Building a place where people belong: our journey from Bronze to Silver

“What I love about Travel Counsellors is how connected and supported you feel, wherever you are in the world. From my local community in South Africa to colleagues and Travel Counsellors in Manchester, Dubai and beyond, there’s a real sense of belonging and friendship.”

Jeanette Struwig, Travel Counsellor, South Africa

That sense of belonging matters to us.

As Travel Counsellors grows, we want to make sure the care, connection and community that make us distinctive grow with us — creating an environment where people feel valued, supported and able to thrive.

That’s why we’re proud to have achieved Silver in Onvero’s 2026 TIDE Benchmark, progressing from Bronze last year.

But Silver is about more than moving up a level. It gives us an independent view of the progress we’re making, recognises the contribution of people across our community and helps us understand where we can keep getting better.

So, what is TIDE?

TIDE is an external benchmark that looks at how organisations are putting diversity, inclusion and belonging into practice.

It assesses a broad range of areas, including inclusive leadership, recruitment, colleague voice, working practices, wellbeing and belonging.

This year, 158 organisations across 28 industries took part, giving us an external measure of our progress alongside organisations across a wide range of sectors.

What does moving from Bronze to Silver actually mean?

For us, the move to Silver is recognition that our approach is continuing to develop and mature.

The results show particular strength in areas that are closely connected to our culture. Travel Counsellors ranked first within our industry benchmark for Inclusive Leadership, Working Practices and Values & Behaviours, and second for Employee Voice & Engagement. Our overall result also placed us ahead of both the private-sector and Hospitality, Leisure and Retail averages.

That context matters because inclusion isn’t created by one policy, initiative or team. It comes through the everyday experience people have: how we listen, how we lead, the opportunities we create and how supported people feel to be themselves and contribute.

The benchmark helps us see where that is working well and where we still have more to do.

Powered by our community

An important part of that progress has been the continued development of our five community-led affinity groups: TC Pride, TC Ability, TC Balance, TC Sustain and TC Origins.

Through conversations, events, shared learning and collaboration, they create opportunities for colleagues and Travel Counsellors to connect around shared experiences and interests.

Just as importantly, they bring different perspectives and lived experiences into our thinking, helping us better understand what inclusion and belonging look and feel like across our community.

That wouldn’t happen without the affinity group leads, ambassadors, advocates and members who give their time, energy and ideas to make those communities meaningful.

Why belonging matters as we grow

Our culture has always been built around personal care and our belief that we should care more than anyone else.

For colleagues, that means feeling supported, listened to and valued for the perspective they bring.

For Travel Counsellors, it means being part of a community where people share knowledge, support one another and feel connected to something bigger, while still building businesses that are distinctly personal to them and their customers.

As we continue to grow, protecting and strengthening that sense of connection matters more than ever.

Achieving TIDE Silver is a milestone we should celebrate. But it isn’t a finish line.

The real value is in what we learn from it - and how we use that insight to continue building a community where everyone has the opportunity to belong, contribute and thrive.