Recruitment specialists Tonic Talent sponsor Caterer.com People Awards for second year

Conrad Brunton is MD at Tonic Talent and his passion for the hospitality industry and the people who work in the sector is infectious.

We started by asking Conrad about Tonic and what makes them different. ‘For us, it’s not simply about matching a candidate to a job, it’s about building the best partnerships.’

‘We are passionate professionals who have all had successful hospitality careers so have a deep understanding of where candidates and recruiters are coming from. What really gets us excited is being confident we are uniting the best businesses with the best talent.’

‘We supply a variety of hospitality and catering roles from entry-level to senior management and work with a range of businesses from street-food vendors, Michelin starred restaurants, and small independents to well-known brands, and large operators across the whole of the UK.’

The importance of rewarding excellence

We wanted to know why Tonic were keen to be involved again this year. ‘As a business we have to practice what we preach and support the people function of hospitality, which is absolutely key. You can have a fantastic product, be that a hotel, restaurant, cafe, whatever. Maybe you can have a beautiful environment but without the people that are in it, it’s absolutely nothing.

We’re delighted to sponsor the Awards for a second year, as after the past 18 months, I think it’s really important that we celebrate the people in our industry.

Recognising employee wellbeing

After the toughest 18 months the hospitality industry has experienced, employee wellbeing has never been more important. Caterer.com asked Conrad why it matters.

‘I think we are talking about how employers can look after their people. From acknowledging best practice within our industry to sharing those stories with our peers.’

‘One example of looking after employee wellbeing is a really simple one. The importance of good staff food is something that I come back to again and again. It’s so often overlooked.’

Conrad continued, ‘I think that there should be something there for your team, some cereals and bread for toast, in the morning when they get in because we know that a lot of employees skip breakfast. And ideally somewhere that they can eat away from their working area.

Increase retention through skills and development

Our conversation moved on to the changes in how skills and development have been managed and what the sector should be doing to ensure continued growth.

‘Skills and development are something that’s come even more necessary. Employers should be taken advantage of apprenticeship schemes. We recommend Umbrella Training to our clients. They’re a fantastic company and they’re incredibly thorough in what they do.’

‘Employers should be talking to their people to find out what they want to learn. Cross-training is a great idea within any business. For me, the benefit of cross-training, for example, your chef working front-of-house for a day, cannot be measured. Businesses can focus on those small areas of learning and development; it doesn’t have to be major but the results for the business and the employee will be significant.’

Conrad’s final thought, ‘Focussing on skills and development will increase retention within your teams, improve mental health and confidence and reduce recruitment costs, benefitting everyone in the business.’

Onboarding is changing

The talent pool has changed with many people joining hospitality for the first time. As a recruiter, Conrad is ideally placed to talk about onboarding.

‘Whatever size or type of hospitality organisation, onboarding must cover all areas of the business, from the basics of induction and health and safety to meeting the team. But it needs to go further, and employers need to ask themselves “what does our induction look like, not just the first week or month but for the next 12 months?”

‘Candidates want to know what their development opportunities will be and that there is a great programme in place to ensure that they get the very best out of their new role.’

‘With many first-timers coming into the industry, employer’s focus should be on exceptional onboarding that allows new starts to find their feet confidently and makes them want to stay in the hospitality sector.’

Tonic Talent in the community

We asked Conrad to reflect on the past 18 months and the one standout achievement the team at Tonic were proud of.

‘Still being here, it’s probably the biggest achievement and we’re grown the team post-pandemic!’

‘I’m very proud of our engagement within the community locally and within the hospitality industry as well. Nationally, we did a lot of work with Springboard during lockdown. We were helping young people with their CVs and doing mock video interviews because a lot of people find them quite difficult.’ We’ve also been working with the College of Food here in Birmingham where I studied and then lectured. I’m passionate about bringing young people into our industry.’

Why should hospitality businesses enter the Caterer.com People Awards?

As a sponsor Conrad wants to encourage as many hospitality businesses as possible to enter the awards this year. 

‘Like any industry, it’s vital that you celebrate best practice and success. Now more than ever hospitality brands must look at the short-listed businesses and see what they can take from them. The ideas and practices they could implement within their own business. Think about what made the shortlisted entries stand out, what do they do that we can bring into our business?’

‘Hospitality is about the people, the engagement, the training and development. It’s never been more relevant to celebrate success than it is right now.’

Find out more and enter at Caterer.com/peopleawards