The BII's new AQ Diploma is designed to raise industry professionalism. Phil Mellows sits in on the masterclass with seven licensees
It was a gathering of an elite group of publicans. Wayne Archer, Gerry Barnes, Simon Gibson, Louise Green, Chris Nikolaou, Tom Richardson and Neil Turner had all already proved themselves. They run successful pubs and they have qualifications coming out of their earholes.
An AQ Diploma, though, will take them onto a higher level. Based on the British Institute of Innkeeping's (BII) series of Advanced Qualifications (AQ), the Diploma demonstrates all-round expertise.
Importantly, by making an elite group possible, it should also raise the whole level of professionalism in the pub industry and lift the standing of the trade in the eyes of the public - vital when it comes to the challenge of recruiting and retaining fresh talent.
For the seven who had come to the AQ Diploma workshop in Worcester from as far afield as Jersey, Yorkshire and Suffolk, it was also a rare chance for people like them to get together and a break from the isolation of operating their own business.
Run by Adrian Gardner of training firm Hospitality Dynamics, the one-day workshop is for licensees who have applied for the Diploma and is held to make sure they are aware of what they need to do in order to pass.
There is a practical exercise in the afternoon, but most of the time is taken up with chatting around the table, swapping experiences.
"People benefit from an exchange of ideas," said Adrian. "There is a lot of knowledge out there in the heads of licensees.
"We are here to refocus people and help them drive their business forwards. In any training, there has to be a pay-back. You have to ask, what has this done to improve my business?"
The day began with the candidates - the second wave of those going for the qualification - talking about what they had gained from their AQs so far, and what they hoped to get from taking the Diploma.
"Taking time to do something like this helps you to refocus yourself," said Gerry. "You get blinkered, doing the same things in the same ways. This gives you ideas about how to do things differently. You're not going back a zombie, you're going back with ideas."
Adrian agreed. "Many publicans working 75 hours a week are not able to step out of the business and they just go round and round in circles," he said. "By being here you show you have managed to do the reverse, taken a step back to consider your own learning and development.
"Does everyone know the story of the Post-It note? It came about when someone invented a glue that didn't stick. It looked like a failure but they found a new use for it. If each of you can re-analyse aspects of your business in that way, you call come up with the equivalent of the Post-It note."
Some members of the group had already taken their AQs a stage further by offering them to key staff.
"Training my staff with AQs helps them take on responsibilities," said Gerry. "I've given my head chef control of the kitchen, for instance, and that means I can focus on something else."
"Our job should be about business philosophy, what you want the business to achieve," said Tom, who has 30 staff. "You have to get others to actually manage it."
"My objective is to be a catalyst for my business," said Neil. "I want to get out from behind the bar."
If there was something they didn't like about AQs it was that they aren't pitched at a high enough level.
"We don't need to learn about line cleaning in a cellar management course," said Louise. "If you don't know that, you shouldn't be doing an advanced course."
"There needs to be flexibility about what people learn, because everyone is different," said Neil. "Some have done business degrees, others, like me, have been running their own pub for 20 years."
Neil has a smaller pub than others on the course - a "back street boozer" - and he wanted to know what concrete objectives he might set himself within the confines of such a business.
"It might just be that you want to work less hours," replied Adrian. "It makes no odds for the purpose of the Diploma whether you're successful. As long as you can measure what you've achieved you've got your finger on the pulse. That's what matters."
AQs are designed in such a way that licensees do just that. To pass, you have to show that you have implemented what you have learned - a particular activity or project - and then been able to measure its success.
The Diploma does the same thing on a larger scale. The candidate picks the five AQs they want to be tested on and chooses two or three actions that have resulted from each. They can be schemes they have already completed, or they can start new ones.
For each activity there are four questions to be answered which, Adrian said, are there "to give a clear focus to what you are doing and enable you to reflect on your success".
For instance, the activity itself has to be defined in some detail, covering the timescale, the individuals involved and their responsibilities, the resources needed, the acquisition of those resources, the cost of the activity and any difficulties encountered. Most importantly, you have to set out clear objectives.
Whether the activity went according to plan and met your objectives may not be relevant to passing the Diploma, but understanding what went wrong is.
Mike Wroe, the BII's client development director, who also sat in on the workshop, emphasised the selection of objectives and their measurement for any activity.
"People have to have a clear measurement for any objective. Too often we measure the wrong things," he said.
"The AQ Diploma also requires you to think about where you are in the marketplace and to think outside the box, to tease out new ideas."
The candidates were given until February to hand in their portfolios, and they can go to Adrian at any time with problems.
"This qualification is the blue riband of the pub industry," said Mike, winding up the day. "Once you have passed this, you can rightfully say you are a well-rounded licensee. You are, in fact, the crème de la crème."
- Hospitality Dynamics, based in Herefordshire, is currently the only training provider offering the AQ Diploma. It also offers open AQs. For more information call 01989 763096 or visit www.hospitalitydynamics.com
- For general information on the AQs and the AQ Diploma call the BII on 01276 684449 or visit www.bii.org.
The AQ Diploma
The AQ Diploma, launched earlier this year by the British Institute of Innkeeping, is open to anyone who has completed at least five AQs. These must include the financial management certificate and the business development certificate.
You must also have an AQ in one of the following:
- customer service
- leadership and motivation
- practical trainer,
plus two of the remaining AQs in:
- catering management
- cellar and beer quality management
- wine retail
- spirit retail.
For each of the five areas, candidates must review the concrete results of gaining the qualification, highlighting two or three activities they have implemented at the pub using what they have learned.
These reports make up assignment portfolios which must answer four questions.
- What did you plan to do when you got back to the pub? The answer must identify your objectives including improved systems and business performance.
- How did you actually implement this plan in your pub? It need not be a problem if what happened differed from the plan.
- What was the result of your actions? Again, it need not matter if you did not achieve your planned objectives, as long as you show an understandi