Winner's profile: Wholesale distributor 3663
As the search for Caterer and Hotelkeeper‘s Best Places to Work in Hospitality Awards 2007 winners gains pace, we continue our profiles on the recipients of the 2006 awards with a look at wholesale distributor 3663, which came out top in the suppliers' category. Diane Lane reports
There are endless plaudits within the hospitality industry for the people who prepare and serve food, or provide a comfortable or even luxurious place to stay away from home. But what would they serve or how would they furnish their rooms without the companies which make food, products and equipment available to them? Suppliers play a vital role in the industry and are recognised in a category of their own in Caterer and Hotelkeeper‘s Best Places to Work in Hospitality Awards, run in association with recruitment specialists The People Tree.
Empowerment is key to the employment practices of the winner of last year's supplier award, 3663 First for Foodservice, a company formed in 1999 from the purchase by Bidvest of the food service arm of Booker.
"The Bidvest philosophy involves a decentralised management style and empowering its people so the people on the ground are able to make their own decisions as if they were running their own company," says director of marketing Des Bell.
The idea is that company employees know how customers are best served at a particular location and are able to make changes around them to meet their needs. This management style also helps to create a strong team spirit and a vast sense of job satisfaction.
Employees embrace the importance the company places on issues such as corporate social responsibility and sustainability. "Our people value the company's involvement in environmental issues," says Bell. They are invited to play an active part by way of an environmental co-ordinator scheme where individuals can take responsibility for the development and implementation of environmental initiatives as part of the internationally recognised ISO 14001 environmental management scheme.
The increased awareness of sustainability and interest in provenance has led to 3663 implementing a programme to supply regional produce which has been well received by customers and producers alike and is something for employees to be proud of. The aim is to make the availability of local produce easier and more economical for caterers, and besides satisfying a demand from customers it also provides a way for regional producers to get their products to market by giving them access to the supply chain. "It's not just high-end restaurants showing interest but contract and public-sector caterers who want to buy local produce," says Bell.
January saw the launch of a range of East Anglian products from its Stowmarket depot, and Kentish products from its Edenbridge depot, delivering to customers in the area including schools, hospitals, hotels and restaurants. The East Anglian range consists of more than 80 frozen, fresh, chilled and ambient products from 13 suppliers, including Wicks Manor, Suffolk Meadow, Broadland Eggs, Mrs Huddleston's and The Wicked Cake Company, while customers in Kent can choose from more than 80 products from local suppliers, including Daizylake, Westerham Brewery, High Weald Dairy and the Wooden Spoon Preserving Co.
The South-west was the next area to benefit from the initiative, with 200 short- and long-life chilled, frozen and ambient products from local suppliers, including Pieminister pies, Lynher Dairies Cheese Company, Dartmouth Smokehouse, Kelly's of Cornwall and Marshfield Bakery, becoming available from the company's Lee Mill and Plymouth depots.
The most recent launch was in Wales within the last couple of weeks, and has brought to market more than 150 products such as Ty Nant Water, Welshcakes from Tan Y Castell, dairy products from Rachel's Dairy and Cheeses from Wales, and an array of products from Parsons Pickles, now available from the company's Swansea and Severnbridge depots. The intention is to have all regions covered by December next year.
Overall, 3663 has 36 depots in the UK and Ireland and employs about 5,800 people in roles ranging from buyers and development chefs to warehouse operatives and delivery drivers. All employees receive First for Service training, which involves an introduction to the company's business culture, where the needs of the customer are paramount, followed by an ongoing development programme.
Training initiatives and benefits are in place to encourage and allow employees to develop a career path and achieve professional qualifications and new skills. Development is managed through a personal development plan which involves annual appraisals with line managers to identify training needs, appropriate development objectives and solutions such as mentoring, secondments, work shadowing and cross-divisional work. The process also gives individuals the opportunity to highlight their future career aspirations to their line managers.
The company's Induction Guide, given to all employees, states that no one has a monopoly on good ideas and encourages individuals to come forward with their own ideas for improving the way the company does business. The Opportunity for Improvement system is a suggestion scheme which provides a way for employees to submit ideas.
There is a general recognition policy created to establish minimum standards and to show appreciation for employee service. The policy is enforced through a series of awards including Employee of the Month and long service awards for 10, 20, 30 and 40 years of service. Other initiatives include the Chairman's Award for exceptional performance, transport awards for drivers and transport managers, national accounts "Oscars" and the People in Possession of Excellent Results, in which the 2005 overall winner drove off in a brand new car courtesy of the company.
The company prides itself on being a family-friendly organisation with practices in place to enable employees to achieve a work-life balance. Flexible working, including part-time, home-working, job-sharing and term-time working, is available for employees with children, with computer equipment, business lines and mobile phones provided for those with flexible working arrangements. Each year the human resources team organise a depot road show to highlight all the benefits available to employees.
A company-wide People Survey is a measure of employee satisfaction, with employees anonymously completing a survey which results in a departmental report for each depot. If areas are identified as having room for improvement, a discussion group is held.
About the awards The Caterer and Hotelkeeper Best Places to Work in Hospitality Awards were launched last year to highlight and reward employment best practice in the British hospitality industry.
It's hugely beneficial for a business to have a reputation as an employer of choice. Hospitality professionals now place as much importance on issues such as work-life balance, career development and training as they do on a good salary, so they want to identify potentially attractive employers early on in the recruitment process. And employers want to attract better qualified candidates - and to retain them for longer.
For businesses and organisations already demonstrating HR best practice, our awards offer a chance to prove they are employers of choice. For those that could do with improving their employment practices, they showcase some of the best businesses to learn from. And for jobseekers they offer a means of benchmarking prospective employers against the best in the country.
HOW TO ENTER
Do you run a successful business and treat your staff well? Why not get greater recognition for your achievements? Enter the Caterer and Hotelkeeper Best Places to Work in Hospitality Awards 2007. Go to www.caterersearch.com/bestplaces and complete the application form.
2007 AWARD CATEGORIES
Hotel chains with one to 10 sites.
Hotel chains with 11 or more sites.
Contract catering companies.
Restaurant or bar chains with one to 10 sites.
Restaurant or bar chains with 11 or more sites.
Public sector.
Individual unit.
Hospitality supplier company.
Closing date for entries is 31 October 2006
