Letters

AGENCIES AREN'T ALWAYS TO BLAME

It is possible that there are some unscrupulous agencies that are "only loyal to their bank accounts" ("An asset to the agency", Caterer's Recruitment Consultants guide, October 1999), but they will be few in number and should not be used as an example for the whole industry.

Agencies frequently receive CVs from candidates who have no real loyalty to any one particular agency and therefore contact a large number of them. This shotgun approach does not target the application to the market in which the agency operates - as a result the candidate is disappointed with those that are unable to help.

The recruitment process should always aim to be a three-way dialogue between client, candidate and agency. If the client were to place one agency on a yearly retainer to look after all its recruitment needs it would result in a more effective relationship and would enable the consultant to understand the client's recruitment needs properly - and, therefore, to find the ideal candidate for each job.

Something that has improved the relationship between the agency and the candidate abroad (unfortunately, it is illegal in the UK) is for the candidate, not the client, to pay the recruitment agency commission. This guarantees a level of loyalty between the agency and candidate that will transfer a greater obligation to the applicant.

Although I am not suggesting that this practice should commence in the UK, it does lead to a stronger relationship with the applicant as the agency is committed to meeting the applicant's needs.

Ken Chisholm

Managing Director, Quest Elite.

TARGETED INCENTIVE IS NOT ELITIST

I REFER to your coverage of Scottish & Newcastle Retail's new bonus scheme for managers and chefs, which excludes lower-ranking staff (Caterer, 14 October, page 16). I would like to add the following comment.

Pubs and restaurants are larger and more complex to manage than ever before and, with food sales now a major part of pub incomes, the industry desperately needs to attract top managers and chefs. Traditionally, British industry has restricted share investment schemes to senior executives. Our move to extend such a scheme to managers is a clear recognition of the vital role they play, and we hope it will help to attract the best people into the industry.

There are many initiatives we do offer across the board to all our bar and kitchen staff irrespective of seniority or role, such as financial rewards for the attainment of NVQ qualifications, employee profit-share and savings-related share option schemes, and incentive schemes for managers to reward their staff.

However, in the case of the bonus share scheme, it would not be appropriate to offer it to everyone, and indeed would devalue its worth to our outlet managers and chefs.

Kim Parish

Personnel Director, Scottish & Newcastle Retail.

GET CLOSER WITH INTERNET ACCESS

RICHARD Lee ("Internet has proven its worth", Caterer, 14 October, page 20) fully understands, unlike some, that individual Web sites are useful for the description of facilities and special offers for loyal customers, but not yet effective in finding new customers.

A larger net has to be cast, using better-known sites to find new customers who have specific needs, who visit sites that offer a service and display data quickly and effectively. Customers can then be directed to the individual hotel or company site for more detail - in effect, providing a filtering process.

In the commercial world, so much data, correspondence and sales literature is sent on-line. However, we are not all up to speed in our industry - there is still a long way to go. Fax, phone and letter remain the preferred methods, but the ever-changing demands of room availability require up-to-the-minute technology.

See the Internet for what it is - another way to get even closer to existing customers, which is what the hospitality business is all about.

Chris Allen

Director, LateRooms.com, Manchester.

SOME SITUATIONS CLOUD YOUR DAY…

AS THE father of two sons who have both decided, as a "first choice", to go into the hospitality industry, I have read with interest of the plight of hotels and their recruitment, especially of first choicers.

My elder son, a chef of some four years, has had two bad experiences designed, it would seem, to remove all enthusiasm. He has had an induction-day seminar cancelled due to the resignation of the human resources manager and her deputy being on her day off. Nobody had been designated to care about, or even be interested in, correcting the situation.

He has been given "live-in" accommodation eight miles away from the hotel, and has had accommodation (two in a room - a shock in itself) with half a divan (no mattress), holes in the wardrobe, no front to the chest of drawers, no other furniture and non-functional kitchen equipment.

These examples were at two hotels, grandly named "Hall" and "Hotel and Country Club", which boasted three rosettes.

It amazes me that staff who are classified as a "valuable resource" can be treated in such a fashion. It further amazes me that staff put up with the situation - or do they?

A little more caring and, dare I say it, money, and who knows what heights the British hospitality industry could attain.

PW Fletcher

Dorset.

… WHILE OTHERS MAKE YOU SHINE

I am currently employed by the Swallow Hotel Group as a 48-week placement student, and the value of the new operative and management skills I am acquiring will be inestimable on my return to university to finish my degree in hospitality business management.

It concerns me to hear and read so often about the industry's employment problems, especially when some companies are making a conscientious effort to improve the situation by offering students the opportunity to work within a hotel or the group for a year.

I have spent a period in each department of a hotel, from maintenance to a week with the general manager, to gain all-round experience. I have had the opportunity to work in both operative and supervisory roles within larger hotel departments. I have completed work-based projects, including an NVQ level 3 in customer service, and spent a period in duty management towards the end of the placement to combine all previous experiences.

I am writing this letter as I feel that the example set by Swallow could do much to improve both the employment problems of the industry, and the bad public image that has been created.

Amie Postings

Cramlington, Northumberland.

A Source Of Great Satisfaction

I READ with interest the letter from the manager of Meat New Zealand (Caterer, 14 October, page 20). I find it amazing that so few hotels and restaurants source their own meat supplies. We started selecting, slaughtering and butchering virtually all our meat three years ago.

We started with beef. Our son-in-law, who farms near by, raises grass-fed Aberdeen Angus cross beasts especially for us. When they are the right weight, he takes them to the slaughterhouse. They are then hung for the optimum time and taken back to the Red Lion, where either a retired butcher or our chefs butcher the animal to our specific requirements.

We also have a year-round supply of lamb. Another local family supplies us from the beginning of August until the end of the season. My sister then takes over, lambing her sheep before Christmas. The lambs are again transported directly, slaughtered and returned to the Red Lion to be butchered.

At the beginning of this year, we extended the system to pork, with my sister and another local farming family supplying Old Spot pigs. Fed a varied diet, this rare breed is at the opposite end of the taste spectrum to the insipid, mass-produced meat that comes from today's intensively farmed pigs.

Perhaps more establishments could consider this method of supply. Contact a local farmer - most would be only too delighted to supply direct.

Elizabeth Grayshon

Red Lion Hotel and Restaurant, Burnsall, North Yorkshire.