Best Pub Employer 501+ employees winner, sponsored by Matthew Clark: Greene King

With more than 2,700 pubs, restaurants and hotels across England, Scotland and Wales, the business has recently made changes to ensure teams are top of the agenda.

It has shaken up its culture, putting people front of mind and employee feedback at its core as part of its overall strategy.

Company partnerships

As part of its recruitment, Greene King’s partnership with the Prince’s Trust has helped hundreds of young people start their career in hospitality.

Furthermore, it also has its ‘releasing potential’ programme. A scheme that helps offer a pathway for prison leavers through third-party partnerships into roles at Greene King.

Meanwhile, it also has a supported internships programme, which offers 16 to 24-year-olds with special educational needs and an education health care plan the opportunity to enter the workplace.

Business initiatives

The business has four employee-led inclusion groups. These are Unity – black, Asian and minority ethnic focused; Village Greene – LGBTQ+ focused; Greene Sky – female group focused on development and highlighting the impact women have across the business; and Ability – disability focused aimed at supporting Greene King to be a Disability Confident Employer.

Reverse mentoring was an initiative that impressed the judges. Everyone on the Greene King executive board has been assigned a mentor from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds in a bid to see how diversity and inclusion impacts team members at all levels and across all divisions of the business.

Earlier this year (March), the company set out its ambition to have half of women in senior management roles by 2023.