Interview: This hospitality company has halved its post-Covid vacancies – how? Written by Beth Gault Tuesday 19 July 2022 Share Share to LinkedIn Share to Facebook Share via email The past few years have been particularly tough on hospitality staff and employee morale is at an all-time low. A business in East Anglia has decided that wellbeing sometimes trumps ‘sensible’ – and has made a point of putting people above the bottom line The Chestnut Group has had to make decisions over the past two years which don’t make any sense today, according to Philip Turner, founder of the organisation, which has 17 pubs, inns and restaurants across East Anglia in the UK. But those decisions will make sense in two years’ time. For example, The Chestnut Group decided to close for two days over Christmas – one of the most lucrative times of year for the industry – in 2021, and will do the same in 2022. The decision came after Philip observed a staff meeting trying to organise Christmas plans. He considered the time that would be spent planning and worrying about it and decided it would make more sense to close. The business recruited 5–10 people and retained 20–25 [more] “I came in the next morning and said we’re not doing Christmas and Boxing Day this year, we’re going to give those days to our team. They’ve had the worst two years of their lives and the best thing we can do is give them time with their families,” says Philip. Though losing those trading days had financial implications, Philip says the business recruited 5–10 people because of the decision, and retained 20–25 employees on top of that. “I had some employees in tears saying thank you,” says Philip. “I knew it was going to be a decision that would affect everybody’s lives, but I hadn’t processed the extent to which it was going to impact people.” Keep reading to discover how The Chestnut group halved their number of vacancies Login or register below for Free Instant Access Login If you are already registered as a CMI Friend, Subscriber or Member, just login to view this article. Confirm your registration Login below to confirm your details and access this article. Sign in with email Email remember me remember Forget? Please confirm that you want to switch off the "Sign in with email" remember me feature. Yes No Register for Free Access Not yet a Member, Subscriber or Friend? Register as a CMI Friend for free, and get access to this and many other exclusive resources, as well as weekly updates straight to your inbox. You have successfully registered As a CMI Friend, you now have access to whole range of CMI Friendship benefits. Please login to the left to confirm your registration and access the article. Interview At CMI, we’re hugely privileged to have contributed to many people’s management and leadership journeys. Take a look back at some of the people we’ve interviewed for some top tips and exclusive insight. Members See More CMI Members have access to thousands of online learning and CPD resources. Learn more about our membership benefits Join The Community CMI offers a variety of flexible membership solutions, tailored to your needs. Find out more and get involved in the CMI community today.
