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7 September, 2018

Intrepid’s Leigh Barnes: “Credibility has become a competitive advantage”

Ever heard of a Chief Purpose officer? Yeah, we hadn’t either.

That was until Intrepid Group’s very own CPO spoke at Travel DAZE on Monday and told us what his role at the company was all about.

Leigh Barnes said he’s been called many things since he began the role, from chief pilates officer to head of hippies and his personal favourite: chief porpoise officer.

And guess what? Even Barnes himself isn’t too sure what his role is. Don’t tell his boss.

But he does know one thing: Purpose has helped Intrepid become the business they are today.

“After almost 30 years we’ve realised that while corporate business goals are great, purpose is ultimately personal,” he told Travel DAZE attendees.

“By knowing and helping each other fulfil our purpose, we’ve become a happier and more productive team at Intrepid.

“Having a purpose has helped our company grow, not just by empowering our people but by showing our customers that we’re credible.”

Credibility has become more and more important to consumers who are beginning to hold companies accountable for the ways they conduct their business.

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Particularly in Australia, where trust seems to be in a downward spiral right now.

Edelman’s trust index, which ranks countries based on their average trust in institutions, ranked Australia at 40, only four places ahead of the world’s least trusting country: Russia.

“Credibility has become a competitive advantage,” said Barnes.

A perfect example is Intrepid’s decision to no longer offer elephant rides.

“At the time, south-east Asia was about 40 per cent of our overall sales and elephant riding was considered the must do.

“But the research showed elephants were being submitted to cruelty in the breaking in process. We knew our customers wanted elephant rides so it was a pretty big risk to stop offering them.

“It was another ‘holy shit’ moment but we couldn’t continue on as we were.”

In 2014, Intrepid became the first global tour operator to stop offering elephant riding, and since then more than 150 others have done the same.

“And guess what? Our sales increased.”

“We hit headlines across the world, our staff engagement climbed, and all the while we were taking a huge step for animal welfare.

“We learned that being credible and doing the right thing is good for business.”

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