Yapping with... Jonathan Napier, Head of Learning & Development at Inception Group
“hospitality’s fun - so it’s our responsibility to make it a more viable industry to work in”
This week, we caught up with Jonathan Napier, Head of Learning & Development at London’s unique and creative operator of bar, restaurant and club concepts, Inception Group. Jon’s decade-long career in hospitality has shaped his mission to drive growth through engagement, and to ensure that Inception Group’s values remain at the heart of every decision they make.
Jon started his career at McDonald’s where he worked as a crew member. Not long later, he became a branch manager. “But I got embarrassed about what I did for a living,” he admits, “or more importantly, about the way people made me feel when I told them what I did for a living. Which is ridiculous; loads of the skills I have, I developed there.” Following a career change to Lloyds Bank, Jon decided he’d get a temporary job in a bar, save some money and go travelling. “It’s been ten years since then,” he says, “and I’ve got no intention of leaving hospitality.”
The buzz and excitement of the industry had him hooked, and his frontline role at Revolution bars certainly helped prepare him for his current position. “It’s one of my main attributes,” he says. “It means I can remember what it was like, and how it felt.” Most of the decisions Jon’s made as general manager have been shaped by his own experiences (namely of bad managers he’s had along the way). “Although I was fortunate to have a few excellent managers, too,” he says, laughing. “One of whom I ended up marrying!’
“The mentality of management and leadership is shifting. The focus is no longer on profits, but on people”
“Some GM’s get this sense of entitlement at having reached a more senior level,” Jon says, “but the mentality of management and leadership in general is shifting.” He reflects that twenty years ago, a training course on management would have been dominated by words like command and delegate. Terms like inspire and lead wouldn’t have been mentioned, and the concept of ‘wellbeing’ was no doubt overlooked. “Now, leadership is about empathy. The focus is no longer on profits, but on people.”
But even positive shifts in mindset require an adjustment period. “When I was a bartender and needed a break, I’d have a fag and a Red Bull,” Jon says. “Being able to work 18 hours straight was like a badge of honour. But now, the requirements of the new workforce are different.” Within the next five years, 50% of the hospitality workforce will be made up of Gen Z. Jon admits that for him it remains a “conscious effort to sit back and think: what do this group of people really need.”
Jon’s commitment to actively empathising with his team means that coaching has become a large part of his role. “I’ve been on some brilliant courses led by brilliant people. I can look back now and see that I was being coached without realising it.” Being organised and up to date with the ins and outs of the business are key to being a good GM, Jon says, thinking back to the brilliant GM he once had. “If I asked him for help, he’d tell me to work out what I can then come back to him when I encountered a problem. This was frustrating at first, but when I did go back he’d give me all the time in the world. He was generous, but not with answers.” And this is something Jon has taken with him. He claims that “people who need help already have their answer. It’s just my job to ask them the right question.”
“Every single person you meet in a venue is either a paying customer or an internal customer. We need to treat them both the same”
Asking questions is central to how Inception Group operates and helps them stand out from the crowd. They have a whole department dedicated to collating and processing customer feedback - which got Jon thinking: “why aren’t we doing this for the 400 people who are looking to us for their livelihood?” This triggered the creation of the value ‘Everyone Matters’. “Every single person you meet in a venue is either a paying customer or an internal customer. We need to treat them both the same.”
A 2018 survey implemented by Jon revealed that the top three things that mattered to staff were: General Wellness (physical, mental and social), Communication, and Clear Progression Paths. “This surprised me,” Jon admits, “I thought people wanted more money and perks.” In response to this survey, he set up the Wellness Committee. “It’s there to help people be as effective outside of work as well as inside.” Now, Inception Group offers subsidies towards sports socials, and arrange monthly outings in order to encourage friendships beyond the workplace.
Failures in communication also meant the company operated on a very secular basis. Email wasn’t a sufficient form of correspondence, neither was relying on GMs to pass on messages to their teams. “We were inadvertently putting barriers up in terms of how and when people could communicate - and this wasn’t conducive to positive working. Implementing Yapster into the business was a direct result of this survey.”
Jon understands the importance of giving people a voice, especially post-Brexit and in lieu of the new immigration points-based system. “There are some amazing leaders in our industry and social media is giving them a platform.” He quoted David McDowall of BrewDog: Hospitality is an awesome antidote to the nationalist, anti-immigrant rhetoric that’s turning us into a nation more and more removed from a world that should be getting smaller, not more divided. “The industry needs passionate people like him who are outspoken,” says Jon. “[David] employs thousands of people and he’s taking that responsibility seriously.”
“I’m making it my responsibility to change people’s perception. My priority now is to be able to offer our staff more robust, meaningful qualifications”
“Even pre-Brexit, when hospitality was being described as “low-skilled”, it used to get my back up,” Jon continues. “I run the new starters induction training [at Inception Group], which is basically a huge list of all the things they need to know - from 14 different types of allergens, to 70 table numbers and locations, what’s on the specials menu, what’s happening at Christmas - just in case someone asks - and they need to know all of that while smiling, while giving every customer a unique and memorable experience.”
Jon claims that what Brexit has done is highlight aspects of the industry that need to be improved. “And for that, we need to take some of the blame. We need to make hospitality a more viable career choice.” Jon’s embarrassment over working at McDonald’s all those years ago is exactly the type of attitude that needs reconfiguring. “I’m ashamed of myself for feeling ashamed,” he says. “That’s why I’m making it my responsibility to change people’s perception. My priority now is to be able to offer our staff more robust, meaningful qualifications.”
Sadly, the new points system looks to Jon - and to many others in the industry - like a drawbridge being lifted, especially as two-thirds of Inception Group’s workforce are made up of EU nationals. “We try and keep them up to date with whatever new information we have,” he says, “but although there’s uncertainty, I wouldn’t say they’re worried. They’ve already left home, come to a new country, found a job, a house, made friends, a new life for themselves. I’d be terrified to do what they’ve done. They’re so much more resilient.”
And so for Jon, now is the time to support these great people, and the great leaders who are speaking up and trying to make a difference. “Things could still change between now and 2021, so until then it’s my job - the industry's job - to back what matters and make some noise.”
