Research has consistently shown that attracting and keeping high-quality staff is essential to a business’s wellbeing. Steve Gotham reveals what’s on sector leaders’ minds going into 2016:
There is a clear and compelling common thread running through much of our latest annual Top of Mind research with senior executives from across the foodservice industry. To paraphrase former US president, Bill Clinton’s take on the importance of the domestic economy in winning election battles, “It’s the people, stupid”, is the key takeout message. But it is also a multifaceted one. From attracting and retaining high-quality staff and senior management, to delivering great customer service and winning the hearts and minds of consumers, the need to get people’s perspectives right is of fundamental importance. And if you are in any doubt, I have laid out five key reasons why it is imperative to make sure your human resources/personnel/talent management support teams are working effectively:
Asking industry executives to highlight the most important business challenges they currently face, it is noteworthy that from across a list of over 20 considerations, the matter of attracting and retaining high-quality personnel emerged as the most frequently cited business challenge. Not surprisingly, in the case of operators, the key concern related to shop floor staff, whereas in the case of suppliers, issues with high-calibre senior management were highlighted of greatest importance.
For operators, the quantity and quality of shop floor staff are now regarded as more of a concern than intensifying competition and increasing rents and property costs. Staff need to be engaged and feel empowered to serve as ‘brand ambassadors’. Issues with the relatively unattractive perception of a career in foodservice have long been around, but they would now seem to be biting as the economy approaches ‘full employment’. As one pub industry executive put it: “Without good people, we struggle to delight customers.”
While in the restaurant space, one financial director noted that: “Recruitment is our biggest challenge. Skilled back-of-house staff are like gold dust at the moment, and even front-of-house staff are attracting a premium.”
Interestingly, for operators, the battle for talent does not just apply to shop floor staff, as nigh on three in 10 respondents said there were issues with management – a proportion not far behind the 38% leading share in the supplier camp. Clearly, the ongoing struggle to be the employer of choice has challenges right up the value chain.
One business that is winning the battle for talent is Pret A Manger. In the Top of Mind survey, industry executives are asked to nominate which company or brand they most admire across the foodservice market. This year, and remarkably for the previous six years too, Pret A Manger emerges as the most highly regarded business. Its consistency, quality, product innovation and strong customer service are recognised as fundamental to the brand’s continued success. As one director reported: “Pret is a business that has consistently stuck to its principles, even when compromise would have been easier. It has made a virtue out of transparency and ethical trading – and empowering staff to give ‘treats’ to customers was a grown-up stroke of genius.”
Pret’s most admired longevity reflects its strong corporate culture and ways of working that are sustain its pre-eminence. There is much to be learnt and indeed, imitated, from its recruitment, team working, employee recognition and customer service practices. There is always the risk of creeping complacency as it gets bigger but the business is skilfully finding ways to mitigate against this. So really, the onus is more on competitors and operators across the sector to raise their games.
Industry executives were also asked for their views on which corporate competencies would be most important for business success during the next five years. Significantly, emerging as the most commonly agreed factor was delivering customer service excellence – highlighted by 43% of survey participants. In part, this will be a response to mounting competitive pressures and the need to meet rising standards as well as higher customer expectations. However, it should also be regarded as playing a key role in building customer loyalty, which is also recognised as a highly important business competence.
A very useful line of enquiry is opened up by comparing the corporate competency scores in the latest survey with previous statistics. This provides valuable insights into which corporate competencies are predicted to rise in importance, alongside those attributes that are graded in terms of higher and lower importance. This analysis serves to identify a fourfold combination of attributes that characterise different business strategies and which might challenge a few conventional orthodoxies:
Traditional – founded on cost control, low-price competitiveness and ‘collaboration’ with trade partners
Established – based upon building customer loyalty and supported by innovation and creativity
Emerging – freshness of offer and concept, flexibility and speed across multiple channels sum up the multifaceted competency mix
Winning – the core competencies to help the brand stand out is excellence in customer service and high-calibre front-line staff. This is underpinned by strong leadership and recognised competitive differentiation
Looking back across previous Top of Mind surveys there is a very encouraging trend towards rising agreement of the need to better invest in staff training and development.
The battle for talent is resulting in more operators more closely scrutinising all elements of their attraction, retention and remuneration policies.
However, there is a prospective pinch point coming up with the introduction of the national living wage and the impact this on investment resources. Smaller, weaker and less engaged industry stakeholders are likely to merely maintain or even cut training budgets to offset higher salary costs. More progressive operators and retailers expect new talent will be attracted by the higher rewards in this industry and higher investment in them is essential for business development.
The majority of industry executives see the national living wage as a valuable opportunity for the sector. As one chief executive said: “The introduction of the living wage will open up recruitment to a broader talent pool, so matching their needs and aspirations to train and improve will be key.”
Equally, I am sure the following sentiments will resonate widely: “If we are paying more for staff then we want them to be better trained so they can perform to a higher level.”
Clearly with higher pay comes the expectation of higher responsibility – both for the employer and the employee. Clearly, we need to be realistic about this people, not stupid.
