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Career Overview
I’m the talent and culture director at The Alchemist, a creative cocktail bar and restaurant with venues across the UK and Europe. My role oversees the employee journey of our teams, from recruitment, onboarding, training and development, DE&I, HR and engagement. My department’s main goal is to attract great talent, provide continuous training and career development and have happy teams who love their job with us. I’m proud to say we don’t take ourselves too seriously – we provide a fun, inclusive environment for people to thrive in. It helps that our cocktails and venues are fun!
Major People Challenges Impacting The Hospitality Industry
The hospitality industry is still facing major people challenges on the back of the COVID pandemic. The environment upon reopening was fast-paced and difficult, coupled with the guest impact of supplier difficulties. This made recruitment and retention a difficult landscape, and the draw for a career in hospitality faded. Our demographic of employees is young, and they have historically been drawn to work with us because of our exciting brand. However, the past few years have changed what potential candidates want from an employer. There has been a shift in expectations of benefits and work-life, leaning towards a healthier lifestyle. This has meant changes to our operation. However, our adaptability to this has ensured we have maintained positive attraction to our vacant roles.
Technological Advancements Aiding Adaptation Of Organisational Changes And Fostering A More Inclusive Work Culture
People and HR technology have improved and continue to do so since the rise in remote working to enable better people management. We pride ourselves on being an inclusive employer, and the implementation of tech has supported us in this way. Advances in recruitment tools and ATS platforms allow for a reduction in unconscious bias in recruitment whilst also giving candidates a seamless online recruitment journey using mobile phones. Our training and development systems allow us to support different learning styles and neuro-divergent employees, ensuring we can get the best out of our teams.
“The Success Of Any Business Comes From Its People, From Listening To Them And Being Open To Change”
Strategies Used To Implement Policies That Foster A Positive Work Culture
We have a strong people policy that underpins our values in DE&I, well-being and mental health and runs through all our processes. We also acknowledge that there are always learnings to be taken, so training and changes to the policy are regular based on any legislation changes or cultural changes within the business. We are open to employee feedback and always ensure we listen–acting on anything we can and explaining when we can’t. We are proud that our mental health strategy includes regular first aid training for our managers while also promoting healthy habits surrounding physical and financial health.
Advice To Peers And Individuals Aspiring To Enter The HR Field
I entered the field in a different way to many HR leaders my early years in the industry were operational. However, I always had a huge passion for people and culture. My biggest advice would be to always ensure your voice is heard – the success of any business comes from its people, from listening to them and being open to change. People teams don’t always have the biggest seat at the table, so ensuring you are heard can be challenging. Ensuring proposed changes and strategies are commercially viable and proving ROI is imperative, which can be challenging, but the results are fantastic once you see results.
