Manager of the Year

There was certainly no sign of David Brent, notorious boss in the excruciating TV comedy The Office, at this year’s Cateys. In fact, Jonathan Slater, winner of 2002’s Manager of the Year award, represents the exact opposite end of the spectrum.

 

Judges were asked to choose a manager with proven success in managing and developing a team in the workplace and with a good and established financial track record. Slater, managing director of the Chester Grosvenor hotel, has now been working there for nearly 20 years and, the judges felt, satisfied these criteria easily.

 

With almost zero turnover among key staff, Slater was marked out from the beginning as being ahead of the game. When questioned on the secrets behind his success in an industry plagued by a skills shortage, Slater said the longevity of his team was due to the hotel’s culture. “I employ the best people and they make me look good,” he laughed. “You have got to make sure you have the best team around you in the first place.”

 

As well as ensuring he finds the right people for the job, however, Slater puts a strong emphasis on one-tier management. “With no pyramid management structure, staff feel they are accountable. They know they are here to stand up and be counted,” he said.

 

Slater also advocates a competitive spirit among staff as being vital to the success of the business. “The challenge of running the hotel is what gives me a buzz,” he said. “The same philosophy applies to the people who work here. I love the staff to be challenging me all the time.”

 

The judges praised Slater for more than just motivating his staff, however. In the past year he has overseen the refurbishment of the hotel’s 45-seat flagship Arkle restaurant and two new-build master suites. He is currently working on the finishing touches for the hotel’s new spa.

 

And, not content with simply running his AA five-star-rated hotel with three AA rosettes and one Michelin star, Slater also found the time to help establish Chester and Cheshire Conferences, an agency set up to maximise and co-ordinate the city’s meetings industry, which he now chairs. He is also on the board of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World consortium.

 

Judges’ criteria

 

The winning candidate for the Manager of the Year award will have:

 

* Demonstrated proven success in managing and developing a team in the workplace;
* Established a good financial track record; and
* Proved their worth, over and above their job description, particularly in the past year.

 

This year’s winner will be announced at the Catey Awards on Tuesday 1st July.

 

2002 Jonathan Slater
2001 Laurence Beere
2000 Elaine Clarke
1999 Zoe Jenkins
1998 John Toner
1997 Julie Baugh
1996 Elena Salvoni
1995 Margaret Wells
1994 Julian Small
1993 John Coomb
1992 David Irving

 

**Sponsored by:**Â Â Dudson

 

Sponsor message:

 

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Once again, The Dudson Group are proud to sponsor the Catey award for Manager of the Year.
The company was founded by Richard Dudson in 1800, in Hanley, Stoke on Trent and in the beginning produced a wide variety of domestic ceramic products, including Staffordshire Figures and Dudson Jasper Ware.

 

Since 1891 however, the company has produced ware for the travel and hospitality industry only, and as one of the world’s leading manufacturers and distributors of hotel tableware, they export over 60% of production to over 80 countries worldwide.

 

This privately owned, family business is only too aware of the importance of the right person in the right job. Dudson look forward, each year, to awarding the Manager of the Year award to another worthy winner who can show success, not only by increasing revenue, but in man management skills and in the desire to achieve.

 

With an on-going programme of investment and development, The Dudson Group continues to set the standards in design, production and innovation for today’s hotel tableware.

 

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