LOLA WOOD
Nottingham
Summary
Customer Experience and People Leader with extensive experience across leisure, hospitality, travel, and retail. Skilled in strategy development, planning, and execution to drive organisational performance. Specialist in service design, soft-skills and functional training, EVP contribution, employer brand alignment, talent acquisition, multi-site operations, and customer insight. Proven ability to embed customer- and people-focused cultures, strengthen brand performance, and drive continuous improvement across complex, high-volume environments.
Overview
24
24
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work history
Customer Experience Manager
Serco Leisure
09.2023 - 11.2025
- Designed and delivered customer experience and relationship management strategies aligned to organisational goals.
- Created branded Service Principles and 10 soft-skills and functional training modules.
- Led customer journey mapping and operational improvements across venues and digital channels.
- Partnered with Digital, Systems, and Marketing teams to optimise CRM and streamline customer pathways.
- Used CSAT, NPS, and verbatim analysis to drive targeted improvement activity.
- Contributed to EVP development and employer brand alignment to support attraction and engagement.
- Provided people-focused insight across recruitment, onboarding, and colleague development.
Customer Experience Manager
MERKUR UK
03.2021 - 11.2023
- Led the UK-wide CX strategy, recognised with two national industry awards.
- Owned complaint analytics and insight reporting at board level to drive operational and people-focused improvements - Reduced legal complaint costs by 74%
- Managed CRM development, customer communications, and mystery shopping programmes.
- Designed and delivered CX and functional training across all business functions.
- Supported talent acquisition and onboarding, aligning recruitment and training with brand and culture.
Operations / General Manager
No1 Lounges
05.2019 - 12.2020
- Managed multi-site airport lounge operations and supported new site launches.
- Achieved 38% revenue growth and 51% cost savings through operational redesign.
- Recruited, trained, and developed FOH/BOH teams, embedding a culture of high performance.
- Used data insights to inform workforce planning, onboarding, and development strategies.
Operations Resourcing Partner
Whitbread PLC
London
01.2017 - 01.2019
- Provided full stakeholder management support across a high-volume, multi-site operational portfolio.
- Managed the end-to-end recruitment lifecycle for operational and management roles - Achieved 85% retention rate.
- Built talent pipelines aligned to business growth, restructures, and workforce planning needs.
- Supported organisational restructures, ensuring positive internal and external candidate experiences.
- Delivered targeted recruitment marketing campaigns and managed job boards and internal systems.
- Trained and coached operational managers in hiring capability and recruitment best practice.
- Authored operational management job adverts aligned to employer brand and tone of voice.
- Reviewed and adapted SLAs in line with commercial priorities and operational needs.
Various UK & Overseas Roles
TUI Travel PLC
01.2009 - 01.2017
- Progressed across several customer experience, brand, training, operational and recruitment roles across UK and overseas locations.
- Designed global training content, operational manuals, and SOPs for TUI Concept and Sensatori resorts.
- Created content for customer apps and guest-facing materials, managing localisation and external suppliers.
- Delivered onboarding and leadership training, and supported large-scale international conferences and hotelier events.
- Conducted global brand audits across Rooms, F&B, Entertainment, and service operations.
- Managed multi-department teams (40 direct, 500+ indirect) at the Sensatori flagship resort.
- Used KPI and customer insight data to drive operational and experience improvement.
- Led recruitment cycles, supported graduate programmes, and managed complex guest incidents including major cases.
Restaurant Manager
TRG Restaurant Group & Independent venues
01.2002 - 01.2009
- Managed both branded and independent restaurant operations, overseeing teams, revenue performance, customer service delivery, events, and operational efficiency.
Education
NVQ Level 2 - Customer Service
TUI Travel PLC
NVQ Level 2 - Retail Operations
River Island
GCSEs -
Worthing High School
Skills
- Customer & Relationship Experience Management
- Strategy Development, Planning & Execution
- Talent Acquisition & Recruitment
- Employer Brand & EVP Alignment
- Service Design & Training Development
- Leadership & People Development
- Stakeholder Engagement
- Data Analytics & Insight
- CRM & Digital Journey Management
- Continuous Improvement
- Operational Excellence
- Regulatory Compliance & Operational Governance
Certification
- NVQ Level 2 in Customer Service
- NVQ Level 2 in Retail Operations
- GCSEs (9 including 6 at Grade C and above)
REFERENCES
Available upon request.
Timeline
Customer Experience Manager
Serco Leisure
09.2023 - 11.2025
Customer Experience Manager
MERKUR UK
03.2021 - 11.2023
Operations / General Manager
No1 Lounges
05.2019 - 12.2020
Operations Resourcing Partner
Whitbread PLC
01.2017 - 01.2019
Various UK & Overseas Roles
TUI Travel PLC
01.2009 - 01.2017
Restaurant Manager
TRG Restaurant Group & Independent venues
01.2002 - 01.2009
NVQ Level 2 - Customer Service
TUI Travel PLC
NVQ Level 2 - Retail Operations
River Island
GCSEs -
Worthing High School