Longbow Bars & Restaurants has called for greater recognition for talented individuals within the hospitality industry as the business celebrates multiple award successes. Rob is also keen to leverage the awards, and how Longbow supports its employees, to improve the perception of hospitality as a viable career option.
Rob Hattersley, owner of the independent hospitality business, which runs The George Hathersage, The Maynard, and The Ashford Arms in the Peak District, has shared his pride at the raft of award wins this year.
These include:
- Being named in The Sunday Times Best Places to Work Awards 2024
- Winning two categories in the 2024 Generation Next Awards, run by the East Midlands Chamber of Commerce, with Operations Director, Steve Atkinson, winning Entrepreneur of the Year and Longbow winning the award for Investing in Young Talent.
- Winning Team of the Year Award (for The George Hathersage) at the 2024 Visit Peak District Tourism Awards
Longbow has also been shortlisted in the 2024 East Midlands Chamber of Commerce Enterprising Women in Business Awards.
Alice Houghton, General Manager at The George in Hathersage has been shortlisted in the Emerging Leader category and Charlotte Barker, General Manager at The Maynard in Grindleford has been shortlisted in the Best Female Employee category. The Maynard has also been shortlisted in the Female Management Team of the Year section. The results will be announced in September 2024.
While welcoming news of the awards success, Rob has taken the opportunity to highlight the breadth of talent within the hospitality industry who are not necessarily always recognised by award nominations.
Rob said:
“We are delighted and incredibly proud that our employees and Longbow itself have been recognised in these annual awards. It is such a great achievement for our individual winners and finalists, Steve, Alice, and Charlotte. But, as we welcome news of their success, it’s important to also recognise that award winners aren’t the only talent in the business.”
“Whilst we are celebrating with them, there are lots of people in our business who have been with us for many years, have great knowledge, and are also integral to our success. There are numerous unsung heroes, both at Longbow and across the hospitality industry, who enable individuals to shine because of the great supportive team that are around them and nurturing them.”
Longbow’s three successful venues have an extensive and dedicated team of housekeepers, event and wedding coordinators, hosts, waiting staff, chefs of all levels and specialties, bar staff, and more. In total, 214 staff work for the business.
Rob added:
“Industry-wide, even more could be done to shine a spotlight on the breadth of talent that work within hospitality. Often it is the companies that are recognised and not the individuals whose vital work is why the business is receiving recognition and accolades.
“It is something that we pay a lot of attention to. We recently launched our Longbow Long-Service Awards, for example, which is just one way of celebrating our employees and their hard work over the years.”
Since it was established, Longbow has been committed to employee support and development. They have a people over profits philosophy with a clear career progression ladder and investment in training. Longbow also operates, on average, with a 44% higher labour allowance than industry standard.
In August 2023, the business further bolstered its people approach with the appointment of its first Talent and Succession Manager, Jack Arksy. Jack is responsible for implementing employee welfare initiatives, along with attracting talent, identifying talent within the business, providing coaching and mentoring, developing career paths and managing training.
“The most important thing for me when I founded Longbow was to take care of the people. I was fed up of working for PLCs, where often it is about the profits over everything else,” explained Rob.
“People who are happy and feel seen and respected provide the best customer service. Then, the profits look after themselves. There are still some irresponsible hospitality operators out there but there are also companies, like Longbow, that are trying to break the mould with good career pathways and well-paid jobs. Taking action and sharing our stories is the only way to change negative perceptions of the industry.”
This people-centred approach has led to a number of rising stars progressing through the business. These include Josh Butler whose journey has taken him from being a kitchen runner to General Manager of The Ashford Arms. Also, Chris Parker, who moved from his Senior Sous Chef role at The George to become Head Chef of The Ashford Arms.
For more information on Longbow’s people approach, visit longbowvenues.com/people.
