The future of talent leadership in pubs

The pub sector is at a critical juncture in its quest to attract the diversity of talent necessary to thrive in a competitive market.

This was the conclusion of a people and culture panel at MCA’s Pub Conference, which included insights from Karen Bates, global people director at BrewDog; Monique Samra, people experience manager at Fuller’s; Rachel Masing, people director at ETM; and Franki Hale, chief people officer at Wells & Co.

Hosted by Karen Bosher, former MD at Greene King, the conversation explored the challenges and opportunities in attracting and retaining talent and creating a diverse and inclusive workforce.

Panellists agreed that public perception of the pub industry often deters potential talent, as Hale said, “We don’t do ourselves any favours. We are a bit of a doom and gloom industry in the public eye, if you are a young person looking to build a career, and you see there are 3m pubs closing a day, you’re not likely to want to apply.”

She also highlighted the importance of showcasing the value to be gained through hospitality work, such as social skills and confidence building, to create a more appealing narrative.

Bates agreed, “There is an opportunity for us to be a lot more vocal about the career progression you can have within the industry. We need to be talking about how, as a female, you can start your career working in the bars, and move up to operations director or above. We need to be out there selling this story a bit more.

She said at BrewDog, the business has turned its employer value proposition to make it more attractive to young applicants, alongside simpler application processes that don’t include a CV.

“Young people aren’t necessarily coming into the pubs as well, so it’s about putting attractive propositions in, from a commercial value perspective, so young people think this is an industry they could be happy in.” Bates also pointed out that there has been a dip in the number of colleges offering hospitality courses, making it more difficult to attract people of this age.

Masing said that at ETM, it is not just about getting applicants through the door, but about finding commitment to a career in the industry. “We get hundreds of applications, but a lot of them don’t mean that much because people don’t see us as a career prospect. So how can we change their intention around that application?” she asked.

Panellists shared various initiatives aimed at improving employee experience within their companies. Samra highlighted the progress Fuller’s has made by listening to employee feedback, “In the last four and a half years, we’ve really gone on a journey in having several listening outlets which allow our people to have their say.

“We have been able to make shifts in enhancing their experience, changing benefits, and new incentives.”

She also addressed the need for inclusivity, particularly for older workers and those with neurodiversity, “We quickly identified that there was a real gap in the talent we were missing out on.” The business now has a charity partner with Special Olympics to create a guide around how a general manager can support someone with an intellectual disability, or who is neurodivergent.

Meanwhile, BrewDog has been proactive in addressing mental health and neurodiversity challenges by providing access to specific support. “We realised the waiting lists can be around two and three years, so people were living with knowing they need help but couldn’t get access to it.

“We have created a pathway where we pay for those assessments,” said Bates.

The future of talent leadership

Diversity remains a crucial issue within the sector, with Masing discussing the delicate balance between genuine inclusivity and tokenism. “If we look at all the statistics in terms of the challenges the business is facing, we need to start doing things differently.

“Diversity just means having different people around the table; therefore, you’re going to have different ways of thinking, creativity around solving problems, and a wide range of solutions.”

“Whomever gets appointed is never going to make the success on their own, but if that person can bring the right team around them, ask the right questions, and create a broader team and diversity of thought, surely it only makes financial sense that you start to approach the business differently - that will be the key to change.”

Looking ahead, most expressed cautious optimism about the future of talent leadership in the pub sector. “It’s definitely going to get better but we need to be prepared to invest the time and the finance into attracting, retaining and developing talent,” said Bates.

Whilst Samra added, “We are probably at a 50-50 split across all our senior roles, 70% of our general managers are homegrown so we are investing heavily in our people. We need to keep having the conversation, collaborating as an industry and we will achieve better parity.”

However, Hale voiced some reservations, stressing the need for youth in leadership roles. “I’m not sure it will get better, it might stabilise.

“The change needs to be at a senior level, bringing in lots of diversity, and young people to a boardroom. We need a bit of youth in that room to say this is what I want in the future, and these are the decisions we need to be making,” she said.

Masing also addressed the impact of shifting demographics, “People who are not drinking won’t want to work around drunk people.

“We need to think about the environments we are creating, if we have people that are not used to being around drunk people— there is a whole safeguarding piece and making sure team members are not intimidated at work.”