Verdant Leisure

Each team member is vital to the Verdant Leisure family. Getting customer service right is what drives growth in the business – and the company directors recognise that happy staff are the key to providing holiday experiences that customers will cherish and want to recreate.

Verdant began with two holiday parks on the Berwickshire coast and now has ten in stunning settings on the coast or in the hills of northeastern England and Scotland. As well as self-catering lodges and caravans, its parks offer holiday home ownership.

Furloughed workers were encouraged to volunteer in key worker roles without an earnings penalty and grounds staff at Verdant's Queensberry Bay site near Dumfries cultivated an NHS sign to spell out appreciation of the local and national pandemic heroes. The site, overlooking the Solway Firth, has long been a habitat for the rare natterjack toad – the UK's loudest amphibian, whose call can be heard a mile away.

Although the toad has not been sighted for many years, the team works with Scottish Nature and the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust to safeguard and enhance the habitat. Always on the lookout to add new parks and new people to the business, Verdant has increased its investment in staff training and engagement over the past year. Managers maintained regular communication with the team on furlough and for staff members working remotely, tea@3 was a chance to dial in with a cuppa to keep up to date.