How did you start your career in the hospitality industry?
"I think I was in my teens when I first started, but I studied mental health nursing at university and decided it wasn’t for me, and I think I, like many people, fell into hospitality, and the rest is history, really.
Before my time at Stonegate, I worked for another hospitality company for 10 years. I started off as a team member, moved up to restaurant supervisor, assistant manager, and then General Manager designate for a while. I then took up investment training, where I’d visit our sites that were undergoing an investment and provide support with training and all things reopening. I joined Stonegate in 2019 as a General Manager and have worked in a few different pub formats before joining The Triplekirks in Aberdeen."
What do you think made you want to stay in the hospitality industry?
"I think you form incredibly close relationships with the people you work with in pubs. It's a completely different type of relationship than you would form doing an office job, for example, because sometimes, particularly when you're ‘in the trenches together’, and have those hard shifts, you know that you have your team to fall back on for physical and emotional support.
But I also love the versatility of it; it's ever-changing. No one day is the same, and I love that because I like to think on my feet. I can be quite spontaneous when I think there’s an opportunity to try something new. I like to take a risk and go for it, even if it doesn’t work out. I feel like you need to be quite entrepreneurial to work in this industry and think outside the box to keep up with our competitors."
What’s your experience with the Stonegate career pathways?
"As an external manager, I’ve not actually followed the entire pathway, ATOP (Albert’s Theory of Progression) from beginning to end, but I am on Aspirations now, which is the final stage for managers looking to become a leader within Stonegate, like an Area, Regional Manager or simply lead a team within Stonegate. While I haven’t done every step of ATOP, I have led and supported my team through their own professional development.
My Area Manager, Murray, is incredibly supportive and encourages his team to take on different champion roles, stock, social media, etc., for the area, which is a great opportunity for General Managers across the area to take on some leadership experience. I think the great thing about the Aspirations programme is that it’s all about leadership rather than solely training people to become an Area Manager, so there’s a few different kinds of opportunities."
Could you tell us a little about your experience on your secondment within the Pub Support Team?
"Last year, I saw a role available on the vacancy list for supporting the HR Operations team in the implementation of the new Applicant Tracking System (ATS). At the time, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to follow the ATOP career path and become an Area Manager, but I’ve always been interested in the HR and people side of things. So, when I saw the vacancy, I wasn’t too sure what it entailed, but I applied anyway and got it a few days later.
Within two weeks, I left my site, had my induction, and received my work laptop and phone. The first month was quite hard, as I felt like it was difficult to not think about or worry about what was going on at my venue at the time. But my Deputy Manager was more than ready to take full responsibility as he was progressing through his own journey on the training pathway. He was a high-performing Deputy, so he took the reins and was more than happy doing it.
Working from home was a real change for me in the first month, too. It felt strange to be going from being in a busy site filled with people to only speaking to people on the phone or on Teams. It took some getting used to, but I loved it."
What do you hope for your future with Stonegate?
"I think, development-wise, it certainly seems that when you get to a certain point, it feels as though Area Manager is the next step. I feel like it's definitely something that I could do, but I've also spent some days in trade with our HR Business Partners, where I’ve shadowed them for a day in their work week to get a grasp of what day-to-day life looks like in that role. I did my CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) Certificate during lockdown, so it was interesting to see another possible path for my career."
Do you have a favourite memory with Stonegate?
"A recent favourite memory would have to be when we had a visit from our Operations Director during the England vs. Switzerland EUROs game. The atmosphere was electric, and the place was full. It was just a nice feeling to see everyone enjoying themselves.
Every shift is different; some are harder than others, but this day every single person was happy, jumping about and ready with a confetti cannon. We received quite a lot of praise that day as a team, so that’s always nice."
