Big Interview: Tim Hulme, British Institute of Innkeeping
“It’s been a massive repair job.” That’s Tim Hulme’s frank assessment of the work he’s been overseeing at the BII since becoming chief executive in January 2013.
The former deputy principal at Ealing, Hammersmith & West London College has been outspoken in his criticism of the organisation, using words such as “elitist” and “complacent” to describe the pub industry’s professional body that saw membership fall 12% for the second year at its most recent accounts.
But in his words, there’s been a “complete transformation, a Renaissance at the BII”.
At the BII’s AGM in May, Hulme mapped out his vision for the organisation. It amounted to a complete overhaul, transforming the BII into the equivalent of a chartered institute for the pub trade. This has seen the creation of an eight-strong executive board with four advisory groups to focus on membership, qualifications, finance, and Scotland. The apprenticeship programme would be upgraded, including the introduction of a pub chef scheme.
Training facility
Recent changes have included investments in infrastructure to make the processes “more slick”; £300,000 is allocated for the year for developments including a new website, CRM (customer relationship management) system and e-learning platforms.
Hulme expects the BII to certify c100,000 qualifications this year, against c78,000 in 2013. He set a target of growing membership from 9,318 to 13,000 within three years and 15,000 within five.
He says the group has a strategy for growth around “soft skills” qualifications targeted at customer care and customer service, “whereas previously we’ve been focused on compliance training, mandatory training”.
“We’ve re-established the BII as a body to be trusted. We had stabilisation last year, consolidation and growth this year, and [we expect] meaningful growth next year.”
Meanwhile, planning permission has been secured for the current HQ in Camberley, Surrey. Hulme has ambitions to move nearer London, and the group is looking at “co-location opportunities”. The search has also begun to find a new chairman to replace the late Bernard Brindley. Hulme is “opened minded” about whether the position, which will be a paid role for the first time, would be best suited to someone inside or outside the industry.
Hulme reveals another bold ambition of his. “Why wouldn’t we take a tied pub, take a lease and run it as a training facility? We are investigating all options at the moment.”
Informed
This extends to innovations beyond the organisation itself. A key proposal is for an industry ‘passport’ for new tenants. It would be endorsed by the BII and bodies such as the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) and the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR).
The scheme would ensure the licensee’s P&L account is signed off by an industry-accredited accountant and they receive information on areas such as the precise role of the business development manager, their repairing obligations, training and development schemes, capex, and so on.
“Wouldn’t it be great if the industry could say, ‘lets agree to a minimum standard of entitlement and support that every lessee or tenant will get before they sign up to a statutory agreement’?
“All of a sudden [licensees] can look at that and make an informed choice rather than someone having a romanced notion [that] ‘I must have that pub in the area’.”
Hulme believes some tenanted operators still fall short over such matters. “We are aware a lot of pubcos and family brewers do waive certain aspects of pre-entry training. They are allowed to, but is that right? I don’t think it is. I think they should say everybody should have a de minimis requirement.”
Passport to progress
Hulme says the scheme could operate like a “kite mark”, with the possibility of flagging up achievements such as Scores on the Doors ratings, Cask Marque accreditations, plus key details such as late-night levies or early morning restriction orders in the area.
“You could even have a British standard for retail outlets. What a great message it would be to the Government.”
Hulme believes the passport could fit within his plan to revamp the BII’s membership structure on three phases: the pre-entry period, the operator stage, and dispute resolution.
He’s clear that it should be a pan-industry initiative, not one led by the BII, and he’s spoken about the idea “broadly” to the other trade bodies. “On the whole they all recognise a need for greater transparency. Whether or not they will all commit to it, I don’t know.
“This is about recruitment and retention of good licensees. If you want to recruit the best, be open, honest and transparent.”
Robust
During recent years, the BII played a major role in the industry’s efforts to self regulate in the pubco/tenant relationship, particularly by establishing the Pub Independent Rent Review Service (PIRRS) and the Pubs Independent Conciliation and Arbitration Service (PICAS). Announcing plans for a statutory code and adjudicator earlier this year, the Government said the future of PIRRS and PICAS is “essentially a question for the industry”.
Discussions continue about how the schemes may fit into the statutory regime. “Given the increased quality of the service that PIRRS and PICAS have started to provide, it’s a shame the Government has legislated because of a few bad examples,” Hulme says. “There are brilliant examples of landlord/tenant relationships going on, albeit they need improving, and the industry could have created a more robust industry framework code that was underpinned by a statutory framework, maybe.
“There could have been a different solution and the industry would have thought more creatively. And I believe PIRRS and PICAS could support the adjudicator.”
Invest in the next generation
Given its importance in political matters, what role does he see the BII having as a lobby group? Hulme says there’s an “unwritten agreement” with the BBPA and ALMR to work together on issues they have in common; business rates, for example.
But he stresses: “I certainly didn’t want to be like one of my predecessors and spend a lot of time in Westminster.”
The BII has been the body for individual publicans, but Hulme says he sees the organisation stretching beyond this remit, into managed pub groups and even food-led operators and casual dining chains. “The spaces between pubs, restaurants and hotels, and other outlets, is becoming blurred. Why wouldn’t we get closer to some of the brands and organisations we mentioned earlier?”
London-based premium bar groups Drake & Morgan and the Young’s-owned Geronimo Inns are two examples that he mentions. “Those people are facing the same sort of compliance and regulatory framework as our individual memberships. So why wouldn’t we provide the support mechanisms [for them]?”
Strength
Hulme is adamant that the pub industry has a fantastic story to tell the Government about the opportunities it can provide for young people. It’s this priority, perhaps above all others, that Hulme sees as key to making the BII and the industry in general reach its potential.
“We should have a greater focus on the next generation of people in this industry. If we can focus on that and on the strength of the retailing and on a couple of other topics, the Government may start to listen to us on some other things such as VAT. What about saying to Government, we are focused on young people, on training, on raising standards, we’re focused on responsible alcohol retailing, we’re focused on reducing alcohol-related crime?
“Get those two things right – the next generation, the role of the pub in the community – and have proper landlord and tenant standards, and the Government might start to recognise this industry as working hard to improve the image the general public associates with us.”
