CATERING INDUSTRY IN UK

Management of HR in the Catering Industry In UK

Management of HR in the Catering Industry In UK

Introduction

The catering industry is growing fast, but it's also changing. Some people say that you have only to look at the USA to see where the British catering industry is going: fast food and lots of it, theme parks and themed restaurants, so many eating places that dining out becomes as common as dining in, and an emphasis on customer service.

There are now more than two million people employed in catering in the UK, and by 2004 that is expected to reach 2.5 million. And it's an industry that's changing fast, as anyone with an eye on the news will have noticed.

Not only have there been some major business deals - notably the take-over last year of hotel giant Forte by Granada - but there are some small but significant trends. Who would have thought a few years ago that we'd be ordering take-away pizza from petrol forecourts, for example? Or having coffee and breakfast in a pub?

Or paying to cook our own food in a restaurant? These are just some of the offers coming on-stream, and there are undoubtedly more interesting ones to follow.

That's the good news. The bad is that the catering industry still has problems, above all with its image. But the over-riding message from recruiters is that the low pay and long hours for which hotels and restaurants are famous are becoming a thing of the past. The sheer growth of the industry has meant that employers are putting together far more attractive recruitment packages to attract the right staff. For potential managers the prospects can be tremendous.

Roddy Watt, chief executive of recruitment agency Berkeley Scott, which monitors the industry's pay levels closely, says management salaries in catering are increasing ahead of those in other sectors. "I would argue that he industry today is not the poorly paid at all," he says. "I think a lot of that is a hangover from the past. There are some very good packages on offer. A good reason to go into the industry is that there is a continual shortage of top-calibre people, so good qualified people will progress very quickly and can probably expect a similar amount of money to what they would earn in any other industry at an early age".

Catering has always been an industry in which bright things and entrepreneurs can succeed, regardless of qualifications, and employers are now realising this. Many say they want personality and charisma rather than a clutch of qualifications.

Steve Mullings, training and development manager at Bourne Leisure, which is expanding its 20-strong chain of holiday parks in the UK and North America, says firmly: "Personality is first. We're looking for outgoing, highly motivated people who are very much focused on business results - the sort of people who would one day want to run their own businesses".

Says Watt: "Good qualifications won't do anybody any harm at all, but I don't think they're ...