Abi Wright - Co-Founder
Abi is a mum of three and a hands on boss.
Naturally she’s a spa lover, but she’s also a proactive motivator and mentor to her team. Working on the ‘shop floor’ with everyone else, she heads up weekly meetings, organises incentives almost daily and always pays attention to the individual, helping them work to their strengths.
Abi started her own career in journalism before quickly realising her talents lay in PR and marketing. She’s now an award-winning leading woman in business and is a proud mentor to team members who have risen both within the company and also set off on their own journeys to launch businesses, having cut their teeth at Spabreaks.com.
Ashley Francis - Sales Manager
Having previously worked at Stoke Park, which happens to be one of the spa venues Spabreaks.com works with, Ashley joined the team in 2011 and since then has been promoted multiple times. He’s been a team leader, and now works training new members of the team and managing the call centre.
Ashley said: “I started as a sales agent and then I was promoted to a team leader within a year - the company was much smaller then but my sales were good and I quickly learned management skills. I did that for a couple of years, then when we took over Spabreaks Direct I oversaw that. Now I am a Spabreaks.com mentor and International Team leader - overlooking overseas sales along with all training for new starters.
Progression has been a big motivator for me. The atmosphere in the office is a big thing too - there are lots of personalities and you're allowed to bring your own personality to it as well. There’s flexibility and it’s very friendly - you get along with everyone - it’s more like a family. If the managers see something in you they will direct you towards progress, they never push but they encourage you in ways you might never have thought. Also, they are aware that people develop differently so if you don’t take to your role quickly, they work with you to improve. Some of the people who took to sales the slowest end up being the best in the team.
As the company gets bigger I am always looking for more opportunities. When I started there were only about 10 members of staff and now there’s nearly 100. It feels like a huge accomplishment and I feel part of that success every day.
