Careers Focus: Handpumps to head office

Growing from within might sound like an unpleasant parasitical disease, but for many pub companies it's an important strategy to make the most of people's talents and ambitions.

Cardiff-based regional brewer SA Brain has long been aware that staff development is a key factor in its success. As the business has grown so, too, has its people. A job in a pub doesn't stop there, and a lot of Brains pub managers and staff have found their future lies at head office.

People who want to move around the company and try new roles are actively encouraged.

"Wherever possible we advertise all vacancies internally and a weekly vacancy newsletter is sent across our corporate teams and managed house estate," explains HR manager Tracy Dickinson.

"This includes jobs in our pubs and within our corporate teams. We've found that people moving from the retail side to head office and vice versa works particularly well.

'We also offer secondment opportunities, which have proved successful in developing employees in roles they ordinarily wouldn't have had the opportunity to apply for. Currently we have two employees from customer service on secondment in our sales teams, and another one seconded from logistics to HR."

Tracy believes that Brains' positive thinking has encouraged more people to apply for positions internally.

"We get applications for vacant roles where technically the individual may not have the exact skills set, but if they are willing to articulate their skills and abilities we are willing to listen and offer support and assistance where we can," says Tracy.

"It may not always be possible to place people at the first attempt, but if they buy into the positive thinking philosophy and go away and work at areas they need to develop, their own dedication and commitment does pay off in the long run.

"We have a number of success stories that have followed this route."

Pub managers who have switched to head office roles have brought particular benefits to Brains, retail director Philip Lay believes."We have found that managers perform particularly well when they get to head office because they understand the whole commercial picture and see their role in the context of the total business," he says.

"It also makes them good problem solvers because they can see things from two different perspectives.

"And the people who want to make this transition do so because they have a real belief in Brains, its products and brand values."For us, training is an ongoing process that should continue throughout your career. Whatever your chosen role may be, you can continue adding to your skills."

CASE STUDY: Eddie Wing, retail area manager

Eddie is one former Brains pub manager who has moved across to work in various head office roles. He joined the brewer 13 years ago after managing an Italian restaurant in the centre of Cardiff and ran two pubs for the company before applying for the job of retail associate. He was one of two licensees apppointed to the role at the time.

"That involved working closely with an area manager with direct responsibility for costs in the houses," he says. "When an opportunity rose to move into recruitment I took it - I wanted a more rounded understanding of the business and this involved working with destination food houses rather than venues on the high street which was where I started.

"During my time in recruitment I managed a project to introduce a learning and development programme, which 150 assistant managers have now completed. I also worked on a managers induction programme which won a NITA industry training award."Now Eddie has been promoted again, to area manager for Brains' hotels business.

"Brains is committed to nurturing home-grown talent and I feel I've really benefited from this approach," says Eddie. "I've always felt that whatever I needed to do to develop my career I've only had to ask. Brains actively tries to recruit from within, and all the positions I've applied for have been advertised in the pubs and at head office. I've had regular performance appraisals to help me determine where I'm going."

CASE STUDY: Laura Staples, marketing assistant

Laura joined Brains as a Sunday waitress at the Vivian Arms near Swansea when she was an 18-year-old student, and now she's in the trade marketing department working on freetrade accounts.

"I love it," she says. "One of the best aspects is I'm still able to use all the experience I picked up when I worked in pubs. The freetrade customers I deal with have a lot more respect for me because I understand the problems they face."

When she finished her degree Laura was offered a full time position as assistant manager and spent 18 months training before becoming a relief manager.

While on a course she discovered the marketing team had a vacancy and asked if they might need an assistant to help fill the gap. "Admittedly I was very persistent, but thanks to the policy of growing talent from within both my area sales manager and the training manager were incredibly supportive and the role of marketing assistant trainee was actually created for me," she says.

As marketing assistant Laura has been responsible for putting together a brochure for freetrade customers, setting up special offers and negotiating prices with suppliers, and spends time visiting customers with area sales managers to offer additional marketing and merchandising support.

Using Brain Power

Brains aims to foster an environment in which the potential within individuals can blossom and thrive by not only valuing a person's existing expertise and experience, but also helping them build on it through training tailored to meet their individual needs.

"We are committed to developing our people," says HR manager Tracy Dickinson. "Employees complete yearly learning objectives with their line managers, their development needs are tracked. We regularly review their performance and each year we offer them the opportunity to take courses that meet their career needs."

That's where Brain Power comes in. Brain Power is a series of training courses covering all aspects of legislative compliance through to topics that enable staff to progress their own personal development.

Courses include Beer Cellar Management, Conflict Management, Tenants and Leasehold Orientation and Financial Management as well as various health and safety, merchandising and food handling modules. To make it easier for people working in a busy pub the El Box, a laptop-based e-learning system, enables managers to conduct training on site. Using touchscreens, staff are taken through a programme which then evaluates their understanding of the sessions and prints off a certificate.

Courses are also offered to help line managers in coaching their teams and understanding team behaviour including bespoke training in coaching skills and emotional intelligence.