Arc Inspirations: ‘One of our core values is to care’

Arc Inspirations founder and CEO Martin Wolstencroft is acutely aware that, as a “white, straight, middle-aged Englishman,” his lived experience is different to many people he works with. For the business he founded over 20 years ago, equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) has been a long but great journey, he tells MCA.

Over the years, senior leadership has committed to keep understanding, listening, and learning from teams as the pub and bar company evolves.

“This is certainly not something I’m an expert in, but one of our core values is to care,” Wolstencroft says. “It’s something you have to keep getting advice on, not a tick-box exercise.

“We’ve taken it very seriously as a company, and we’ve enjoyed the process.”

These commitments run across the business, from a board that is 50% female and a team of managers and supervisors that is 37% female. The idea is to make the right decisions – for both the business and the person.

In addition, Arc has implemented a zero tolerance policy and a mentorship programme.

“Team members found it empowering to have mixed, black, and gay people in leadership roles,” Wolstencroft explains. “We’re also committed to having a balanced board and active members of Women in Hospitality.”

The company has also invested in recruiting as well as promoting employees from different backgrounds. Staff are encouraged to take time off for cultural celebrations, and provided safe space for fasting and praying if required.

“When we’re recruiting, we hire with passion. There are 40 different nationalities in our business.”

Disability and mental health awareness training is also important, which has helped result in venues accessible to differently abled people in everything from toilets to furniture.

MD Anni Opong, who joined the business over 20 years ago, described her own EDI learnings and how they tied in with Arc’s journey towards building a more diverse business.

“I didn’t think much about it when I first started,” she tells MCA. “When I got into a senior position, I realised I am quite different.

“It made me very passionate about having a balance between different nationalities. We’re still learning…the eye-opener for me was our Birmingham opening, which had a 70% non-white team when we recruited.

“There were lots of girls interested in my background and telling me, ‘You’ve inspired me, given me hope.”

People & culture officer Lee Woolley, who is just a few weeks into the job, notes that Arc scores 4.7 on EDI at employee review platform Glassdoor.

“My experience on Glassdoor in the past has been quite negative, but with Arc, our closest competitor scores 4.3”, he says. “People say they see people like themselves in the business.”

As the result of an employee survey two years ago, Arc put in place quarterly check-ins with every team member across levels of the business that allows them to raise issues, whether personal or work-related.

“People just want to be listened to and cared for,” Wolstencroft adds. “It may be a little thing, but it’s probably the best thing we’ve done as an organisation.”

This has helped drive both turnover and team satisfaction “through the roof,” he says.

External suppliers, such as security, are also monitored to ensure there’s no discrimination, while questionnaires about modern slavery have been sent out to suppliers.

As he settles into the job, Woolley is looking to introduce a female mentoring programme.

“Men will apply for a job if they’re 50% sure they can do it. For females, it’s 80%,” he points out. “We have a real request for mentoring…it’s about how to get that confidence up.”

The diversity leadership team at Arc meets every quarter to discuss progress, which Wolstencroft terms “an amazing learning experience.”

“What if we didn’t have such a great cross-section of race, background, sex at our bars?” he questions. “We would look very different as a business…it’s quite scary if you think of it.”