East Anglia

White Horse

Bedford

Sue and Nigel Anstead repeatedly use the word "loyal" when describing members of staff at the White Horse. Other plaudits handed out include: "they all smile, work together and don't let us down" and "they get on well together and even come to the pub on their nights off".

When Sue and Nigel eulogise about their staff, you can tell they mean it. This also speaks volumes about the efforts that the couple have made to raise service standards since arriving at the Charles Wells managed house in January 2005.

Training to the fore

Training has been vitally important. The Ansteads encourage staff members to follow their own choice of courses to broaden their experience. The list covers everything from the essentials such as food hygiene and health and safety to business-building skills such wine and beer training, team building and customer service. Three of the four full-time and 15 part-time employees have passed the National Certificate for Personal Licence Holders.

Sue, second left, and Nigel also encourage employees to learn bar and kitchen skills, so that they can help colleagues who may come under pressure from a sudden rush in food orders or from people waiting at the bar.

Sue says everyone mucks in, even helping with the washing up as the kitchen is too small to accommodate a dishwasher.

Family atmosphere

A family atmosphere is fostered by monthly staff meetings attended by everyone, including the cleaners.

More formal reviews of each employee's training and development records are carried out every six months. These measures have helped create a great team spirit and also helped with staff retention.