Darryl ‘Dazz’ Dickson has explored a variety of roles since starting with Flight Centre Travel Group in 2010. His vibrant personality and knack for turning challenges into opportunities took Dazz from a consultant at Flight Centre Mackay to leading a national L&D team to become an Org. (Organisational) Change Leader. There is never a dull moment for Darryl, and his career (to date) is a testament to the endless possibilities with FCTG and what that can mean for individuals like Dazz, who have the tenacity to pursue them.
After finishing uni, Dazz started working within his industry of study but soon felt his passion for the field fade. It was as though destiny had different plans for him. As he navigated his options, Darryl found himself drawn to the travel industry.
His adventure into the industry began as a consultant at Flight Centre Mackay in 2010, where he admits he had rose-coloured glasses before commencing the role.
"Being a consultant was more challenging than I thought it would be, to begin with. I wasn't a high-achieving novice. In fact, I had quite a few performance coaching sessions with my then Team Leader as I found the role quite difficult. Then, at around six months, something clicked. I started doing great figures and turned my novice year around. By the end of my novice year, my first year as a travel consultant, I was the second-highest-performing novice in Queensland and fourth-highest-performing across Australia."
Soon after getting up to speed with the role, Dazz became the team leader for Flight Centre Mackay. This was at a time when this location was one of the most inquired stores in Queensland, all of which was through walk-ins, repeat customers and referrals – which he remarks was a trademark of a regional store like Mackay. He stayed in this role for a couple of years before applying for a role to become a trainer and train new travel consultants, which he didn’t get. This didn’t deter Darryl from exploring a career in learning & development as he believes not getting that role was one of the best things that happened to him because he was able to start working as a trainer for Travel Academy.
He spent a couple of years in this role before he moved on to Evolution Business College, which grew very quickly and Dazz became the national training leader. However, due to a twist of fate, a restructuring occurred which meant Dazz needed to find a new role, so returned to one of our retail stores and became a Team Leader once again. However, this didn't last long.
“I was only a retail Team Leader again for about six months before I moved on to working on what was, at the time, the largest project FCTG had ever undertaken - transitioning all employees in AU and NZ from their incumbent GDS, Travelport to our new GDS partner, Sabre. This is the system that all travel-selling employees use to book travel. Once this project concluded, I moved into our People and Culture division as an Instructional Designer, creating learning packages before moving back into my old team which delivered Sabre, renamed "The Change Team". There, I worked on many projects in change management through the pandemic before transitioning to ETS (Enterprise Technology Services) in April 2022.”
As the Organisational Change Manager for ETS, Dazz takes care of understanding the impacts changes, projects and bodies of work have on our people and supports the business through the transition to becoming even more productive after the change.
"I thought Flight Centre would be a six-month gig tops, where I could build up my savings account and travel again. But I'm still here nearly 13 years later. Each time I've transitioned from one role to the next, I've been surprised at just how many opportunities this company has! I went from being a travel consultant to a vocational education trainer, national L&D leader, instructional designer, and now a leader within change management, managing global changes across FCTG."
Dazz remarks on how when he first started with Flight Centre, he didn’t even know that a career in change management even existed. That the breadth of opportunities across the network of teams and brands within Flight Centre Travel Group is endless. With Brightness of Futures, Flight Centre Travel Group’s approach to career development and progression, not only is there an abundance of opportunity but the support to go after the role you want.
"I had no idea what change management was. When I started working within the change team, my leader was coaching me through tasks and requirements and before like, I thought, "Oh, so this is what change management is". I fell into the role. At the time, they needed someone who could write e-learning modules and knew how to create training packages and content. That progressed into being a change analyst then to being a change manager, where I interact with employees across the globe from new hires all the way to Managing Directors and our executive management team."
When prompted about what advice Darryl would pass on to someone looking to build a career at Flight Centre Travel Group, he suggests that you reflect on what you want to get out of the experience.
“This is a company that can take your career in so many different pathways that you may not have ever thought possible. So ask yourself, can I use this as a stepping stone to another incredible role within the industry?"
Like Darryl’s start with FCTG, he remarks that beginning as a consultant is “generally the entry point” which has been the case for many tenured professionals within the organisation.
“Being a travel consultant can be tough, but it's oh-so rewarding! You get to talk about travel all day… and who doesn't love that? And if, after a while, like me, you find yourself yearning for a new adventure of the career variety, then that does not mean that your time at Flight Centre Travel Group needs to come to an end, there are so many careers and pathways you can take, and some you've likely never even heard of! I love it here, and can't see myself going anywhere else.”
If like Dazz, you're ready to explore the possibilities of where a career in travel can take you and discover your Brightness of Future, we have more than 300 open roles spanning 30 brands, 20+ regions, sales, tech, finance and more!
