Best places to work 2018 St Ermin’s Hotel


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RAPPORT GUEST SERVICES In a nutshell A boutique provider of award-winning guest services,


from reception management to concierges Locations The UK and Ireland (additional business in New York and Hong Kong) Employees 460 Average staff turnover 23% (excludes implications of new contract gains) Annual sales turnover Undisclosed


Rapport Guest Services


members far more directly day to day, many of them being relatively inexperienced or newly promoted from within,” he explains. In February the hotel launched a one-year supervisory development programme for a group of 36 supervisors, team leaders, assis- tant managers and “aspiring stars”. The pro- gramme spans topics from coaching skills and “train the trainer” to revenue, sales and marketing, finance, and employment law. It’s early days, but initial results augur well, with staff turnover dropping to zero in March, customer reviews showing improvement and the Tea Lounge’s TripAdvisor ranking jump- ing by nearly 1,100 places in two months. Overall, employee engagement looks sound, backed up by the fact more than 88% of respondents would recommend St Ermin’s as a good place to work all or most of the time. Employee comments to the Best Places to


Work survey indicate the business is respect- ful of its staff. One team member puts it suc- cinctly: “Great hospitality offered, not always focused on bottom line. Supports the commu- nity and charities, and takes care of its staff.” Another adds: “I have a fair share of experience in hospitality and I believe St Ermin’s is one of its kind. I could not recom- mend a better place. It is still a working pro- ject but it can only get better. It is run by the people for the people.”


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THE VINEYARD In a nutshell A five-AA-red-star hotel with 49 bedrooms. Privately owned


by the Michael family, it is famed for its wine collection and three-AA-rosette restaurant Location Stockcross, Newbury, Berkshire Employees 127 staff Average staff turnover 10% (to date in 2018) Annual sales turnover £5.2m


As with most respected businesses, the Vine- yard has always recognised that people are its most important asset. It’s also mindful that


46 | The Caterer | 27 April 2018


The Vineyard


although it has successful initiatives in place, it can never afford to be complacent. Indeed, as uncertainty swirls around the consequences of Brexit, the hotel is working harder than ever to offer employees recognition of their hard work, inspiring them to continue to contribute towards the success of the business. For example, as of January 2018, the hotel decided to close its fine-dining restaurant on Sunday evenings and all day Monday, while still offering a brasserie menu in the Cali- fornia Bar. On the face of it, it may look like a poor commercial decision, but the initia- tive is reaping rewards, allowing the team adequate downtime as well as creating space to improve training and development, all of which result in better consistency of service and a reinvigorated team. The Vineyard also makes a point of empow-


ering new staff. Some 98% of its staff respond- ents to the survey singled out the company’s great induction programme, with 82% saying they want to do a really good job. One employee comments: “Induction is amazing at this hotel. All new starters feel at ease and comfortable straight away, and this feeds back to having a strong HR person who knows what she is doing and is fair.”


Working with a team that respects each other is the priority rated highest by employees. Almost 90% of Rapport respondents to the Best Places to Work survey agreed that this is true of their workplace. In the past year, there has been plenty of investment to reinforce this achievement. Notably, Rapport has underlined the fact it takes mental health seriously by introducing a wellbeing ambassador, who highlights issues such as the Time to Talk campaign, raises awareness of mental health and encour- ages colleagues to have open conversations. The company demonstrates a commit- ment to career development too, introducing a dedicated business coach in 2016 followed by leadership coaching masterclasses. Rapport also believes frontline staff deserve


a strong career path. Some 90% of last year’s internal development programme graduates have already been promoted. To take this all-encompassing culture for- ward and ensure its staff have the tools they need to provide service to all guests, Rapport promotes diversity through training. The training suite includes “start to sign” (sign lan- guage learning) and diversity, disability and protocol awareness courses. No wonder that 85% of employees state they are proud to work for Rapport.


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BLUE APPLE In a nutshell An independent contract caterer, operating since


1998, that brings café culture to workplaces Locations 60-plus contracts in the South East, South West, Midlands and North West Employees 370 Average staff turnover 24% Annual sales turnover £15m


Blue Apple strives to bring environmentally friendly practices into the workplaces where it operates – for instance, by recycling oil and using only line-caught cod. But on the basis


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