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Identifying and nurturing talent in today's workforce
What makes one front-of-house employee more talented than another doing the same job?
What are the most important characteristics of the line manager or supervisor of a talented, customer-facing employee?
What is it about you, the Managing Director, that would make these talented managers and supervisors want to work for your company?
In the first of a series of interviews examining the unique characteristics of talented people, their line managers and the firms for which they work, Gary Hall asks Alba Catering's Simon Harrison how he identifies those who'll bring the vital ingredient of added value to the Alba customer experience...
In all areas of industry, talent is everything. It defines the individual employee, it separates the truly outstanding enterprises from the mediocre ones, and it can mean the difference between gaining a loyal client and retaining one. Without talented workers, companies very quickly lose their appeal, their so-called USPs start to blend in with those of the competition, and they begin to stagnate dynamically until they ultimately fail economically. This is perhaps no more apparent than in the catering and hospitality sector, where people are the key to a company's success. A single customer's perception of a product or service can make or break a business's reputation, and front-of-house staff are the closest you will get to an ambassador for the company's cause. So what is it about an individual employee that makes them better suited to a particular job when compared to a colleague doing exactly the same job?
Simon Harrison has for the past eight years experienced first-hand the search for unique talent, and he knows what it takes to make his staff and his customers happy.
'It begins with an innate passion for what we do here,' he says. 'Alba's ethos reflects our fundamental beliefs of creating something we can be proud of; of wanting to do well for our clients and for ourselves as a company.'
According to Simon, this natural ability to connect with a customer can either be innate and form part of a person's underlying personality, or it is instilled and nurtured in some way by an inspirational figure early on in that person's career.
'In contract catering it is imperative that the people you employ to interact with your customers do so in a way that reflects your own philosophy of how you would want to be treated.'
In the hospitality industry, the search for talented people stretches far beyond the relative constraints of CVs, formal qualifications and levels of competence. So can a person naturally possess all the qualities that are necessary to make a customer's experience complete?
'You can find someone who has all the aspects to make certain customers' experiences fantastic, but not necessarily all customers. I'm not sure that the perfect all-rounder exists, however. We all have areas we could improve upon in our professional lives and so it would be hard, if not impossible, to find a person who is strong in every area. Having said that, I think everyone has some area of natural talent - the key is identifying it so you can tap into it.'
Alongside an individual's personality lies another key factor in making the customer feel at ease and content with the service they have received:
'Attitude is of equal importance when it comes to employing a person who we know will uphold our values. I can think of two very convincing examples of people whose attitudes match and compliment their natural personalities in the workplace. These two individuals, as well as being helpful and accommodating, speak to fellow colleagues with respect and talk on a similar level with customers. In my opinion, attitude is about verbal communication.'
So is this attitude and personality something that can be taught and learned, or is it something that just comes naturally? Moreover, is it possible to separate those candidates who are innately gifted with people, from those whose communication skills have been honed in the classroom or on corporate training courses?
'Appearance and body language are important signals,' says Simon. 'You just know when you see someone who is natural and whose body language says they are happy to be in that situation talking to and dealing with customers face-to-face. When a person comes up to you and looks like they've been trained to stand and talk in a certain way, then you know they are not natural. However, if someone feels confident and relaxed, this will not create a barrier between them and the client.'
So is there anything else about a person who does job really well that differentiates them from someone who merely carries out their duties?
'Customers love to feel important. It pays to remember and recognise them and to actually want to get to know them within the confines of a working relationship. In our business where we have regular customers day in and day out, they feel really good if a member of staff remembers that they like extra milk in their coffee, for example, or a particular favourite food.'
Style and presence are other factors that can implicitly impress a customer.
'You can train someone to put a plate down on a table but getting them to do it with that little something extra is a different matter. One lady who works for us illustrates this perfectly; in setting down a coffee cup or a plate in front of a customer, she might ensure that the lid is on properly or she might adjust the cutlery so it's straight and neat. This is exactly what I'm talking about; that one little thing she did, even if she did it subconsciously, has made all the difference to the service she provided. No one has trained her to do it that way that but she wants to make sure that what she has just served has been done so with that little bit of extra effort.'
And what of the supervisors who manage these talented people? What characteristics do the managers need to be able to encourage and extract the best out of an employee?
'The line manager has a responsibility to create an environment that allows people to be talented and to place a candidate in a position where their talents can be brought out without being forced. The individual in question might have a certain skill but it might not be appropriate for what they are doing at the time. The supervisor should then look at the team and ask themselves 'Where does that person's talent lie?', and then recognise and pinpoint it in each individual.'
'I would question whether all supervisors stand back and ask themselves what a person's particular talent actually is, and that omission can have a real bearing on how the manager does their job.'
Likewise, a supervisor must also be able to identify suppressed talent. An employee may not currently be in a job where they can demonstrate their skills but at the same time they are showing clear strengths in other areas:
'I myself and many supervisors in general are guilty of trying to control and change a person to suit the style that we want that person to adopt. The fact is they may simply be doing the wrong job and we should recognise that and put them in a position where their talent will emerge and develop.'
Simon also appreciates the value of creating an honest and open philosophy within Alba:
'There are many instances where people want to fabricate a message for their staff and their customers, something that can end up sounding false. Alba's message comes from within; it's honest and personal and not manufactured and I think people who can recognise and share that can work well with us.'
'You have to gain the trust of your staff to get them to work with you and you must be straight with them. I talk face-to-face with my managers, I don't hide things from them and in turn I would hope I have earned their trust.'
Gary Hall
Chairman
The Independent Contract Catering Company
As an investor in a number of contract catering businesses such as Hopkinson Catering Ltd and Alba Business Catering Ltd, Gary, 55, has had many years' first-hand experience in the running of proprietor-led enterprises. His own contract catering business, Hall Ellison, was acquired by Sutcliffe Catering in 1988 and since then he has invested in many talented employers in the field of hospitality.
Simon Harrison
Managing Director
Alba Catering Ltd
Simon, 43, and his wife Nicola established Alba Catering Ltd in 1997 and over the years have watched it grow into an honest, open and very successful independent Scottish firm. Describing himself as a 'stubborn, pensive perfectionist', Simon is passionate about his staff and clients' wellbeing, and is committed to building trusting relationships.
This article has been edited from the original. To view the feature in full, please see Catering in Scotland magazine. To join our database, go to Media Pack on this website and click on Subscribe.
