Arc Inspirations
The northern England bar group had a buoyant year despite everything that was going on in the world, reporting rapid like-for-like growth and edging south into Birmingham, one of two new openings during 2021.
The Arc operations team demonstrates high levels of professionalism, creativity and motivation that filters through into the customer experience in its Box, Manahatta and Banyan bars.
It combines both formal systems for regularly measuring staff engagement with a more intuitive approach of watching and listening day-to-day. Staff success is celebrated on numerous levels and the company seeks to promote from within to generate loyalty and commitment.
The customer visit is constantly enhanced by attention to detail, and refinement of the product and marketing mix in venues and through tech innovation.
Investment in a dedicated online booking team kept guest figures high through late 2021, proving to be a key ingredient in Arc’s post-pandemic commercial success.
Barons Pubs
The Surrey-based pub company has introduced a flatter operations structure in the last year allowing it to better respond to day-to-day challenges and provide an enhanced support culture for its managers and staff.
It has introduced mental health champions in each of its pubs, each elected by the staff within the venue to ensure a sense of trust and safety.
Barons has opted to invest in long-term people development, pursing a coaching culture rather than one of control and command.
This is backed up by consistently celebrating success in an environment that fosters mutual respect, while a hands-on approach from senior management creates a sense that directors, managers, FOH staff and kitchen personnel are all in it together.
Barons also demonstrated commercial success, enjoying its best year ever as the industry emerged from various levels of restriction through 2021.
Rekom
The Rekom team navigated the choppy waters of lockdown for the late-night sector with commitment and tenacity.
Operating standards remained high through the mammoth task of reopening, with the focus always on providing and vibrant but safe environment for young people to enjoy themselves.
The company took an industry leadership position on key issues such as drink spiking, knife crime and female safety in and around venues.
The company’s robust operating procedures are backed by training programmes that provide clear management career paths, on which staff are encouraged to explore their own creative ideas and provided with the space and support to make them happen.
Overall, the Rekom team brings high levels of professionalism to its sector and contributes to the overall health of the late-night industries in the locations in which it operates.
Stonegate Group
Stonegate has demonstrated high levels of professionalism and great communications to help its 800-plus pubs and bars thrive as the industry emerges from the travails of the past two years.
The operations team came up with a plethora of creative and well thought out ideas around mental health during lockdown, an area in which the company continues to excel on an ongoing basis.
Stonegate has also demonstrated industry leadership on diversity, including a female mentoring programme to bring more gender balance to its management positions that has brought demonstrable results, and the introduction of second and third languages on training materials.
Its training regime is designed to provide genuine clarity and motivation to its teams, not just tick a list of checkboxes.
All of this has happened as the company has created a new premium food division to enhance the customer offering in a number of its venues.
