have our own website ( www.rci.co.za ).

Our call centre is dependent on the information provided for resorts to ensure that the integrity of each booking is not compromised. For our members, being able to read up on our website and to view images is critical to ensuring that bookings come through. This is an on-going project and our mission is to update the individual unit information for each of our 171 local resorts. This equates to 8100 units that need to be updated. So far we have updated 27 Resorts with a total of 1387 units on our system. In addition to this project we have started updating the images on our system and website. The aim is to have a minimum of 5 to 10 images per property which are good quality and that provide a variety to display all angles of the resort. So far we have updated over 2000 images which is already contributing to a better experience for our members and consultants.

Special thanks to Yaneetha, Juanita, Marinda and Elizabeth for running with this project and for showing true “Count On Us” spirit!

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Company Initiatives and Charity Events - UK ››

Green Matters! By Paul McQuaid Yummy local food Are you a foodie? Do you like cooking with home-grown ingredients and munching on mouth-watering local produce? Or perhaps you’re a keen gardener or home-baker with a pantry stacked with your own tasty foodstuffs?

Either way, you’re sure to enjoy the RCI Kettering ‘Go Green’ Farmers’ Market on Friday 20 September 2013.

As the summer comes to a close, it’s your chance to come along and sample some of the year’s tastiest seasonal produce.

We’re hoping there’ll be an enticing range of fruit and veg, pickles, preserves, honey, cakes and bread and more for you to choose from.

There’s sure to be something to whet your appetite and what’s more, you’ll be cutting down on your food miles and helping the environment too.

You can also get involved by donating some of your produce for us to sell to raise money for the RCI Charity Fund. Alternatively you can sell your own items and keep the proceeds (although a small donation to the charity fund would be much appreciated!).

You can't beat fresh local produce so why not share the ‘fruits’ of your labours and treat your colleagues to a taste sensation?

Contact the RCI Kettering Green Council for more information. ‘Grow on’, you know you want to!

Thanks and congratulations to… …Rebecca Smith in EVR in Kettering. Rebecca is our first ‘Green Hero’ for her generosity and initiative in donating an array of seedlings and plants to the Green Council for us to sell for charity.

Rebecca’s tomato and chilli plants proved particularly popular with Kettering associates and we raised over £40 for the RCI Charity Fund. Thank you Rebecca!

If you would like to do something similar please contact the RCI Kettering Green Council. We’d love to hear from you.

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Company Initiatives and Charity Events - UK ››

Are you focussed on sustainability?

Did you know that you can take a short online course in MyLearning that covers what it means to be ‘green’?

‘An Introduction to Sustainability’ covers a range of topics including: 1. Sustainability and the Wyndham Green Programme 2. Global warming and its impact 3. What it means to be ‘green’ at Wyndham Worldwide 4. Sustainable practices in the workplace It’s a great way to test your knowledge or pick up some new tips on how to be ‘green’.

Visit MyLearning or contact Human Resources or a member of the RCI Kettering Green Council for more information.

Contact Us If you have any great ideas about sustainability or if you’d like to get involved in any ‘green’ initiatives please contact a member of the RCI Kettering Green Council.

You can contact us individually or email us at Go Green - Together!

The RCI Kettering Green Council Members are: • John Beveridge (Facilities) x4328 • Paul McQuaid (Marketing Analytics) x4060 • Jo Noble (Commercial Finance) x4216 • Ruth Webb (Business Development) x4511 We look forward to hearing from you!

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Company Initiatives and Charity Events - CORK & CE ›› August – Focus on Quality – 10 Every Time For Support – By Nellie Crowley During the month of August support teams were invited to focus on their 10 Every Time Pillars and compete with other support teams to win a prize for their team! The purpose of this was to promote 10 Every Time in the support areas, to re-enforce the departmental pillars and to gather feedback to help measure 10 Every Time usage. During the second management meeting in September a representative from each support department will provide an overview of their events, findings and progress to Cortney and her team. They then decide which team deserves the luxury food hamper to share with their team members. The Facilities, HR & OCE Departments got together and here is a little taster of what they got up to for the month. (a) 10 Every Time T-Shirts were designed, made and worn periodically during the month promoting the focus on Quality and COM, (b) Talk at 10, employees were able to call by the HR/OCE Departments to learn what quality means to them, what the departments can do to support the call centre and to learn more about the roles within the departments. At the same time staff were being treated to a fresh cup of coffee/tea and biscuits, and (c) John Dunphy from Facilities dressed up the postal trolley to promote Facilities 10 pillars and (d) employee profiles were sent out on a regular basis to Cork, Athens, Albufeira, Helsinki, Malaga, Tenerife & Dubai so people could put a face to the name.

RCI Cork – Helsinki - Cork exchange programme – By Kirsi Manninen The Cork – Helsinki - Cork exchange programme was initiated by the guides themselves during the AOS discussions. The exchange is within the Finnish team between the two offices. Mostly the guides in the Helsinki office want to be able to visit Cork and their friends since they used to live there, without having to use holidays for it. This way they get to spend up to two weeks in Cork, doing the exact same work they do in Helsinki. They need to pay for their own flights and arrange their own accommodation. There are certain requirements to qualify and only one can go at a time. A couple of girls from Helsinki have already taken up the opportunity and been to Cork but now Tarja Erkkilä was the first one to come to Finland.

Tarja already had all her holidays booked but still wanted to be able to come and visit her family as she was born in Helsinki and this was the perfect solution for her. She wanted to come while it is still warm and season for wild blueberries. She is happy with the experience and thinks that everything worked smoothly, special thanks to Merja Käkelä for arranging everything with Tarja´s pc. She found the office very cosy and she felt welcomed. How she thinks Cork and Helsinki differ from each other is that there are more competitions and chances to attend destination info´s in Cork. She says the people are just as easy-going and nice in both offices. Then what she likes about her home town is that there is more choice in restaurants, events, parks and especially Suomenlinna, a sea fortress off the coast of Helsinki, is worth a visit according to her. Tarja loves Helsinki in the summer and the architecture of the old buildings and therefore enjoyed the surroundings of the office in the heart of the city. She would definitely recommend the exchange to anyone in the two teams.

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Company Initiatives and Charity Events - SA ›› 67 Minutes for Madiba – 18 July Nelson Mandela Day not only celebrates the life of Madiba, but it is also a global call to action for people to recognise their ability to have a positive effect on others around them. The day hopes to inspire people to embrace the values of democracy, freedom, equality, diversity, reconciliation, and respect.

Mandela Day aims to generate random acts of kindness amongst individuals and organisations alike. Giving unselfishly of your time without the need for recognition or gain, are the true marks of a great human spirit.

In SA, growing adult and child literacy remains one of the biggest challenges and focus. The power of literacy provides an amazing empowerment tool for individuals – giving rise to opportunities for education and further life opportunities. The donation of a library, to a community or school that is lacking in these resources, makes RCI SA a true enabler in this campaign.

The Space Age Independent School was the chosen school for this initiative –even though they had no initial plans to build a library, there was a desire from the parents to have a Library/place of study in their community which could be utilized for leisure reading, research and/or studying purposes during week-days(as well as after hours) and during the weekends.

Women’s Day Celebration – 8 August The focus of the 2013 Women’s Day activities was all about self-empowerment and all the ladies were encouraged to attend a self defence workshop to celebrate Women’s Day. The 1 hour talk and demonstration on self defence, provided lots of opportunities for laughter and bonding!

In the words of one of the participants… ”To all my fellow lady colleagues – we work hard together, but today demonstrated that we also know how to have fun together!”

All female staff were also encouraged to support a local charity initiative – The Jes Foord Handbag Project – to donate a new or used handbag with the following items in it – facecloth, soap, toothpaste and toothbrush. These bags will be packed with additional items and handed out to victims of rape by the foundation.

The charity initiative was an amazing success with a total of 37 handbags collected, 44 boxes of toothpaste, 51 bars of soaps, 37 toothbrushes, 39 facecloths as well as a box filled with body lotions, shampoos, deodorants, tissues, razors, chocolates, wet wipes and sanitary towels!

Winter Shoe and Blanket Drive - By Marlene Conway I would like to say thank you to RCI for allowing me the opportunity to share the collected items with a group of less privileged children that come from poor and abused homes (to mention a few). The smile and excitement on their faces when they saw the bags and boxes of clothes and blankets were priceless. I found the children to be humble and very grateful to the contributions that RCI has made. For us they were mere used and unwanted clothing items and to the children it meant so much more. Many thanks to team RCI for making this possible.

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Company Initiatives and Charity Events - INDIA ›› FAM Trip (Familiarisation Trip) Mega May

FAM trips are organized to have associates from Member Services familiarize themselves with the resorts and the area attractions. The associates obtain first hand information on the resorts, units, sight-seeing areas etc. This gives them further confidence to sell the resort as they are able to cite personal experiences. The member in turn gains confidence when they realize that the Guide has been there and has such detailed information. The associates from the Customer Experience team were able to add value on the quality aspect of the resorts.

The resorts being an integral part of this program were happy to host our associates and educate/ enhance their knowledge of the resorts thereby increasing inbounds to their resorts- a Win-Win situation!

In order to qualify for the FAM trip, the Mega May competition was conducted that had Member Services compete with each other for 5 weeks to pick the best amid the best from various teams & Team leaders. Performance and COM culture were the two main pillars for selecting the Toppers.

Lini Jose, Kiran Chandrashekar, Tulasi, Jayanthi Thatcher & Ilan Nagarajan qualified for the Mega May prize and experienced a paid vacation to three different destinations Ooty, Kodaikanal and Munnar with an opportunity to meet the resort managers to understand the quality and profile of the resorts.

On their return the winners presented their experiences to Member Services thereby enhancing promotions of the said destinations.

Look forward to further FAM trips!!

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Company Initiatives and Charity Events - INDIA ››

Monsoon Offer The annual Monsoon Offer is one that is always welcomed by our Members. The Offer kick started in mid May and is valid until September 2013, with promotions and floor decorations to give a feel of the monsoon fever.

The target set was to achieve 1000 confirmations by the end of September; however the team celebrated an achievement of 1282 confirmations as early as 8th August 2013. Well Done!!

RCI India celebrates 4th of July & 15th August For July 4th associates could choose to either display the Stars & Stripes theme or be dressed in the colours Red, White & Blue and likewise on 15th August the Indian Independence Day, the attire celebrated the colours saffron, white & Green.

Associates were quizzed on general knowledge for both events, with questions pertaining to the countries celebrating the special occasion. A Picture Quiz being the highlight for 4th July and a Rapid Quiz to activate the grey cells on 15th August.

On both occasions associates were engaged with trivia, spot games through the day. Fun, Food and Frolic was the order of the day with Pop-corn, burgers, fries and Coke being served on 4th July and Chaat, lassi and kulfi being the feature for the 15th August.

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Meeting Your Colleagues - UK, Cork & Dubai ›› RCI Kettering Welcome to Joanne Hart – Credit Controller, and Joseph Banwo, SOX Accountant both in the Finance Department.

RCI Cork - New Hire Class in Cork Seven new hires graduated from training on Friday the 28th June last in Cork. They are servicing the Russian, Benelux, Finnish, and French & Italian Markets.

Left to right: Gary Murphy, OCE, Maria Tridico, Judith Van De Bergh, Giampiero Lepore, Bas Van Amsterdam, Thomas Chaussin, Nanna Pollanen, Jevgenij Garbul and Elaine Murphy, OCE. RCI Dubai Office – Mohamed El Banna – By Regina Scannell • How long have you been working at RCI?

I have been working at RCI for 5 years. I started with RCI Dubai as a guide, progressing to senior guide and then Team leader in January 2012 • What did you gain from your visit to RCI Cork?

Cork supports a lot of the different functions in Dubai, such as the incentive team, training department, HR etc. The main purpose of my visit to Cork was to spend time with the different areas and to meet the people I am in daily contact with from Dubai. I also got the chance to do mediation training, complete my emergentics profile, and spent some time shadowing the Team leaders in Cork • What is the best thing about RCI Dubai?

RCI Dubai is like a small family, we are a small team and everyone helps everyone else

• What is the best thing about RCI Cork?

The diversity is amazing in the Cork office. Everyone was very friendly and helpful

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Recognition - UK ›› Count on US Q2 – 2103 Congratulations to DBM, Operational Finance Assistances and the BCP teams who were all worthy winners of a Count on US award in quarter 2. A COU lunch was held on site in Kettering and all received a certificate and COU lanyard.

Count on Me July and August Winners

Congratulations to August Kettering Site Count On Me! Winners

Congratulations to July Kettering Site Count On Me! Winners

Margaret McIntyre Returns Co-ordinator

Mike Porter Studio

Sarah Tracey Revenue Management

Lisa Theanne Product Development

Ravi Raju Analyst Programmer

Kristi Nicholls Analytics

Bill Humphreys Group Finance

Keith Sayers Analytics

Stuart Moore IT

Samantha Rolf Finance

Elaine Catt Senior Credit Controller

Vicky Funnell Business Development

Elaine Sheppard Analytics Frieda Murphy HR

Quarter 2 Long Service Lunch An off-site lunch was held for recent recipients of a Long Service award.

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Recognition - CORK & CE ›› Select Service – By Mafer Gonzalez Each month thirteen Guides and a Customer Care Consultant are rewarded from the following markets: France, Spain, Italy, Russia & Eastern Europe, Hungary, UK (Flex & Outbound), Namer, Germany, Benelux, Finland, Scandinavia, Save Team & Clubs. The guide in each group that meets the selection criteria will be rewarded through Select Service.

The criteria is as follows:•

The employee must have a minimum of 9 on an average Fame score for the calendar month

•

A minimum of 50% of the surveys must have a perfect 10 on the COM question

•

Have no survey scores under 5

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Have reached a minimum of 6 surveys during the month

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Be free of formal corrective action (verbal or written warnings)

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Meet minimum standards 100% of target for that month

Photo: left to right: Samir Elmehdi, Mafer Gonzalez, Gauthier Bellion, Anna Johansson & Rebecca Mullen

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Recognition - CORK & CE ››

Count on Me May Winners

Top LtoR Roosa Kangaskesti, Ray Anthony, Noreen Leonard, Andrea Andzic Botton LtoR Michael Hoyle, Keith Lodewyk, Judiith Cox, Estefania Ilorach Senar, Filipa Niki

Count on Me June

Top LtoR Sarianne Kauppi, Noreen Leonard, Miriam Otto, Michelle Dorney, Martina Barrile Botton LtoR Keith McConville, Catherine O'Driscoll

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Recognition - CORK & CE ››

Count on Me July Winners

Top Row LtoR Yvonne Kenneally, Stefano Ferratti, Siobhan Forde, Seamus Whelehan, Sandra Kelleher Second Row LtoR Rebecca Mullen, Pat McEvoy, Noreen Linehan, Noreen Leonard, Niamh Goold Third Row LtoR Monika Borbely , Michelle Dorney, Mafer Gonzalez, Kirill Fedotov, Katia Sarmiento Fourth Row LtoR Gayle Elmore, Elaine Murphy, Darren Lynch, Damian Kinder, Cortney Haber Bottom Row: Antonella D'Addedda

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Recognition - CORK & CE ›› Long Service Awards June

LtoR 25yrs Maria Jesus Ataide,Portugal 15yrs Francoise Teychenne, Cork 5yrs Mohamed El Bann, Dubai. Missing photo 3yrs Rafalea Martinez Huertas, Malaga

July

LtoR 15yrs Carla Figueiredo, Portugal 10yrs Michelle O'Callaghan, Cork, 5yrs Siobhain O'Sullivan and Rita Cernavska both Cork 3yrs Carlos Moreno Martin, Malaga

A recent Long Service Lunch in Cork Back left to right: Isabel Anderson Treacy, Eoin O’Mahony, Sinead Enright, Laurence Guillotin Brophy, Siobhain O’Sullivan, Rita Cernavska, Giampietro Munaro Front Left to right: Frank Buckley, Stefano Testa, Zareen Aziz, Francoise Teychenne, Caroline Broderick

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Recognition - CORK & CE ›› Long Service Awards - August

LtoR 15yrs - Jan Janssen, Belen Menendez, Maria Sarda - all based in Cork Missing photos of Maria Simal Cristobal - Cork and Rogerio Rebeca - Albufeira

10yrs - Eduarda Bitoque, Portugal. Missing photo of Julie Houghton, Tenerife

3yrs - Anna Godia, Carlo Noli, Laura Aguilar Martin, Luigi Gaudiano, Maria Lorena Rodriguez Diaz - All based in the Cork office

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Recognition - SA ›› REWARD AND RECOGNITION – MONTHLY WINNERS TOP GUIDE WINNERS JUNE 2013 JULY 2013 Gold Sara Levin Sara Levin

Silver Mosa Matsane Linda Igwegbe

Bronze

Kgantshe Matlatse Khomotso Mokgohloa Marlene Conway Saffiyya Patel Sikhonzile Gajula Emson Kamuteku Venessa Naidoo Mosa Matsane Michelle Jogannah Natasha Petersen Fred Stevenson Jacques Hitzeroth

Chakalaka Awards Darren Venter ‐

Count On Me! Antoinette Strydom ‐ Sharmeela Tait

Antoinette Strydom

Sharmeela Tait

Top Guide

Count On Me! Chakalaka

2013 QUARTER 2 WINNERS Khomotso Mokgohloa Saffiyya Patel Jessica Domyan Hlengiwe Maseko Mosa Matsane Bilal Pandor Sara Levin Myra Arrigoni Jenny Avian Marius Vosloo Marius Vosloo & Darren Venter

Jenny Avian

Platinum Top Night Out – 15 August Hosted by the IT department, the Q1 and 2 top guides, Count On Me! and Chakalaka winners enjoyed an evening out at Monte Casino, with dinner at the Gourmet Garage and some entertaining ten pin bowling thereafter!

Long Service Lunch – 16 August Once again, the long service recipients were treated to afternoon lunch to celebrate their years of service at RCI. Collectively we celebrated 146 years of service between 22 associates!

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Recognition - INDIA ››

Count On Me! Award for July 2013 The Count on Me! Award for July 2013 was received by Usha PV- Revenue Management and Usha Selvamanikam - MSD

Long Service Awards (Q2).

Congratulations to our associates who have completed 5 and 3 years respectively.

5 Years - Jayanthi Thatcher - MSD

3 Years

Top Row L to R Kaneez, Zehra Merchant, Umme Kulsum, Amudhavalli B, Nandita N - all MSD Botton Row LtoR Jyothi N R, Sumaiya Latheef both MSD and Lanusenla Takonungba, Affiliate Services 25

Learning Zone - CORK & CE ››

To showcase the Career and Personal Development opportunities available at RCI, we publish the profiles of associates who have been lucky enough to participate in an RCI initiative. In this edition, we introduce Judit Katona and Antonio Rosselli.

1. Tell us Judit, what opportunity was presented to you at RCI? The July 2013 Release. It is one of the final and critical phases of a software testing process that must occur before newly developed software is rolled out to the market. During UAT a team of guides test the enhancements on our systems on Guide Portal, RCI.com, EVS1 and DBL to make sure required tasks work in real world scenarios according to specifications. The purpose of UAT is to determine if the products are fit for use. The testers utilise test scenarios and scripts to model member and guide behaviours.

2. What was your experience of UAT? I have always volunteered for UAT as it gave me the opportunity to be among the first people in the call centre to see the new enhancements and changes in the systems and rules. Later on, based on what I learnt I was offered to coach and to deliver new release trainings. Because of the great insight I gained I started handling Guide Portal Queries as well. Then this year I was given the role of the UAT lead for Cork which was passed on from Judith Cox, who previously handled this. I am very thankful to Judith who has been there to support me in this transition and giving me great advice on managing the role.

3. What was your motivation to seek out this opportunity?

I always strive to further my knowledge within RCI as well as step out of my comfort zone and prove myself in challenging scenarios. I also thrive on finding new ways to make things more effective. Leading UAT is certainly one of the most challenging tasks I have had in RCI and hopefully I will have more opportunities in the future to be responsible for projects of this calibre.

4. How has this benefitted you in your current role? Please give examples of your learning.....

Team management, coaching skills, organizing and data management, multi-tasking, learning about new enhancements, communicating with people from other areas of the business such as Kettering Finance, IT in the US and global UAT leads.

5. Explain why you think others should participate in a similar opportunity.

The expertise of the testers is critical since they are validating that the systems meet the business needs. This role requires multi-faceted skills such as: expertise of user operations, being a good communicator, paying attention to detail, a self-starter, respected as an independent and lateral thinker, tenacious and analytical.

If you have such skills and interest, ask your team leader about getting involved!

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Learning Zone - CORK & CE ›› 1. Tell us Antonio, what opportunity was presented to you at RCI?

Job Opportunites – Mital and Christian – from Cork to Singapore - By Cortney Haber

I had the opportunity to participate in the ’Walk in my shoes’ program as TL for the Transition Bay.

In July temporary opportunities were posted for RCI Singapore for a 6 month on-loan Team Leader role.

The ideal candidates would help coach and mentor sales teams in the contact centre, demonstrate best practices of achieving sales through outstanding service to RCI members, take calls and perform knowledge transfers, and finally assist the contact centre leadership in helping build the RCI culture and help manage KPI’s.

2. What was your experience of being a Team Leader for the Transition Bay? I worked as TL for six weeks leading eight new guides from Italy, French, Scandinavia, Germany and Denmark.

Cork talent shined bright and RCI Singapore extended the career development opportunity to two of our employees! Mital Patel, UK Team Leader, and Christian Andersen, Team Leader Scandinavia headed to Singapore on Saturday the 31st August last.

3. What was your motivation to seek out this opportunity?

I was motivated because I would like to become a TL in the future and have the opportunity to deal with the management team. Now I have a very good knowledge of the role.

Mital started her career in Kettering as a guide in 2003 and joined the Cork site as a guide in 2007.

Mital rose to success achieving Top Guide from 2008-2011 and represented Cork in 3 Top Guide summits. Mital has participated in the Global Guide role, been nominated for Best Agent of the Year 2011 for the CCMA awards, and last year was promoted to a Team Leader position in the UK department.

4. How has this benefitted you in your current role?

I feel more comfortable with my colleagues and more confident in myself. I learned how to deal with different markets and how to solve difficult situations and issues.

Christian joined RCI in 2004. He was Global Top Guide in 2005. He left in 2006 to try different career opportunities and returned home to RCI in 2009 where he continued to be a Top Guide in his role in the Scandinavian Outbound team. Christian then progressed to Scandinavian Team Leader in 2010 and has been a valued member of the team leader group since, sharing his energy and his positive can do attitude within Cork Call Centre.

5. Explain why you think others should participate in a similar opportunity.

I think this is a great opportunity to people who would like to become a TL. We can learn how to motivate people, how to reach results and how to manage a team.

Mital and Christian bring a diverse spectrum of skills and experiences as well as a great energy and passion for the business. We are excited that these opportunities have arisen for our Cork team and we look forward to supporting them in their assignment.

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Learning Zone - SA ››

Training for July/ August

Peer Educator Training (9)

Introduction to Leadership (13) EVS1 (1)

The Kaelo Peer Education Programme empowers peer educators – the most effective advocates for attitude and behaviour change – to teach HIV/AIDS and chronic diseased of lifestyle awareness and prevention. The result of this training is greater awareness and support in companies and more responsible behaviour amongst high risk populations.

The Wellness Ambassadors learn about HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, the consequences of being infected with HIV, STI’s, or tuberculosis (TB), each person’s responsibility to prevent infection (of self or others), and ways to live productively despite infection.

This 4 day module was aimed at all current team leaders and managers to ensure a consistent understanding and application of leadership issues in RCI. EVS1 systems training for new user

Planned Training September/ October COM! Support training

Staff & Social News - UK ›› RCI Social Club’s Summer Fling 2013 – by Katherine Kilpatrick The cocktails were flowing. The sun was scorching. And Kettering’s finest were out and about ready to impress and battle for the prizes for being best dressed at this year’s Summer Fling. Everyone had gone to lots of effort and colleagues who had gone the extra mile were rewarded with champagne and goodies! Our Revenue Management department took the prize for Best Dressed Team as they all appeared as individual characters from children’s favourite movie, Toy Story. Jo Hobbs from Marketing and Andy Weddell-Hall scooped the loot for Best Dressed Female and Best Dressed Male: Jo opted for army attire with noisy props and Andy turned up as the pyjama wearing “player” that is Mr Hugh Hefner – he even brought along some of his Playboy bunnies! All in all, the turn-out was fabulous and it was great to see everyone’s creative interpretation of fancy dress!

Alongside all of the prize giving, the Social Club had organised a BBQ meal, lots of drinks and some inflatable fun which came in the form of a bouncy castle, a rodeo bull and a massive bungee run where colleagues attached themselves to a cord and then had to run as far as they could before being sprung back to the start! We think everyone agreed it great fun watching all the managers trying to hold their balance as the bull whizzed round and round, speeding up the longer they held

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Staff & Social News - UK ›› on… The shortest amount of time spent on the bull was 9 seconds – we won’t name any names!

As the night continued, everyone hit the dance floor and it’s fair to say that some of the dance moves were, “questionable” but it was all in the name of having a great time and celebrating that the sun was out, so we’ll let you all off this time and look forward to seeing some new “shapes” at the Christmas Ball, coming later this year!

RCI Kettering Social Club update – By Kara Keating We are sad to say goodbye to Katherine Kilpatrick and Lee Hughes who are both leaving the Social Club and indeed the company, we would like to say a big thank you for all of their hard work and efforts and wish them all the best for the future.

As we have had two people leave, we gave the opportunity for all Kettering staff to apply to be on the Social Club. The successful new members are Sinead McNamee, Matthew Winspear, Joanne Hall and Shelley Burton who all sent in great applications and we all welcome them to the team.

We have also put in place a structure and the Chairman of the Social Club is Kara Keating, Vicechairman is Niki Stokes and Treasurer is Sinead McNamee.

Upcoming Events…

6th September – Back to School Bingo 4th October – night out (details TBC) 13th December – RCI Christmas Party Watch this space for more details!

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Staff & Social News - UK ›› It’s Summer – Lets have a BBQ!

On one of the hottest days, the Kettering site catering company, Olive, held a BBQ for all associates on site. It was an opportunity to have lunch with your colleagues and proved very popular.

Births Congratulations to Laura Jackson, Resort Operations and partner Tony on the birth of Aiden 15 July weighing in at 5lbs 9oz.

Marriages Congratulations to Richard Scales, FP&A Manager, Finance who married Victoria on 18 May.

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Staff & Social News - CORK & CE ››

RCI Cork Be Well – By Nellie Crowley RCI Boot Camp – two boot camps commenced on the 1st July for a six week period. There were two sessions, one from 7 to 8 a.m. on Monday & Wednesday and another at 5.30 to 6.30 p.m. on a Tuesday & Thursday. This has been so successful that die hard employees have signed up to continue the exercise on-site.

Friday the 19th July delivered a treat to employees in the afternoon – preceding a weekend of street entertainment in Cork City Laya introduced three street entertainers who kept us amused. One chap has a record for putting the most elastic bands on his head, another enthralled us with magic and the icing on the cake was the chap from Australia who was a contortionist. They engaged with staff, really gave employees the “Friday Feeling” and were great fun.

Healthy Lunches – Sponsored by Laya Fiona Keohane, Dietician, came on site Monday the 26th August to give a talk to employees at lunchtime on healthy lunchbox choices for children. This talk coincides with children going back to school shortly.

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Staff & Social News - CORK & CE ›› RCI Helsinki – By Kirsi Manninen Helsinki summer picnic The summer picnic is a new tradition in Helsinki since part of the guides moved over from Cork back in 2009. This is the third year it’s been held and it´s always at Suomenlinna, a beautiful sea fortress off the coast of Helsinki. The fortress was built in the 1700s to protect the eastern parts of the Swedish empire and it has played a big role in the city´s growth. There are more than 800 people living permanently on the island and the only way to get over there is to take the ferry. It is a district of Helsinki and a UNESCO World Heritage site and no wonder one of Finlands´s most popular tourist attractions. We had most of our staff there and even one former fellow guides came from Lapland to join us. We had the traditional picnic gear, food, drink and some outdoor games with us. Our champion Heidi had also planned a little competition and this time we did gymnastic scales, where you balance on one leg. Trying to balance on one leg is not as easy as it looks and it caused a lot of laughter. We had luck with the weather and the sun was shining throughout the day. The picnic was fun, relaxing and will be held again next year, we will wait and see if we get some more ex colleagues wanting to join us.

RCI Cork – By Nellie Crowley The Summer BBQ took place on Sunday the 7th July last in the grounds of the nearby Fota Island Hotel. Great food , entertainment and good weather was enjoyed by those who attended. A few lucky employees won prizes on the day – Mary Allen won all inclusive Palace accommodation, Gabi Leder won a 2 night stay in the 5 star Castlemartyr Hotel, Katrin Kaschig & Erik Engelbrekt each both won a dinner voucher for two and Valerie Ahern, Dimitri Neirinck and Laurence Brophy won bottles of wine.

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Staff & Social News - CORK & CE ››

RCI Portugal– By Alexandra Rafael RCI Portugal held, on the 21st of July, an event for all the staff, a day cruise in a catamaran along the Algarve coast. Staff had the option to take family so it was a fun filled day with a barbecue on the beach and a lot of fun was had. The sun was shining and the sky was blue. A perfect Summer’s day!

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Staff & Social News - SA ››

Chill Room After a much anticipated wait- the new RCI Chill Room was finally unveiled to all staff - housing an Xbox gaming station, internet café, reading and lounging area, we are quite sure that the room will be well used by all!

Company pick-me-up The morning of 19 July provided the perfect opportunity for a company-wide breakfast at RCI. The management team seized the chance to say a mid- month thank you to all staff for the hard work put in, and to also add some much needed fuel to get everyone through to the end of the month!

New Arrivals Congratulations to Shantal Poongan and Nelen on the birth of their son Rayin on the 15th of July.

A new member of the RCI family arrived on the 3rd of July. Congrats to Gary Bartlett on the arrival of your bouncy baby boy, Tshiamo.

Death –Prudence Kunene 14 June 1980 - 27 June 2013 You will be truly missed by our team…Your smile, your charm and your vibe has left a stain in our hearts. But most of all we will treasure the immeasurable strength that you had…Every time life’s challenges knocked you down, you awoke and said “What’s next??”

This is a memory of you that will inspire us to keep on keeping on.