HJUK interviewed Olivia Wilson, Recruitment & Training Executive at Robinsons Brewery to delve into the world of hospitality, pub management, and the unique opportunities Robinsons Brewery offers to passionate individuals.
Olivia shares her journey from a bustling market café to owning a pub, the family ethos that sets Robinsons apart, and the crucial advice for those considering a career in the pub industry.
1. Tell us about your first job in hospitality?
My first job in hospitality was working on Altrincham market on the little café when I was 13 years old. I would start work around 630am serving customers and market traders, cooking and washing up. This gave me a good understanding of the hospitality business, and I learnt how to make the best full English in town! I did this for around three years, then at the age of 16 I started working in my local pub, which eventually became my own pub!
2. Why did you choose to work with your current company?
I joined Robinsons Brewery in May 2013 as a GM for the newly opened Visitor Centre, bar and restaurant. I saw an ethos within Robinsons which I wanted to be a part of and it was the best decision I have made! Being a family run business, you really feel like you are part of the family and you are valued as an employee. Running the visitor centre, opened my eyes to the rest of the hospitality trade. I learnt a lot about our tenanted, managed, and free trade departments, which in turn developed my love of this industry even more. Without starting at the Visitor Centre, I wouldn’t be in my recruitment position for our tenanted business partners.
3. How many pubs do you have and how many pub managers do you look after?
As my role within Robinsons is to find the best business partners to join us, I don’t have a specific number of pubs that I look after. In total we have 224 business partner pubs and every time there is a vacancy, it’s my job to fill it. We never have a very high vacancy rate, and therefore its only ever a small fraction of that number I’m dealing with at one time. These numbers vary on a week-to-week basis, and spread across the whole of our estate. From Stockport, to Penrith, the Peaks and North Wales. In our managed pub business, we currently have a total of 29 pubs.
4. What do you think is the biggest challenge of running a pub?
Currently I feel the biggest challenge of running a pub is keeping control of the costs. As we are all aware, the cost of everything fluctuates daily. So having the knowledge of the cost of your ingredients daily, to how much your daily rate for electric is, is imperative.
Publicans may be taking the money over the bar, but without the control of the costs, this might not turn into a profit on their bottom line. Having your eye on the ball when it comes to the costs will be shown on the profit that is made. It’s easy to get into a pickle with not knowing how much you are spending, however, asking for help from their BDM or accountant, can easily get a better idea of their costs.
5. What advice would you give to someone looking to invest and run a pub?
My advice to someone who is looking to invest into one of our tenanted pubs, would be to just do it. Running a pub is the most rewarding and gratifying job that you could take on. Being the hub of the community and making a difference whilst doing something that you love, is the best feeling. Having the support and structure of head office, also allows the business to be successful and profitable. Running a pub not only is a business, but also a way of life, having a work/life balance is so achievable when running your own pub! It’s hard work, but so rewarding!
6. What do you offer your Leased & Tenancy Managers to help and support them to succeed in running their pub?
What don’t we offer our business partners to help them succeed? What I would say about Robinsons is that we offer as much support that a business partner would like to receive and requests from us. From our group purchasing, where we can offer discounts on everything from bins to pest control, to our marketing team that can help with all forms of marketing, press releases, google analytics and social media. Robinsons, I feel, offer so much to make a business partner succeed. We have also introduced our business partner wellbeing manager. This is someone at the end of the phone or available for a visit to the pub, to chat to, in case anyone is feeling like they need to talk. When a new business partner takes over a Robinsons Tenancy, they are not there as managers, they are there as owners of their business, we are there to support them through this journey!
7. What type of person do you try and attract to run a pub?
Having experience of running a pub is great, but so is no previous experience too. It’s about the desire to run a pub, serve the community and have the passion to succeed. Currently, we are finding that there are a lot of people who have run their own businesses before but not necessarily pubs, coming forward and applying to run a tenancy with us. We can teach people how to clean lines and pull pints, what we can’t teach is how to run a business. Having the business expertise, puts a business partner on the front foot to start with.
8. Why should someone choose your business to work for?
Why choose Robinsons… First off, we are a sixth-generation family run business. William and Oliver Robinson are our joint MD’s with their siblings also within the business. This is something that I don’t think is known very often and something that I am totally proud of. From day one, you get to feel like you are a member of the family, whether you are a drayman or a business partner, you will get to spend time with most of the members of the family. Why else should you choose Robinsons? The support that is on offer from the team is second to none. Everything is in house, from the customer service team who place the orders, to the dray team, or the property and cellar services team who help with maintenance of your pub; and that’s not to mention your business support too.
9. What are you most excited about for the year ahead?
I am most excited to see the new business partners that I have placed over the last 12 months succeeding and thriving within their pubs. I love to feel proud of what they have achieved and see them making a difference within their pubs and communities. I am also excited about seeing who is going to apply in the future… what stars are going to come through the Robinsons doors?
