The art of good management

Mix a can-do attitude with a passion for customer service, add a twist of eccentricity, and you have the recipe for a successful career in hospitality management.

That's the advice from Linda Woodhouse at recruitment consultancy Woodhouse Hughes. "In this business, the people who succeed in management are those who are prepared to go the extra mile," she says. "As well as being passionate about service, you have to be able to see the bigger picture. Managers must think not just in terms of what they can gain from the job, but always consider what they can give the company, their team and their boss."

Woodhouse believes drive and the desire to succeed are more important than paper qualifications. "People love it or hate it. Of the 100 or so candidates we interview every month, we will see only about three who come in and knock our socks off. It could be a junior manager or a waiter, it doesn't matter - they will have a genuine passion about people and product that influences others."

Whether you already have a foot on the ladder, or are considering a career in hospitality management, choosing the environment where you will be happiest, most motivated and enthusiastic will help you shine. With a big range of management environments - hotels, restaurants, bars/pubs, contract catering and more - there is something to suit every style.

Hotels It's rarely a nine-to-five option, but the hotel industry's image as an employer is improving. In addition, the rise of budget and lifestyle hotels has added new blood to this sector.

Understanding service, service and more service is the key to great hotel management, according to Charles Holmes, managing director of the Malmaison chain of boutique hotels. "This is a 24/7 business, so you must have the business in your blood and love hotel work," he says. "The sort of person who could run a Malmaison, for example, would be passionate, dedicated and be able to do the simple things well."

The general manager is charged with overall responsibility for a hotel, pulling together services and management functions, including finance, housekeeping, operations and kitchens. Many elements will overlap and interlink, so being a team player is essential. All managers will have a degree of financial control, so hotel management jobs will require competence in this area.

An obvious but important point is that an extrovert personality is more important in front-of-house than back-of-house roles. "People eating in Malmaison brasseries, which are stand-alone eateries, expect an experience," says Holmes. "They like a bit of theatre, so you need a manager who is bright and bubbly, who reacts quickly to guests' needs and who knows when to hover and when to disappear".

The bad news is that those with management experience outside hotels are unlikely to be able to cross over, particularly to a top-class hotel. Hiring for some of the finest hotels, recruitment consultants Red Star Associates looks only for personnel with relevant hotels experience for management positions. "Hotel management is very specialised," says managing director Gary Peck, who has recently turned away a very well-paid general manager running supermarket outlets looking to change directions. "He couldn't tell me what ARRs were (average room rates)."

Pubs and bars (retail) Ever fancied running your own pub or bar? Sam Janney, consultant with hospitality recruiters Black Dog, and herself an ex-bar manager with 10 years' experience, knows the ropes. "It is a great social job, but can be lonely as well," she says. "You spend all day serving and talking to people, never to see some of them again.

"Being in pub management is like being on the stage," she adds. "You have to be able to smile and enjoy yourself, because how you feel comes across."

Top managers are very motivated people and passionate about their trade. People skills figure highly for pub management, to the extent of almost developing a sixth sense. "You get to see something is about to happen, either at the back of house or with customers," Janney says. "You need to be expert at diffusing any situation. You gradually become aware of the warning signs."

Good communication skills are essential, but so too is an ability to run the kitchen side, administration and the cellar. The job would suit someone keen to use their own initiative and gain a very real sense of running their own business.

Breweries run excellent courses, so career-changers are usually welcomed. However, CVs from job-hoppers are likely to get short shrift. Entry-level pub/bar management salaries start at £17,000-£20,000.

Kim Parish, human resources manager (retail) at Scottish & Newcastle, agrees that the ability to engage with people is top priority for a pub or bar manager, and is what distinguishes an outstanding manager from a mediocre one. One benefit of going for a management position within a bar or pub is that progression can be very fast. "Unlike the hotel business, for example, the structure is quite flat. It is easy to show that you are good early on in your training," she says. A graduate management trainee is likely to be running his or her own pub in just 18 months.

In terms of career progression on the retail side, the structure is likely to look something like this: bar managers responsible for their own bar or pub; area managers looking after several sites (perhaps 10-15); progressing to operations directors, who are likely to report directly to the managing director. There are also management opportunities in the areas of property, marketing, finance or human resources.

Restaurants
Demand for restaurant food continues to grow. The UK industry is worth in the region of £15.5b, with outlets ranging from grand celebrity chef-led establishments to casual dining.

For manager positions in branded restaurant chains, shrinking violets need not apply. "These are about the meal experience, so most companies want big personalities, and the ability to put people at ease," says Tony Aylward, restaurant division director at recruitment consultancy Berkeley Scott. "However, managers must be able to manage and motivate people as well as being commercially skilled. Even the best concepts only work with the right people."

Branded chains offerings are often controlled by head office and are sometimes pretty limited, so the emphasis is on people skills, motivational skills and stock control, rather than creativity.

The good news for those joining this end of the market is that restaurants are becoming clever at keeping people. Many provide excellent management training schemes and sometimes progression to related areas, such as human resources. Others, such as noodle-bar chain Wagamama, make the working environment so much fun that people want to stay.

Progression can be quick. If you have what it takes to climb the career ladder, this should be identified within six months of joining.

As well as encouraging staff to stay on, employers are sourcing managers from unlikely places. One Berkeley Scott client is considering targeting teachers for restaurant management.

Managers and assistant managers of fine-dining establishments also come from a variety of backgrounds. That said, most do have catering experience, and all have a good knowledge of, and passion for, food and wine.

"Applicants have got to have the genuine hospitality attitude and need to enjoy the experience, so they can deal naturally with clientele," says Paddy Heath, senior consultant at Berkeley Scott. "These days managers also need to be sales-led and be able to manage, inspire and develop a team".

However, spotting the perfect manager for top-class restaurants is not always obvious. Different restaurants will pick different personalities to suit their subjective view of a client's expectation of guest care.

If you think you fit the bill, expect to pick up about £25,000-£35,000 as an assistant restaurant manager (or £35,000 and above in London).

Contract catering
If you are looking for a sector on the up, choose contract catering. Worth more than £3.5b, and employing nearly 300,000 people, the sector has grown massively over the past 50 years, breaking into areas such as health, schools, business, industry and now hotel restaurants.

According to Peter Dixon, group human resources director at contract caterer Avenance, which has a 5% share of the market, most managers start out and choose to stay in operations, although there are management opportunities in areas such as human resources, IT and sales. "We choose people with experience of craft or with management qualifications from college," he says. "Successful candidates will have a strong service ethic, a high regard for fresh and innovative food and look upon running a contract catering site as running a business."

Achieving a work/life balance is not always easy in the hospitality industry. Contract catering is one area where you are likely to be able to work regular hours - for example, in a banking or school meals environment.

In terms of career progression, Dixon believes a manager should be able to run a good-sized site by their mid-20s, and be perfectly capable of becoming an area manager (or operations manager) in charge of several contracts by their late 20s, on a salary in the region of £35,000-plus with a company car.