The best investment in the bar business? A happy and healthy team!

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While it is clear that the products and drinks on offer and design are all important factors in a bar’s success, today more than ever it is essential that the bar team is in a good place – both mentally and physically. Tim Etherington-Judge and Jason-Candid Knüsel explained why in their talk entitled ‘The Keys to Building A Sustainable Team’ for Park Street University at Bar Convent Berlin 2022.

Etherington-Judge is the founder – and Knüsel the Managing Director – of Healthy Hospo, a not-for-profit organisation that is devoted to making work in the hospitality sector both healthier and more fulfilling. Tim Etherington-Judge launched the organisation in 2017 – one year after he had experienced a total breakdown while working as a global brand ambassador for a spirits brand and tried (and thankfully failed) to commit suicide. When he addressed this issue head-on, he discovered that many of his colleagues, especially bartenders, suffer under the extremely stressful working conditions they must endure. Healthy Hospo aims to provide them with guidance and assistance. The founder hopes in this way to help young colleagues avoid repeating the mistakes made and problems suffered in the past. He presented his SECS model for a healthier and more fulfilling work and private life at “digital BCB” in 2020. And now he’s doing so in front of a live audience of professionals.
 

Health and fulfilment essential job criteria

Etherington-Judge began by noting how the COVID pandemic had turned the global working world upside down, wreaking particular havoc in the hospitality trade. Many of the people who had been working what were often long, gruelling shifts behind the bar suddenly realised that it didn’t have to be this way. No night work, going to bed earlier and actually getting enough sleep, enjoying the light of day, a better diet, the chance to do sport – you name it. Finding a working environment that allowed them to try and meet these needs became a decisive factor when looking for a job.

It’s time to invest in the team

For the hospitality business, Etherington-Judge says that this means having to invest. Not just in equipment, products or design, but directly in the team and in their health and well-being: “It’s the best investment that you can make.” According to figures from the ‘International Social Security Association’ (ISSA), each euro invested in team health results in €2.20 more sales – this means that it is not only the employees personally who benefit, but also the company itself, because staff are more productive and generate more profits. According to Etherington-Judge, treating ‘human resources’ well delivers a wide range of benefits for bars:

• more profits, particularly during stressful peak business hours that generate the most revenues
• less ‘presenteeism’ (employees who are physically present but mentally elsewhere)
• improved customer dialogue and care, something that turns more people into regular customers
• happier customers, which leads to more sales and bigger tips
• becoming known in the industry as a better employer (employees have more good things to say about their job/workplace/employer)
• reducing expenses, such as those caused by days taken off ill
• lower expenditures on finding and onboarding new employees thanks to lower staff fluctuation
• fewer expensive mistakes (breakage etc.) and fewer dangerous/expensive accidents

Virtuous circle

Once these things get going, they start to reinforce one another, resulting in a virtuous circle. According to the Healthy Hospo founder, health and well-being result in happier employees who are more motivated, more creative, and more productive. This means more sales, lower costs, and greater certainty in times of crisis. And as the overall picture improves, a company is able to attract particularly talented staff, because these people only want to work in outstanding bars. In other words, health – an essential part of social sustainability – is a key driver of success.


Goodbye ‘boss’ – hello ‘leader’

Part two of the presentation was delivered by Healthy Hospo’s Managing Director, Jason-Candid Knüsel. Knüsel, who is Swiss, is a trained chef who switched to customer service and working behind the bar. He even writes about drinks. Knüsel is also a keen observer, and as a result, he knows the industry inside-out. He talked about the leadership role that is played by a modern bar manager/operator. The old ‘boss’ role is a thing of the past, and anyone who does not believe that they share responsibility for their employees’ health or who views this as solely their employees’ personal/private concern now finds themselves out of step with the times. The same thing applies to statements along the lines of “I’m no expert” or “We didn’t have that in my time either”.


Supporting instead of controlling

In the same way, it can no longer be a matter of controlling or issuing commands. Instead, bar managers/operators need to be leaders, to empower their employees, support them and show them ways in which they can improve – including their attitudes and habits when it comes to their own health. Work-life balance, esteem, the secure feeling that your employer cares about your well-being, open and honest communication, opportunities to advance and develop, inclusion, diversity: only those people who take these things seriously can hope to have the younger generation on their side – because they play close attention to companies’ values when deciding where they want to work. Candid-Knüsel says that it is only those with a healthy team who can hope to create a sustainable business. After all, why should anyone whose body is suffering from their work care about the planet’s well-being? Social sustainability is one of the three pillars of sustainability – find out more here.

In response to a question from the audience regarding how they should be able to achieve all this when staff are already in short supply, Etherington-Judge advised them to review their opening hours according to the Pareto principle: is it really necessary to be open for business six days a week when 80% of sales are generated in just 20% of the time they are open? He also advised asking everyone in the team to share any suggestions they might have with their managers, instead of simply pointing out problems and being critical. After all, everyone shares the same goal: to run a good bar, one that is financially successful and whose customers love it. And the foundation for this success is a team – the “beating heart of the industry” according to Tim Etherington-Judge – that is happy and healthy.