Waging the war on pub staff recruitment

The group, a collective of senior executives from across the hospitality sector, launched their own offensive on behalf of the pub sector last month, with the unveiling of Pubandbarcareers.com.

The new website showcases the diversity of careers in the pub and bar sector, with role profiles from commis chef to general manager, inspiring case studies, and enlightening information, all aimed at attracting the UK’s most dynamic talent.

Keith Knowles, chairperson of the group, recently highlighted that prior to the launch, not one of over 2,000 career websites illustrated pub and bar career opportunities in a way that any proud operator would.

“These websites, accredited to provide career information, simply do nothing to help us attract young people to our sector,” he said. “There is one video purporting to promote the bar supervisor role with an employee saying: ‘Basically you get on with it don’t you. If you want to provide for your kids, you’ve got to work.’

“This has to be one of the least inspiring pieces of footage out there. Some operators are reporting that perceptions are improving, but that’s largely to do with their own hard work and reputation. The reality is that careers websites, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses, depicts a poor image. Many of these websites wire straight into students, the very population we should be attracting. This is what we’re up against in the war for talent.”

One such example is the description of “licensee” on the National Careers Service which reads: Publicans, also known as licensees or pub landlords, manage licensed premises, such as pubs and bars. As a licensee, you would make sure that the pub or bar you run is safe, profitable and follows legal guidelines.

To be successful in this role, you would need to be good with numbers for handling cash and bookkeeping. You would also need to be prepared to work long hours…

While it may be true that the hours can be long, the group argue that this is not a fair reflection of the role and point out that longer ‘24 hour roles’ such as junior doctor and air cabin crew have no such mention.

The group identified that with 44% of the workforce in pubs under the age of 25*, as youth unemployment reduces, the war on talent will become fiercer. In the last two years, there has been a 4.3% reduction of 18 to 24-year-olds in the jobs pool — a figure set to reduce further at a time when other markets are competing harder for young calibre as they start to recover from the economic decline. Hospitality employers already experienced 25% fewer applications per job vacancy in the first quarter of 2014**.

“All this at a time when we are predicting labour increases in the sector,” said Knowles. “Last year we saw a 3.5% increase in sales*** underlining the fact that between 2013 and 2021, we predict a 17% increase in the number of employees we need.”

The Perceptions Group has developed a five point action plan for employers to engage with the campaign:
 
1. Check out www.pubandbarcareers.com
2. Employers — check your info is right on the ‘employer’ tab
3. Follow good practice on your own website
4. Offer work experience/work placements
5. Contact us to support Pub & Bar Careers campaigns