HRD The only independent strategic HR publication

theHRDIRECTOR NOVEMBER 2016 I ISSUE 145

ROUNDTABLE LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT JOURNEY - HALF OF COMPANIES WITH REVENUES OVER £500 MILLION HAVE NO FORMAL CEO SUCCESSION

PAUL MITFORD, HR DIRECTOR - { SEATS AT TABLES } “ HR’S ABOUT CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT, AS WE ENGAGE EMPLOYEES IN VERY PERSONALISED WAYS”

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DIVERSITY & INCLUSION Prejudice is EMPLOYEE BENEFITS Maslow EXPLORING MINDFULNESS That EMPLOYER BRAND Investing in an an ingrained tool for managing fear, proposed the “Hierarchy of Needs”. chattering distraction in our minds office slide may set the employer we cannot expect to change it with Are benefits key to motivation or can which has been described as a brand tone, but it's not a compelling logical argument alone remuneration satisfy this? ‘mad monkey bitten by a scorpion' reasons to stay www.thehrdirector.com 100% no paid for editorial case study EMPLOYER BRAND

recipe for success

Whitbread plc. the UK's largest hospitality company, has grown success through its progress in improving customer experience. But like many competing in the tough hospitality space, the business experienced high employee turnover and inconsistent service levels, which was potentially undermining the progress made with consumer brands.

alk about an enviable line up of relied on the ability of individual managers’ T brands, Whitbread boasts: Costa, to get important messages out to the 15,000 , Grill, Brewers employees in the restaurants. As a result, Fayre and . Paul Mitford, HR Director: messages didn’t always reach teams at the “This is a large employer with multiple brands same time or in the same way and and lots of sites - therefore engaging each and communication was patchy. There was also a strong sense that employees on the ground weren’t getting the recognition they deserved. They knew that to achieve consistency, retaining their people was crucial. The company also Messages didn’t always knew that to achieve this, employees in all reach teams at the same 408 of those restaurants had to be engaged with the bigger picture, relate to the brand and time or in the same really understand how they could contribute way and communication to the improved customer experience and make a difference in their own role. ARTICLE BY was patchy. There was NICK TERRY MANAGING DIRECTOR also a strong sense A complete overhaul of the historic General TOP BANANA Managers face-to-face platform was at the that employees on the heart of a significant step change in 2015. Recognising that ground weren’t getting The single General Managers event and its supporting traditional cascade process was in order to improve the recognition transformed into 408 based events customer experience and they deserved all taking place simultaneously and touching 15,000 employees. Dubbed the 'Lock-In', the achieve its established events were supported by a social media ambition of 'Serving campaign to connect the events, promoting and Up Great Memories', building the wider community in the business. every employee is a challenge but a vital part of Break out activities were designed to get every Whitbread Restaurants our customer experience, talent retention and member of every team involved and to help knew it needed more ultimately, our company growth. A lot of the them understand how they could contribute to engaged, motivated, engagement work we have done in recent years ‘Serving Up Great Memories’, regardless of their has been predicated on opening up a more role. To recognise teams in the restaurants, not loyal teams in all of its mature, adult dialogue with all of our teams just General Managers, bespoke awards - for 408 restaurants. and we’ve done an awful lot of work with our both individuals and teams - were handed out managers on that, through this event strategy at the events to reward local employees for their and beyond.” Historically, a cornerstone of the efforts. “We’d always built the year around set employee engagement strategy was an annual events”, comments Paul Mitford. “These have event for General Managers from all four increasingly moved from just business plan restaurant brands, to hear plans for the next presentations to be more about the behaviours year and to celebrate the successes of the we wanted to see, progressively becoming more previous 12 months. Managers then shared the and more about reward and recognition. information with their own teams after the Bringing the corporate ambition to life for event through a traditional cascade process. everyone has also been a real focus of our work This approach, like many other organisations, with Top Banana, with much more theatre and

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live interaction at events.” All 408 General final was incorporated into the event with four “In 2015 we ran every restaurant on Managers were briefed ahead at a strategic teams completing live cooking challenges on a skeleton team for an hour on a Saturday briefing and celebratory dinner. They were also stage. The head chef from Celtic Manor, where morning after the breakfast rush to deliver given their individual cascade packs which the previous year’s event ran, was a judge and the ‘Lock-In’” comments Paul Mitford. included a training video to help them deliver set challenges for the teams, whilst the new “This year we’ve been a bit more flexible the cascade event to their own teams back in around the delivery time, keeping the same the restaurant with confidence. It was community feel and focus on reward and important that messages were shared recognition. Given the mixture of business consistently to help everyone work towards messages and reward and recognition, we the goal of better customer experience, so Candidly we know were aware of potential confusion and cascade packs included plenty of materials to we still have a lot to delivery challenges for managers so worked bring all the important points alive. Paul to provide a clear delivery framework without Mitford comments: “We were conscious that learn and a lot to do. dumbing down any of the content, whilst also from an operational perspective, there was So much operational allowing for personalisation of the recognition a huge difference in how information was elements. Candidly we know we still have being cascaded. Some managers did it really information has to be a lot to learn and a lot to do. So much well, others not so great. We wanted to served up every week, operational information has to be served up combine the desire to improve this process every week, we’re constantly working to with making it fun for people, which drove the we’re constantly make this achievable, digestible, different and thinking around the ‘Lock-In’ creative. Over working to make this fun.” For Whitbread Restaurants more than 50 percent of our teams are under 25 so we’re most, the proof really is in the pudding. always thinking about what do they really achievable, digestible, Figures for 2016 to date show a significant need to know and how can we make it more different and fun reduction in critical kitchen team roles leaving interesting for them.” With 89 percent of staff against the same period last year. Overall agreeing the ‘Lock-In’ helped bring them kitchen employee turnover has also reduced together, communicate business messages and on last year. As well as helping to retain build loyalty to the brand, 92 percent wanted teams, the focus on training and progression to do something similar again so the event CEO of the Whitbread Group also judged the is also driving the right behaviours with strategy was evolved once more for 2016. competition, giving her a great opportunity to 62 percent more Kitchen team members share her passion and ambitions for the completing training beyond their role than in This year, the focus is to bring the kitchen back company. Bringing employees face-to-face the month prior to the 2016 event. The to the heart of the business, encouraging with suppliers really helped promote overall impact of the ‘Lock-In’ and subsequent existing kitchen employees to progress their understanding of the provenance of the cascade events will continue to be measured, careers and supporting front of house teams to served in all the restaurants, arming people but early indications show they have been train up on their kitchen skills. This year’s with the information they needed to talk a very effective way to communicate approach was kicked off with a key strategic knowledgeably to customers about what’s on important messages, drive people retention event for General Managers, kitchen and their plates and improve the customer and development and build loyalty with training teams. The belief was that bringing experience. Paul Mitford comments: “The the brand. these teams together would help people to event at the MK Stadium worked extremely connect with the bigger picture, come together well, including the attendee combination and under the Whitbread Restaurants brand and the separation of the business content in the progress their careers at the company. Paul morning and the live event elements in the Mitford comments: “We needed to work on afternoon. The symbolism of calling out the equalising the balance between the kitchen kitchen teams and getting them to do what and front of house team. We knew that in they do every day naturally in front of people order for the front of house to serve excellent was incredible. We all thought it would be food, the kitchens needed to be delivering good but our expectations were far surpassed, excellence. We needed to raise the profile of with feedback that it was ‘the best event we’d the kitchen teams and promote a better ever run’. The General Managers actually saw relationship between the two.” The newly the food and kitchen teams at the forefront of conceived event brought General Managers, what we do as a business, which had never kitchen and training teams together for the been done before.” After feedback from the first time at the MK Stadium. To really help 2015 ‘Lock-In’, managers were given the people understand how crucial kitchens were flexibility to run their cascade events at any to continued growth and to celebrate success, time over the allotted weekend to help with a strategic briefing, awards and supplier staffing and scheduling issues. Listening to exhibition were combined and the previously managers in this way made sure they were all FOR FURTHER INFO low-key ‘Kitchens of Excellence’ competition on-side with the whole process. www.top-b.com

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