South East

Riverside Tavern

Strood, Kent

While many outlets are content to lose a member of staff occasionally, the Riverside Tavern isn't. Under owner Peter Foreman, the Strood pub-cum-entertainment venue has not lost a single member of staff over the past year - no mean feat considering there are 12 full-timers and 10 part-timers.

Hospitality consultant

A factor contributing to this achievement lies in Peter employing a hospitality consultant to tackle issues that previously affected employees' morale and working relationships. Additionally, a folder system was introduced to record the personal

development of every employee.

Peter says this has created a "fantastic

atmosphere" where "everyone is so happy".

He adds: "Everyone is an individual and encouraged to develop at his or her pace."

Of the 22 staffers, three have qualified as personal licence holders and 17 have passed, or are undertaking, National Vocational

Qualification courses.

All but two have been trained to be multi-skilled so that they can switch seamlessly between bar, food serving and kitchen duties. They even do the cleaning.

Keeping it in-house

Although most employees have been on external courses, most of the training is done in-house. It starts with an induction course on food hygiene and basic health and safety, before moving on to more in-depth training, which includes topics such as responsible retailing.

This is backed up by fortnightly meetings where staff can discuss everything from training needs and organising the next event, through to any problems, such as cleanliness of toilets and quality of the pub's DJs.

Peter says these procedures have helped create a clear customer service ethos.

"We are not just selling products - we are selling the Riverside Tavern," he says.

Moving out

Peter adds: "One of the biggest differences I noticed happened after I moved out of the pub. Staff seemed to be calmer and more relaxed knowing that I wasn't living on the premises all the time."