As Training Manager for a pub group, I was part of the head office team behind the rebrand and refurbishment of two city centre Edinburgh bar-restaurants, Slighhouse and Harry’s Bar, taking each through its launch in turn.
Training Manager Role
Promoted from Deputy GM of one of the pubs, my role became training across all eight venues of The Shilling Group. This covered every induction to the company, customer service training, management training, and working one-to-one with venues that were struggling to roll out training or build the right culture. I also kept on top of all training legislation, making sure food hygiene, alcohol licensing and first aid courses stayed up to date.
My Role in Slighhouse
The owner had decided to rebrand our longstanding vodka and burger bar into a stylish, modern cocktail bar with small plates. As part of the head office team, I had a role in that rebrand and in the operations behind the scenes: reviewing and renewing our card terminal contracts, and shopping around for new waste contracts. The head bartenders ran the cocktail training, but I oversaw those sessions to make sure every staff member got what they needed.
The team stayed largely the same, so we ran an induction refresher to cover the company culture and the ethos behind Slighhouse, so everyone was starting on the same page. I put all staff through our Great Customer Service Training, then we worked on table service and the order of service, introducing the menu properly and training staff to recommend how many small plates to order, with the option to add more.
My Role in Harry’s Bar
Harry’s Bar was a new acquisition, and the idea was to modernise the space and bring good food to the forefront. I continued to take responsibility for setting up card payments and waste contracts, and as part of the head office team we worked on getting staff uniforms ordered. I worked alongside the General Manager and Deputy General Manager to decide on their service style, and we ran training at head office covering the company induction and an introduction to Harry’s Bar. I made sure everyone had their legislative training booked before we opened, and that payroll details were collected and passed on ready for day one.
Opening with a full new team is always a bigger task. Table service training was carried out in the venue, where I set the standards for the team and their order of service, before covering how to handle customer complaints and take bookings. I was there on the night of the soft launch to guide the team and help them liaise with the kitchen to get the timings right.
Reflection
Being part of the team that launched two cutting-edge city centre venues, back to back, was an incredible experience, and both still feel like real achievements to look back on.
