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Proud Sponsors of Irish Restaurant Awards 2023

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We are delighted to announce that we are proud sponsors of this year’s Irish Restaurant Awards. This is the 14th year of the Awards and we look forward to celebrating the best of Irish Hospitality in 2023.

The Network Manager, Naimh O’Malley, has attended the awards launch on Thursday 12th January  in Locks Restaurant, Dublin.

Nominations for this years awards can now be made via https://www.irishtimes.com/sponsored/restaurant-awards-ireland from 12 noon, Thursday 12th until 12 noon, Thursday 26th January 2023.

As with previous years the Irish Restaurant Awards process begins with an online public vote hosted via the Irish Times. This is followed by the judging process of National Experts, followed by Regional Events in the four provinces at which County Winners will be announced, a Dublin Shortlist and culminating in the All-Ireland Irish Restaurant Final.

Paul Lenehan, President of the Restaurants Association of Ireland commented at the Launch; “The aim of the Irish Restaurant Awards is to recognize excellence within the Irish hospitality industry. These awards are a celebration and acknowledgement of the hard work put in by restaurateurs and hospitality businesses and their talented staff year-round. Our Awards seek to highlight the overall high standards, passion & innovation present within Ireland’s food scene to ultimately celebrate the best of hospitality throughout the Island of Ireland”.

This year, there are 21 categories in which the general public can nominate. These categories are made up of 17 Main Award categories and 4 National Award categories and there are 2 brand-new award categories this year– Innovator of the Year and Learning & Development. We are delighted to be sponsoring the brand new Learning & Development category. We feel that many hospitality businesses excel in this area and have contributed to their staffs life long development and therefore, should be recognised for their efforts. Our Restaurant & Hospitality Skillnet stand will be present at each regional event where we invite you to discuss your training and development needs with us and discuss how we can assist your business.

For more information on the Irish Restaurant Awards please visit: https://irishrestaurantawards.com/

Wishing the best of luck to all nominees in the coming weeks!

The Restaurant & Hospitality Skillnet Team.




Wellbeing in the workplace

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Wellbeing in the workplace

People can spend up to a third of their waking hours at work, so it stands to reason that the workplace has a big impact on our physical and mental well-being.

The Importance Of Wellbeing in the workplace

Promoting employee wellbeing benefits both the organization and its employees. Stress may be avoided and productive workplaces where people can thrive are created by promoting wellbeing. A key enabler of employee engagement and organizational performance might be good health and wellness.(The importance of mental health in the Workplace)

Employers Support

It is important for employers to show that they genuinely care for the physical and mental well being of their employees and that they hold equal importance. This creates a safe and secure work environment for their employees which may significantly increase their general happiness in their day-today lives and their overall performance in the company. Employers should conduct regular check-in’s with their employees, one-to-one to establish their support.

Training programs should also be available to employees to emphasise that both their physical and mental wellbeing is a priority. “Headspace” is a great App that contains many courses beneficial for your employees overall mental and physical well being in the workplace. (Headspace, Headspace for work demo).(Headspace, Headspace for work demo)

As an employer its important also to monitor your employers to encourage them to open up. You can use numerous screening tools, like surveys and questionnaires, to ensure that your staff are content and healthy. This is a practical technique to make sure that your staff members are content and confident in themselves. (The importance of mental health in the Workplace).

As an employer it is also important to encourage a healthy balance between work, personal life and flexible working hours at work.

It’s crucial to be inclusive at work and to keep a positive business culture if you want to ensure that you are encouraging a happy workplace. Also encourage your employees to connect with their colleagues regularly.

Types of Wellbeing in the workplace

It is important to recognise the types of wellbeing to ensure that they are being maintained throughout the duration of your employment in a company. (Minding your wellbeing programme)

  1. Physical wellbeing

is about taking good care of your physical body so that you can function as efficiently as possible in your regular activities. Your mental health is significantly influenced by how physically you are feeling. Being physically healthy involves keeping an eye on your nutrition and exercise routine. (Minding your wellbeing programme)

  1. Emotional wellbeing

is about being conscious of our ideas, feelings, and how those things influence how we act. We can better respond to daily difficulties and demands by being conscious of our emotions and how they affect us. (Minding your wellbeing programme)

  1. Occupational wellbeing

is about having the opportunity to learn, advance, and grow in a secure, healthy, and supportive work environment, and feeling qualified and capable enough to carry out your day-to-day responsibilities. (Minding your wellbeing programme)

  1. Social and cultural wellbeing

Social wellbeing refers to your capacity for social interaction and the development of ties with others around you that help you in your daily life, extremely crucial for preserving good health, wellbeing, and a sense of community, as well as for feeling respected and cared for. Your cultural welfare has an effect on your social wellbeing as well. You experience this when you feel accepted and encouraged to openly express your unique differences. (Minding your wellbeing programme)

  1. Financial wellbeing

is understanding your finances and being able to balance, save, and spend money effectively and within your means in order to manage and plan your finances. (Minding your wellbeing programme)

  1. Environmental wellbeing

Having a secure and healthy work environment is crucial since your surroundings and interactions with them have an impact on your health and wellbeing. Your welfare depends critically on your ability to reduce risks and hazards and obtain the resources you need to do so. (Minding your wellbeing programme)

  1. Intellectual wellbeing

achieving both personal and professional fulfilment at work while retaining a sense of balance in our lives outside of work. It also entails developing your knowledge and abilities and taking part in imaginative and mentally challenging activities. (Minding your wellbeing programme)

Helpful Podcasts

Below are some helpful podcasts, that you can conveniently listen to whenever, wherever on Spotify and become educated on wellbeing in the workplace.

https://open.spotify.com/show/3zSvXK5KsaDFbP4Qz1WSpz?si=666c6bdcb79a45bf&nd=1

https://open.spotify.com/show/7sXQNRCs8HtFLB8KGHsNyg?si=3d1db2dd508b4741&nd=1

https://open.spotify.com/show/1aJwfrEn7K52KL2gOOzqEY?si=be3f6a1c01c445ec

Training Programmes through RH Skillnet

Here at the Restaurant & Hospitality Skillnet, we support workplace well being with onsite and public training courses to suit your needs. Contact us for more information info@rhskillnet.ie.

Contact us

  • Email: info@rhskillnet.ie
  • Phone: 01 6779901

 




Network Learning & Development Strategy 2023 – 2025

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Network Strategy 2023 – 2025

The Restaurant & Hospitality Skillnet are in the process of planning our 2023 – 2025 network strategy for submission for Skillnet Ireland funding later this year. This funding will allow us to continue developing and delivering learning and development activities and programmes for the restaurant and hospitality industry.

Over the last 3 years we have developed and delivered a range of programmes and initiatives, including:

  • Food & Beverage Skills training
  • Customer Care training
  • Professional Kitchen Management
  • Management Development & Leadership Programmes
  • Positive Wellbeing
  • 3 levels of Certified Hospitality e-learning programmes
  • Restaurant & Hospitality Skills/ Rebrand Yourself programmes for Jobseekers
  • Digital Standard Operating Procedures
  • We are currently developing:
  • LEAN e-learning programme – Creating Continuous Improvements in F&B
  • Sustainability for Small Hospitality Business e-learning programme
  • Basic English Language course for hospitality
  • Research report focusing on attracting and retaining talent

Over the next 3 years we will continue to run a range of learning and development initiatives, including public courses, in company training, and workshops which will be delivered through different methods – in person, virtual and blended.  We will also continue to run our range of e-learning training programmes.

What do we need from industry? 

Working with industry over the coming weeks to determine the skills and knowledge needs of employers, employees and jobseekers will be vital for a successful application. We are looking to engage with industry members to discuss how we can help meet the training/learning and development needs of industry.

What do we need to know from industry? 

We need to know:

  • high-level trends, opportunities and threats facing industry
  • current skills gaps amongst employees
  • training courses and initiatives employers need for employees
  • training budgets and preferred method of delivery for training
  • additional resources industry need to attract and retain talent (research, frameworks, competency models)
  • future skills needs (digital, sustainability, SME leadership, workforce innovation)
  • what skills/knowledge new entrants to the sector need to have

How will we do this? 

We will be doing this through one to one calls with members, a number of focus groups and an online survey.

How can you be involved? 

  1. Complete our Training Needs Analysis here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KD9SDL3 
  2. Register for our virtual Focus Groups on September 7th & 8th by emailing our Network Manager Niamh – niamh.omalley@rai.ie

Contact us

  • Email: info@rhskillnet.ie
  • Phone: 01 6779901

 




3 Steps to Successfully Lead Remote Teams

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By Cariona Neary

Things fall apart the centre cannot hold. Commentators frequently invoke Yeats’ lines when describing a chaotic situation. Most of us have  emerged from those early chaotic days of converting our hospitality teams to 100% virtual. And we’re managing. Or are we? This new working world demands a different standard of leadership from us all. As we prepare to re-open for business, how can we help everyone feel part of a great team again?

The pressures on teams are considerable. As leaders, we need to create stability, managing both for well-being and results. Our hospitality organisations are seeking to build agility to survive and even thrive in a global economy that is struggling to function. Our team members are facing their own challenges, with home schooling, uncertainty about future employment and maybe even health issues. People in the hospitality business thrive on the buzz of interacting with colleagues and guests. For many, both leaders and staff,  the lack of personal interaction is truly challenging.  If you can show strong leadership in this situation, you can be assured that you will thrive in any situation!

 

Leading Remote Teams Successfully
The Challenge

People working remotely can become ‘detached’ from the team. How can we build that strong team spirit as we get ready to re-open our businesses?

The Solution

Spend time building up your virtual team goals. Be clear about roles and responsibilities. Keep everything short-term and focused. Look after both well-being and results.

Takeaway Actions

Use your new short term goals to stabilise your team. Communicate until it hurts! Build trust with lots of feedback. Communicate confidence in your team but also acknowledge the stress people are experiencing.

  1. Plan for Short Term Goals

Your plan will be built on some key pillars, regardless of whether you run a restaurant, hotel or bar: Staff needs, Customer needs, Cost control, New Revenue Streams, Redesigning requirements. You can plan around these pillars by taking a short term focus, for example, three-week sprints, assigning specific roles and responsibilities for team members to contribute during the sprint. Since the pandemic, research on remote teams has shown that roles and responsibilities are too unclear for many and this is leading to low morale. The ‘sprint’ approach can help you overcome this challenge.

  1. Communicate until it Hurts!

Remember that great phrase, you’re checking in, not checking up! Use daily Check Ins to help set people’s focus for the day. Listen for new ideas. Just because you’re the leader does not mean you have to have all the answers! A weekly call in from your most senior manager can help keep the team motivated. Each meeting format should be contributing to your Planning Pillars. Focus on providing lots of positive feedback to keep up people’s morale. After each sprint, celebrate, review, learn, reset.

  1. Show Confidence and Support in your Team

Supportive leadership will require a two-pronged approach. While you need to focus on short term results, you also need to acknowledge the real stress and anxiety that your people may be experiencing. Show your confidence in your team with phrases such as “Let’s look at our strengths here and see how we can build on those”, “What do our customers really love about coming here. How can we provide that feeling in this new environment?” “I know this is tough but we’re going to handle this together”…. By asking your team for their help and ideas you show confidence in your collective ability to work through this challenging time.

And to finish with Yeats, “All has changed, changed utterly”. Strong leadership can be a reassuring constant in these challenging times.

Cariona Neary is a trainer and consultant to the Hospitality sector working with Fáilte Ireland for over fifteen years as well as Ireland’s leading organisations in the hotel and restaurant sector. She has just completed a series of webinars, co-hosted with leadership expert, Karl O’Connor,  on Leading Change, Managing Remote Teams and Leading Service that Sells with the RHS Skillnet. The above article is based on her workshops on leading remote teams. For further information on any of Cariona’s webinars, contact Niamh O’Malley. All training  bookings can be made via: https://www.rhskillnet.ie/training-programmes/.

For further information on Cariona Neary visit www.nearymarketing.com or contact her at cariona@nearymarketing.com.

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How to Lead Your Hospitality Business Successfully Through Change

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By Cariona Neary

Never has it been more challenging for leaders in the hospitality business. Yes, owners and managers of restaurants and hotels are used to leading through crisis, it happens every other night when we’re running a busy kitchen or you unexpectedly get a very late but valuable booking. But this time of uncertainty is a very different beast and the industry is looking for ways to cope and to manage the situation with some clarity.

The Restaurant and Hospitality Skillnet has been hosting a series of webinars on Leading through Change that have been so heavily attended that Niamh O’Malley ran five repeat webinars to deal with the demand from the industry. We want to bring you the most important ideas from this webinar series to help you to find direction at a time of intense and rapid change. We also want to share some of the great ideas leaders from the industry shared with each other during the webinars.

You’re not the only one feeling overwhelmed!

As we kicked off each webinar, we asked participants how they were feeling. The answers were remarkably consistent across the five workshops. Owners and managers were feeling worried, overwhelmed and scared. We shared an article from the Harvard Business Review on the impact of change on our emotions. Based on the feelings of grief, as we realise we are losing something we   value, in this case our business, people can feel anger and despair. These emotions are typical reactions to what we now know is the ‘Change Curve’, a phenomenon we also experience as a type of ‘grief’. In the webinar we explored how we evolve our thinking as we travel through the Change Curve, eventually reaching an acceptance of our new situation.

As leaders, we need to find our way through the Change Curve and find ways to manage our own emotions and, most importantly, be strong and supportive leaders to our colleagues and family because they are also facing their own emotional challenges.

How to Lead through the Change Curve

The goal of managers must be to help themselves and their key team members to focus on what they can do rather than being overwhelmed with thoughts about things they can’t control. Getting through this time of uncertainty is about ‘Change in 100 small steps’. One participant, Shane Treacy, MD of the Mercantile Group, a leading Irish hospitality group of nine bars and restaurants, including Café en Seine, Whelan’s and The George, suggested that the industry can use this time to plan. In his business, he is working with his team to brainstorm a whole range of scenarios. He is scenario planning for different levels of business and working with his management team to understand how to run a business at different levels of activity, from 30% to 50%, and eventually get back to full capacity.

Another participant, Anke Hartman, runs a wine bar, restaurant and Guest House in Clifden. Seeing her business disappear after a successful opening last year left her feeling lost. When she learned about the Change Curve and talked to other hospitality business owners going through the same experience in the Zoom Breakout Sessions, she commented, “I suddenly saw where I was on the Change Curve and felt motivated to move from being stagnant to having a ‘doing’ mindset. I’ve done so much since the workshop, I’ve got the website going, I’m going to run wine tasting sessions on Zoom…”

Control the Controllables

Karl O’Connor, joined Cariona Neary on the Leading through Change webinars, bringing his wide experience of managing performance through the Change Curve to the discussion. Having worked with a range of organisations through the last financial crisis, he has deep expertise in leading through change. His big advice was for businesses to focus energy and attention on what they can control rather than allowing our emotions to become overwhelmed by worrying about things outside our control such as the economy. He also advises “Put on your oxygen mask first”. By that he means that leaders must mind themselves and look after their own mental and physical health before they can look after their team.

Top Tips for Leading Change Webinars

DO

  • Understand the leadership challenge you face. Use the Change Curve to help you know where your mental attitude is and also to help you understand where your team is on the Curve.
  • The Change Curve can feel like a game of Snakes and Ladders. Some days you are coping well and other days you slip back and feel less purposeful. People transition through the curve at different rates so we need to show empathy and listen.
  • You don’t have all the answers. Be authentic, it’s better to ‘Tell people what you know. Tell people what you don’t know. Let’s work together to build explore different scenarios.’
  • Communicate early and often.

DON’T

  • Trade in speculation. Be honest and truthful about the facts.
  • Sugarcoat the situation.

It’s a start with people beginning once again to control what they can, set short-term goals and lead through change.

At the end of each webinar, we asked people how they were feeling, now that they had shared their stories with their colleagues in the hospitality sector and also learned about how to lead through change. The language had changed from ‘worried’, ‘scared’ to ‘supported’, ‘committed’, ‘confident’.

Overall, the feedback has been very positive. Fiona Barry, Senior Sales Manager at the Kinsley Hotel in Cork said: Thanks so much, this is the best workshop I’ve done since all this started. I’ll recommend my colleagues to sign up.

 

Cariona Neary is a trainer and consultant to the Hospitality sector working with Failte Ireland for over fifteen years as well as Ireland’s leading organisations in the hotel and restaurant sector. The final Leading Through Change workshop takes place on 12th May. Cariona will facilitate a workshop on Leading Remote Teams on 13th May and Leading Service that Sells on Tuesday 19th May. Contact Niamh O’Malley, All bookings can be made via: https://www.rhskillnet.ie/training-programmes/

 

THANK YOU – A special thank you to Cariona for writing this great article for the Skillnet