How to Give Feedback

How to Give Feedback

One of the most challenging things about becoming a manager is building the confidence to give effective feedback to your team. Delivering positive or negative feedback can feel daunting, you might not want to come across as soft and gushing or worry that the receiver won’t like you or that giving feedback may be pointless and unhelpful.

But giving feedback is crucial to keeping your team on track, boosting quality and performance, to avoiding or repeating mistakes, it can provide an opportunity for people to grow and develop and when delivered well it can be inspiring and motivating.

There’s a huge difference in impact between giving feedback badly and well. Badly delivered feedback can sound judgemental, vague or intangible, focussed on the past and saved up until it becomes an irritation or resentment. Words like “Why didn’t you”, “You never do this”, “You should do that” or worst of all “If I were you…” (Nobody likes a know-all!) This will create a defensive response, people will tune out and switch off.

Good Feedback is:

• Descriptive

• Specific

• Actionable

• Balanced

• Forward-looking

• Continuous

• Regular and consistent

• Delivered in a Private space (if possible)

Descriptive&objective

The sweet spot is to deliver feedback (and I’m talking about both positive and negative feedback here) that is specific and descriptive giving examples - “When you do this, the result/impact was …” . Rather than making assumptions use phrases like “I noticed” or “I believe”.

forward looking

Then explore the ‘what next’ and make it actionable. There’s a popular concept called “FEED-FORWARD” which suggests that it’s more effective to help people to learn to be right than to prove that they were wrong and that people will respond much more positively, listening better and coming up with their own ideas for improvement.

Two-way

Next, turn it into a conversation, ask people what they felt or observed was the impact, use questions to raise their awareness and ask them how they think they could do better next time. This will show your commitment to helping the person improve, grow and develop.

Immediate

Make feedback immediate, don’t save up those feedback conversations. If you have a process of performance appraisals or reviews, it can be tempting to hold back until the next one, but it should be part of the everyday management of your staff. Feedback should be a continuous loop, agree actions and objectives, monitor and support, review and reward.

Private

You’ve probably heard the phrase “Praise in public and criticise in private’. Public praise in front of peers and colleagues adds more weight to the praise, reinforces positive performance and encourages others to emulate. But if you have more critical feedback to give, it’s kinder to find a private place to talk and you are less likely to provoke a defensive response.

tough conversations

And what if you have a more serious issue to deal with and are dreading a difficult conversation? This is the time to not respond in haste or anger, take some to calm down, reflect and prepare for the conversation and be clear what you want to get out of it. Ask the person for a meeting and give them some time to prepare too. During the conversation try to regulate your emotions, getting angry will not help, describe the issue and its impact, be factual and specific. Then open up the conversation giving the recipient time to tell it from their perspective, listen and pause, before clarifying and summarising. Then move into problem solving together, asking questions to mutually agree next steps and finally suggest a follow up meeting.

If you can create an environment where feedback is regular and a two-way conversation, you will create a culture where people feel motivated, supported and inspired to keep learning and growing. 

How to Build a Happy and Engaged Team

How to build a happy and engaged team?

There’s an oft-cited phrase that people don’t quit a bad job, they quit a bad manager. So how can you be the best leader you can be, so that people will stick with you through thick and thin?

Every sector I speak to at the moment from hospitality to tech, from plumbing to law, is finding it harder to recruit than ever before. It’s a job-seekers market with plenty of opportunities for people looking for something new. So the challenge for business leaders is to create an environment where your staff want to stay with you, who will go over and above to achieve the business objectives and don’t disappear when the going gets tough.

When your team feel engaged, inspired and valued, they will be much more willing to go above and beyond to create the best possible experience for your customers.

So as a manager, how do you build a happy, committed and successful team?

The short answer is, it’s not just about paying them more!

Building an engaged team begins with creating a connection and a community and a culture around a common purpose and values. This creates a sense of belonging and commitment.  

Culture

Culture is that mysterious thing, that is hard to put into words and you can only really understand by experiencing it. You can break it down into the things you can see or have written down, in retail this includes things such as the uniform you might wear, the shop design (formal, informal, contemporary, traditional) and any written policies and manuals - but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

The juicy bit is beneath the surface - the way you behave with each other, how you talk to customers, any rituals and routines you have - how you greet each other at the start of the day, how you communicate (formal meetings or casual chats) and any ceremonies you have - going out for a drink to celebrate or publicly rewarding staff for a significant achievement.

Facets of employee engagement

Beyond culture and community, there are several key facets of employee engagement. I suggest reviewing each of these - what do you do well, where are the gaps, is there anything that could be tweaked?

1. Do you have a positive culture? Are the purpose, values and aspirations of the business clearly communicated to everyone? How good is communication between management and staff

2. Do people feel that staff are making a valuable contribution, do they have a manageable workload?

3. Do your staff get recognition for what they do?

4. Do they have the right balance of support, autonomy and challenge?

5. Do people have the right resources and training to do their job? 

6. Do people have the right work-life balance for them and how do you support people’s wellbeing? Of course, people have different needs and expectations and flexibility isn’t always possible in a retail environment, but be mindful of what else people have going on in their lives - whether it’s school runs, relatives to care for or exams to revise for.

7. What rewards do you offer? Of course, competitive pay and benefits come into it and security of income is important, especially in the current economic climate. Do you also offer incentives for higher performance although this doesn’t have to be a financial bonus, it could be a small gift for making a difference to a customer, or a voucher to spend with you (a bonus as it encourages them to get familiar with your products too).

8. What opportunities do you offer for personal growth and development? How do you support your staff to be the best they can be? This might be skills training for the job or mentoring from a colleague to develop soft skills, it might be just giving informal feedback to encourage them to push themselves forward or it could be knowing that there are opportunities for promotion.

Running through these questions will help you to identify any potential improvements you can make, but if you really want to know how engaged your team are, and what more they need - ask them. This could be through informal chats or perhaps a short questionnaire which can be completed anonymously. This gives people the opportunity to show what they appreciate and voice any concerns. If you can respond to these and you’ll show you care about your people and they’ll reciprocate with their commitment.

When to lead and when to manage

Think back to the most inspiring managers you’ve had in your life, or even the most inspirational teachers. How did it make you feel and how did it impact your commitment on the job or the subject?

I imagine the leaders you remember inspired and motivated you, you will have felt they listened to and valued and as a result, you felt more committed and focussed.

Now reflect on what kind of a leader you are. Are you an inspiring leader or hands-on manager?

Let’s explore the difference between leadership and management.

What’s the share purpose?

Imagine your vision is to create a wild flower meadow and you have a team of people to do the hard work. A manager would give a specific list of instructions and tasks to each person - ask them to drill the soil, to plant the seeds in a specific way and to water it precisely. While a leader will share his vision of a beautiful colourful meadow, rich in biodiversity and ask the team how you can work together collectively to make that dream a reality. Which do you think will get the best results?

A manager’s job is to set operational objectives and standards, but as a leader it’s your role to communicate the vision, the big picture, and share a purpose and values in a way that will appeal to your team and that will motivate them to get out of bed in the morning.

If your ambition is to offer the best most memorable customer experience or to create the most delicious quality cakes, what difference is that going to make to people, how are you going to do it and why should anyone believe you? In the corporate world this usually means creating and communicating mission, vision and purpose statements - what we do, why we do it and what we want to be known for; and communicating your values - then how do we do it?

Your Mission & Vision

You don’t need the carefully crafted statements you might see from big brands like Wholefoods or Waitrose, but do take time to answer those questions and share the results with your employees.

Another important quality of a good leader is to empower and enable staff, consulting with them, seeking and valuing their input and encouraging them to stretch and grow. 

There is no right or wrong here, there’s a time and a place for both management and leadership. A good leader will be able to adapt depending on the person, the task, the context and the urgency. If you have a new starter with little experience or none of the technical skills required for the job, then you will need to be more manager, giving clear instructions and checking in on progress. In an urgent situation, for example dealing with a difficult customer, again you many need to step in and manage the situation more closely. But when you are dealing with someone who is highly committed, whether or not they have the experience of skill, you can step back to a more supportive, coaching role, ask for their ideas and help them develop their skills. 

Many of the managers I work with find themselves more at the directive managerial end of the spectrum, telling, showing, instructing, and often admit to micromanaging because it’s easier and quicker, but this is the fast track to creating low morale and unengaged teams.

So to develop more committed staff who will help you build a successful business, start to build a partnership with them, share your vision, encourage shared ownership of the big picture, be transparent in communication, trust, listen and value their views, foster collaboration and together you will see great results.

10 Tips for launching a food & drink brand

Launching a new food or drinks brand or adding a new product to an existing range is exciting but challenging.

Whether you are setting up a start-up business, hustling a side project, or introducing a new brand or product range to an existing business, it’s essential to have a clear value proposition and USP (unique selling proposition), a defined target audience, a robust business plan and identified your routes to market.

Here are my 10 Top Tips - well 11 tips in fact, for launching a food & drink business - or a business in any sector.

1. Work out your value proposition

How does your product make customers happy? What is the value you offer? You are unlikely to be launching something completely new and unheard of, but what is unique about what you do? 

Robert Breakwell of of Suffolk-based Niche Cocktails says:

“Know your market and competitors; what makes you different / better / relevant / what is your USP? What are you offering the consumer that no-one else is doing?”

2. Start with Why

Ok, so we’ve nicked this title from best-selling business guru Simon Sinek’s popular book. When you start to talk about your brand and product don’t just focus on WHAT you do, the product details like the taste, or HOW you do it - like your environmental measures, but WHY you do it. If you can clearly communicate why you exist, what’s your purpose or belief and why should anyone care, you will stand out from the crowd and build loyalty.

"If you believe in what you are doing so will everyone else.” says Breakwell.

3. Identify your target audience

As the old adage goes, if you are marketing to everyone, you are going to reach no-one! So be as specific as you can about what type of consumer you are trying to reach - whether it’s based on demographics (geography, gender, age) or their tastes, values and lifestyle. You can even create profiles of your typical customer to help build up their personality.

Robert Breakwell says: “Understand your consumer and focus everything on making your promise to them sincere.”

4. Create a business plan

You need to have a destination in mind and a plan of how to get there, how will you know where to start and how will you know if you’ve succeeded?

Think about the time and resources you need to launch your brand or product, what are all the steps, process and measures of success? It might be to sell a certain number of units or to launch in any number of stockists.

Alan Ridealgh, founder of Humber Doucy Brewery says “Have the best business plan you can create: think about the time and resources you need to build your business: do you need a space to create your product, equipment to make it, a website, packaging and marketing. Try and think of every element of your business from start to end.”

5. Ask for help in the right places

There is a huge amount of support out there for businesses of all sizes whether you are starting from scratch or a long-established. Look for what’s available regionally, your local Growth Hub is a good place to start and perhaps your region has a Food Innovation Centre.

6. Formulate a budget

How much is it going to cost you? What are the fixed costs or those that vary on how many units you are producing? Can you calculate a breakeven point - so you know how many units you have to sell to cover your costs? The reality is that the most common reason businesses fail is because they run out cash - so don’t forget your cashflow forecast.

"Have defined finance in place before starting and formulate a budget. Work how much it will be to set up, make your product and break even? How much can you charge and ensure you have the funding to ensure it survives.” Continues Alan Ridealgh, Humber Doucy Brewery.

7. Build a memorable brand

Your brand is far more than your name, your logo, your packaging, it’s about every connection that your customer has with you. Brand is what makes people remember you and why they will recommend you to their friends, so make it unique, genuine and consistent.

9. Identify your routes to market

Are you going to sell direct to your customers through a website or at events, or are you going to seek listings with independent retailers or aim high at supermarkets?

10. Tell the world

Social media is an amazing free resource to grow a community of fans. Focus on the right platform for your audience rather than spreading yourself to thin by being on all of them.

11. Work fast

Finally "Work fast – Being small gives you the opportunity to make decisions quickly and get there fast.” says Robert Breakwell.

How to do your own PR

Have you ever wondered how to get your product or service featured in the national press, featured in a glossy magazine or reviewed online?

If you have some exciting news to share, a brand new product or service, opened a new restaurant or shop, won an award or anything else you want the world to know about your brand, this workshop is packed with ideas of how to get your story into newspapers, magazines and digital media without the cost of investing in a PR agency.

In this workshop, I will share:

• What is PR

• How to tell your story and what makes it news

• Ideas for how to get your brand and product into the media

• Insight into how the media works

• Tips on how to approach and build relationships with journalists

• How to write a press release

• How to maximise the PR you receive

This workshop was delivered for the Norfolk and Suffolk Food Innovation Cluster - which provides networking, training and support for food and drink businesses in the region.

If you have questions about PR or do need a bit of help, get in touch.

How to do your own PR workshop

Hospitality Mavericks Podcast interview

I’ve long been a fan of the podcast Hospitality Mavericks, so I was really excited to be asked by its host Michael Tingsager, to join him to chat about my work as an executive coach and running leadership development programmes.

We talk about the difference between leadership and management, how to build a strong, happy and engaged team, changing expectations of work life and just some of the challenges facing business leaders today.

I also share my own story of how I moved from hospitality and food & drink branding and communications to become a business coach, and how I build healthy routines and lots of exercise to look after myself.

You can listen to the podcast on all the usual podcast channels from Spotify, Apple, Google, Amazon and below on YouTube.

I highly recommend all the podcasts on Hospitality Mavericks!

Find them all here: Hospitality Mavericks >

Shift Your Perspective

Shift your perspective

Moments of high stress can warp your perception of reality, making you feel like the world is out to get you.

Our brains are hard-wired to sense threat and tend to overreact in stressful situations.

Changing perspective allows us to release thinking patterns that no longer serve us and to see the world through fresh eyes. 

What can you gain from looking at things another way?

Imagine you are a fly on the wall, or a bird in the sky - how would things look from up there?

HOW TO SHIFT YOUR PERSPECTIVE

• Stop and notice how you feel.

•  Accept that feeling, don't push it away.

• Create distance by naming it out loud or writing it down.

• Change your surroundings.

• Breathe

• Ask yourself how much this will matter in a month, what about a year?

• What are you grateful for?

• What would your wisest most supportive friend say about this?

• What's a different way to see it?

• Now move forward.

How to manage stress & build resilience

How do you deal with stress and build personal resilience?

Are things getting too much at work or at home, or juggling work and home life?

The first step is to be aware of when things are getting on top of you and stress levels are rising.

You might start feeling resentful, you might notice things are keeping you awake at night, or impact your mood more than they should. Do you find yourself complaining about things to family and friends? Have you tried asking for support or a change to find nothing improves?

When this happens it’s time to start to focus on your well-being.

What’s within your control?

You can’t control your emotions, but you can start to be aware of them and choose how to respond. If you’re under a lot of pressure, become aware of how much time and energy you spend worrying about things you can’t control. This will help you to reduce feelings of overwhelm or uselessness.

• What is within your control?

• What can you influence?

• Let go of the things that you can’t control or change.

Tips to manage stress At Work

1. Take breaks, even if it’s just for a walk around the block.

2. Remember to have fun. Laughter makes us feel good.

3. When you feel stressed, step away for a moment and focus on your breath.

4. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when things get too much. You don’t have to do it alone.

5. If it’s getting too much, is there someone you can talk to? If not your manager, a colleague, a partner, a friend?

Tips to look after yourself At home:

1. Make time to get outside - fresh air and sunlight are good for our health and our brains.

2. Find some form of exercise that you enjoy and can make a habit, it doesn’t have to be running a marathon, it could just be a short walk.

3. Build good bedtime routines to promote good sleep.

4. Make time for your friends and family, connecting with other people is vital to our wellbeing.

5. Just do NOTHING sometimes.

Is it time to review your purpose for the year ahead?

Is it time to review your purpose for the year ahead?
The Christmas holidays and the start of the New Year are a time when we all tend to think about what matters most to us, we reevaluate and set ourselves ambitions for the year ahead. 

As business leaders, it's a good time to do the same for our business, not least because this is a time when your employees often decide "New Year, New Job... and in this recruitment crisis you probably want them to stick with you.

A clearly articulated purpose achieves two things:

• Defines and clarifies your strategic objectives

• Inspires and motivates your team and gives meaning to what they do

Do you have a clearly defined purpose?

Putting man on the moon

There's a frequently quoted story (it may be apocryphal) about a cleaner at NASA being asked on a visit by President John F Kennedy what his job was. His answer: "I'm helping to put a man on the moon."

Why it matters

Studies have shown that companies with a well-articulated purpose have lower turnover rates and higher levels of employee engagement. They: Attract and retain the best people Boost productivity Improve morale and engagement

Reality... we're not there yet

According a 2019 survey of over 540 worldwide businesses by Strategy&, PWC:

• More than half weren’t even “somewhat” motivated, passionate, or excited about their job 

• 28% reported feeling fully connected to their company’s purpose. 

• 39% said they could clearly see the value they create, 

• 22% agreed that their jobs allow them to fully leverage their strengths 

• 34% thought they strongly contribute to their company’s success.

What goes wrong?

Too often purpose statements are generic, non-specific and lack authenticity, which leads to : a lack of direction, people feeling lost, disengaement and low motivation How can your team help your business to achieve its goals, if they don't know where they fit in?

Ask yourself

• Why do we exist? 

• What value are we giving our customers? 

• How and why are we unique? 

• Could someone differentiate our purpose from our competitors? 

• Could our team say what it is?

Live & Breathe it

Defining your purpose is just the beginning. If you can't live and breathe it, it's worthless. So make sure it's relevant, and achievable, and that you and your employees have the resources they need to deliver it.

10 Marketing Tips for reopening hospitality in 2021

After months of closure restaurants, pubs, cafés and hotels now have a roadmap for reopening in spring 2021.

With hospitality managers and operators under huge pressure to get everything right for reopening, it’s all too easy to put marketing down as an unnecessary time and cost, but the restaurants, pubs and other hospitality businesses that will get back on their feet fastest will be the ones who communicate regularly with their customers.

With constant changes to the rules and regulations and understandable nervousness on the part of some consumers about being in busy public places again, it’s vital that hospitality businesses communicate regularly with customers to show you are ready to welcome people back, have thought about their safety and that they can come out and enjoy themselves.

Here are my Top 10 marketing tips for reopening:

1. Create an emotionally rich and engaging relationship

   
   One thing that the last year of lockdowns has taught us is to be grateful for things we have always taken for granted - not least being able to pop out to meet friends at the pub or enjoy someone else’s cooking at a restaurant. People have started to appreciate the emotional connection they have with their local pub or neighbourhood restaurant or with somewhere they hold fond memories of or dream of visiting.
   Understand that emotional connection with your customers (past, current and future) and use it to bond with them. Marketing communications should be honest, empathetic, generous and authentic. Develop the personality and story of your brand and share your experiences of the last year and your hopes for the future in a way that makes your audience want to be part of your story and support your future.
   
   

2. Review your target audience

   
   Has your audience changed over the last 12 months due to travel restrictions:
   - can you gain new customers who are staying in the UK for their holidays. How do you reach with them?
   - can you connect with more local customers who are staying closer to home and now recognise what they have on their doorstep?
   - have customer expectations changed? If you traditionally have an older audience they may need more reassurance about how you will keep them safe. A younger audience may be more concerned about things they are now restricted from doing.
   - do review your offer, your menu and your price points and make sure they are right for your current audience.
   
   

3. Sell the dream through good photos and videos

   
   What we all need right now is to get out of the house, see friends and family and have someone else do the cooking and washing up! Use photos and video to appeal to this emotion and show people that they can go out and relax - photos speak a 1000 words.
   Update images or create a short video of your outside space if you have it or of your ‘social distanced’ indoor dining area. Film a virtual tour - on your phone is fine.
   It goes without saying that photographs of dishes and ingredients whet the appetite of hungry diners - but think beyond the obvious and give a sneak peek behind-the-scenes.
   
   

4. Communicate a clear and consistent policy

   
   While nobody really wants to read all the rules and restrictions any more than you want to enforce them, do make sure you have published your policies on your website and link back to them from elsewhere. There are so many ongoing changes that people do need to be reminded what the general rules are as well as anything unique to your venue and it can avoid awkward and embarrassing moments when guests arrive.
   Communicate with customers about any new safety precautions you’re taking and the government rules and regulations you need to follow (mandatory reservations, gathering information for contact tracing, etc.) Remember to review your cancellation policy too.
   
   

5. Keep your audience updated everywhere you can

   
   During the next few months your competitors will be vying for your customers’ attention, so make sure you are front of mind and that they can find out what they need to know about you wherever they connect with you. Make time to update your website with your plans for reopening including your new opening hours, menus and anything else that’s new (garden bar, gazebo, marquee?). It’s quick and easy to post on social media, but also make time to refresh your Tripadvisor, Facebook and Instagram bios and any listing sites you appear on.
   
   

6. Review your Google Business Page

   
   Make sure you’re set up on Google My Business. It’s free, easy to use, and allows you to manage your online presence across Google, including Search and Maps. It is often the first place people find your information when searching specifically for your business or just searching your town or location for somewhere to visit. Add fresh images, and make sure your introduction is up to date and relevant.
   
   

7. Get the best out of social media

   
   Social media is perhaps the easiest and most effective way to keep your audience up to date and engaged as it’s easy to post regular updates. On Instagram use stories or reels to tell the story of reopening your venue and give your audience an insight into everything that is going on behind the scenes. This will create a sense of anticipation but can also be a relaxed way to convey the measures you are taking to make people safe. If you dare go there, TikTok is starting to play a part in developing brand stories and audience engagement. Here are some ideas try:
   - Create recipe videos
   - Take followers on a virtual tour
   - Create a “behind-the-scenes” video of the kitchen staff preparing meals
   - Interview employees and share their experiences
   - Hold a live stream Q&A session with followers
   
   

8. Create long-form evergreen content

   Create long-form evergreen content for your website whether that’s telling your story on an ‘About us’ page or creating a news section or blog. This is content that isn’t time-sensitive and includes keywords that you want to be known for that will drive traffic to your site. Begin by drawing up a list of three to five keywords you want to improve your rankings for – terms that people may search for and that are relevant to your business.
   Blogs can help your website appear authoritative. You can write content that answers common questions, helps customers understand something, or solves problems (like things to do on a rainy day in your location or introducing them to your team or favourite food & drink producers.
   
   

9. Don’t forget email marketing

   Email marketing is a really useful tool for driving customer loyalty and engagement as well as keeping people updated. If you capture customers email addresses on booking (online or in person) invite then them to sign up to receive email news from you. You can also ask people to sign up via your website. Use an email marketing service like Mailchimp which will help you comply with GDPR data regulations and enable you to create a professional looking template.
   -  Don’t make emails ‘salesy’ or pushy – share other news about what’s going on in your area or things you’ve been doing, reading or listening to.
   - That said don’t be afraid to include a clear call to action to book.
   - Link your email newsletter content to your website and blog, including short excerpts in the newsletter with links to read more on your website, this encourages people to engage more with your brand.
   - Send to many, write to one – approach every email as though it’s personal.
   - Be consistent in email frequency and make sure you keep topics varied and interesting.
   - Save time and effort by planning a couple of months topics in advance. 
   
   

10. Encourage reviews

    Reviews on platforms such as Facebook, Google My Business and TripAdvisor are powerful ways to build your reputation. Your business is more likely to show up in Google’s local pack if it has reviews that mention keywords you’re trying to rank for and the town/area where you are based. I often speak to businesses who understand that these reviews count but don’t know how to generate them, one way to do this is to include a call to action on your website, you can download a Google Review widget from your google. Another way ask people in a fun way on your menus or other signage. See our blog on managing your online reputation>