Pubcos plan to roll out BDM training
Punch Taverns and Enterprise Inns plan to roll out the new BII (British Institute of Innkeeping) qualification aimed at improving the standards of business development managers (BDMs) across their entire leased and tenanted estates.
It follows trials of the BIIAB level 4 Certificate in Multiple Retail Management by the two pubco giants.
The qualification is seen as a vital step to improve the professionalism of BDMs, and show the Government and MPs that the industry is reforming for the better.
The Morning Advertiser has been given exclusive access to the proposed content of the new qualification, which has still to be finalised.
There are four compulsory units: effective communication in business; capital expenditure; profit & loss; and interviewing skills.
Two optional sections must be completed in part. Optional Group A has five modules: understanding motivation; negotiation skills; conflict management; leading and managing meetings; and their roles and responsibilities when dealing with the new pubco codes of practice.
The three modules in Optional Group B are: understanding marketing; merchandising & selling; and business planning.
Assessment varies between the modules and it includes on-the-job assessment in pubs, written exams and coursework.
Enterprise piloted the business planning module among six regional managers (RMs) last December.
Head of recruitment and training Peter Grieve said the module included an exam at its head office in Solihull, West Midlands.
"All of our candidates passed the module and have received their certificates."
He added: "The candidates who participated in the pilot are looking forward to completing the remainder of the modules.
"At the successful conclusion of the pilot, Enterprise will formally launch the qualification to the rest of the 130-plus operations team." Punch has been piloting the award for eight business relationship managers (BRMs) in capital expenditure and negotiation skills.
Mark Peters, Punch's technical training manager, said: "We are going to continue to work though the remaining six modules and we hope to have them graduating in July.
"Following a hugely successful trial, we would ultimately like to see all 140 business relationship managers undertake this professional development programme. However, this will, of course, need to rolled out in a structured and manageable way."
Punch plans to have a couple of intakes a year on the qualification, with BDMs from its managed estate taking part next year.
The BII has been gauging interest in the new qualification among pubcos and regional brewers during a series of briefing sessions in recent weeks.
The Business, Innovations and Skills Committee is expected to scrutinise BDMs when it examines changes made by the industry ahead of the June 2011 deadline for reform.
Previous committees from 2004 and 2009 had suggested that BDMs varied from "excellent to dire".
