ESL is one of the largest study abroad agencies, with 37 offices in 13 countries. It started life as Ecole Suisse de Langues, before branching into the agency business too. Krister Weidenhielm, Head of Product Development and Purchase at ESL, talks to The PIE.
The PIE: ESL has significantly expanded. Can you give me a brief history of the company.
KW: ESL started as a school offering French language junior camps in the beautiful French-Swiss area in 1996. Quite organically we evolved to offer agency services too. I would say without thinking too much we developed our other side of things by starting to contact schools and find solutions for the requests we were having.
When you start, you are open to many things. The two founders of ESL who are Patrick [Siegenthaler] and Alan [Vadi] were obviously focused on the first objective of ESL which was to offer French language camps for kids. But they were definitely open to develop everything related to the industry that we were discovering.
We had one camp and it was a seasonal, during the holidays. So we had time to do something else and started the agency in 1997-1998 which was when I came on board. Very organic!
The PIE: How does operating on both ‘sides’ of the industry help your business?
KW: It gave our agency, I believe, a possibility to interact with partner schools with more empathy. To be more creative as well, because we started as French foreign language for juniors – I mean this is very niche – in Switzerland. So by being in such a niche product from the beginning we had to differentiate as a school. I see this now as part of our DNA.
The PIE: How has the agency side of ESL expanded so successfully?
KW: I have to say that in Switzerland, there is a certain level of quality and professionalism in counselling students… you know, that face-to-face customised service that we’ve invested in to make sure the students are well informed about what they have purchased.
“From the beginning we had to differentiate as a school. I see this now as part of our DNA”
From quite early on we applied a certain style to the way we operated. We were able to bring a certain standard – which is no judgment on other ways of doing it. But I know from feedback that it was something that differentiated us. That was appreciated. Be it from Italy, from Panama, from wherever, a student and a booking was treated in the same way – let’s call it the ESL way.
And as we expanded, that also represented an asset for us, which meant we had the interest of schools: we could contribute actively to their nationality mix.
The PIE: How difficult was it to expand into these other countries- starting with Sweden and France in 2003?
KW: In the beginning, it was pretty much based, to tell the truth, on the person on site. On knowing someone first whom we could trust, that was getting along with us. We had to customise each office enough to be local. But at the same time we have the same group position as far as the choice of a partner school.
I don’t choose one school for Italy in Vancouver and another school for Spain in Vancouver. But they might have certain needs in Spain that they don’t have in Italy. So all of these brought to our business an international dimension. Which is today what we define ourselves as being: “an international agency” based in Switzerland.
The PIE: What challenges does the future hold?
KW: It’s quite challenging but it’s that alchemy to be able to consolidate as you grow. You know we could open in Papua New Guinea tomorrow if we wanted. Because that’s not difficult you just have to find an office, an internet connection and that’s it. But it’s what you do with it which is the real question. And here the key word is consolidation. I believe both are possible. It is still what we aim at. To keep on growing as we consolidate.
“Today we define ourselves as being ‘an international agency’ based in Switzerland”
The PIE: When I became initially aware of ESL it seemed like a really strong brand because it was so good online. Yet you obviously put a lot of stead into the fact that it’s good to have face-to-face interaction.
KW: Yes definitely. It is again talking about poles that have a compliment or a chemistry there. I’m quite convinced that the type of services we offer, with the portfolio we have – which is, to my knowledge, the most diversified portfolio in the industry – need both facets. [more>>]
KW: For our ambition – which is to send students to schools who know what they bought, who are feeling they have everything in hand from day one to start enjoying their course – it takes being able to meet that student face to face. You can offer them a vision of what they could access but it’s only when you meet them that you can really see what they have interpreted, what they assume and what their real needs are.
The PIE: Why do you think many of your clients are studying abroad?
KW: I would say there are more and more people who realise that study abroad is an intelligent holiday. Let’s pretend we are in our 20s, we have 2 or 3 week holiday to plan. You go on holidays alone. However much of a go getter you are, it’s still going to take you one or two days to warm up, to get to know people. You had that day a bit Lost in Translation…. With study abroad, from day one, you’re immediately into socialising.
The PIE: And will agencies remain vital in the distribution chain- or maybe let’s word it differently, what’s the agency industry going to look like in five year’s time?
KW: It’s clear that the fragmented nature of the agency market might be more consolidated. Because of the fragmented side of things, for a school it becomes much more costly as well to have to service so many agencies.
The PIE: Why don’t you think it has consolidated until now?
KW: Well, we are in the process, don’t you think so?
The PIE: Um, I can’t think of many good examples of international chains of agencies to be honest.
KW: No that’s true, you can still count them on the left hand of Django Reinhardt; it’s more explicit for the moment on the school side of things. On the agency side of things, today it’s just about having an internet connection and you can start. Look at Switzerland, it’s a country where you might have big agencies, medium agencies, and very small kitchen table agencies or whatever you want to call them.
The PIE: You’re a big company now – how do you maintain the youthful company profile that you have?
KW: It’s true that one of the images people had and still have of ESL is that we are the young company. I’m quite proud of definitely seeing people as our wealth as a company. We believe in the potential of people and as a company which offers not only language training but life training, etc.. the least we could do is also have an approach with our staff related to personal and professional development.
The PIE: And why do you think Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) should be integral to our industry.. [this is something that ESL has championed and developed a CSR self-assessment tool for schools].
KW: Part of our DNA is definitely a commitment to sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) and because we try to be creative and to stimulate excellence among the schools related to accommodation, academic, b2b operational services, so CSR was quite logical.
“It makes sense to invest my professional time into this”
I believe also in that aspect of sustainable development which is very much the b2b side of things; To see that it is not going against the idea of profit. It is compatible with it. It’s only when you can start thinking in those terms that you can see that it’s totally linked – the famous PPP – people planet profit. Which for me was a beautiful striking thing.
The PIE: An epiphany.
KW: It makes sense to invest my time, my professional time into this. You know it was hours and hours I have spent developing and communicating around the self-assessment tool. But it was the possibility to share best practices. It is a word that I like to use, “Best Practices”. Because sometimes in the world too many things are levelled with a low dynamic. Refer to the highest level. And best practices shows this. That if we can recognise among different practices which ones are the best, we should all strive for this.
