JD Wetherspoon launches Olympic-inspired training for 32,000 staff

The company is working with the People 1st Training Company, which launched the WorldHost programme in the UK, to deliver the training.

Over 1,700 members of staff have already been trained with all staff at Wetherspoon's new openings to automatically enrolled on a course.

Once 50% of staff have completed the training, JD Wetherspoon will receive WorldHost Recognised Business status – making it the biggest of the 900 firms currently holding the title, which recognises investment in staff's customer service skills.

Sarah Williamson, senior recruitment and training manager for JD Wetherspoon, said: “For many of our customers, we are more than just a pub. We are their community; somewhere that they feel comfortable and at home. We don’t want to just meet their expectations, we want to exceed them and we hope the WorldHost training will enable our pub teams to go the extra mile." 

Sharon Glancy, managing director of the People 1st Training Company, added: “We are delighted to be working with JD Wetherspoon on its mission to become the UK’s biggest WorldHost business. Customer service remains a major challenge for hospitality businesses - almost two-thirds (61%) say that customer handling skills need improving in their workforce. At the same time, customers are becoming ever more aware of where they spend their money, so service is now a major differentiator among businesses. It’s great to be working with a major chain that is striving to exceed customer expectations.”