The Etiquette Group Impact Review of 2022
The challenging times of the Covid-19 pandemic proved crippling for many industries, most notably for the hospitality and catering industries. 2021 was therefore similar to that of the earliest years of The Etiquette Group, with a total of only 171 staff on our books. As the UK has come back to life throughout 2022, so have these industries, and we’re proud to say, so has The Etiquette Group. We have seen exponential growth in both revenue and staffing, having had 171 staff at the end of 2021 we now have an impressive 1,734 staff at the end of 2022.
As excited as we are for the future of both the industry and the company, we know we need to take the time to establish the necessary infrastructure, training and support to constantly develop the quality of the culture, careers and well-being of our staff. Our staff are the business, without them we are nothing, and therefore there is nothing more important than to focus on developing the people we care about the most.
With this in mind, an annual end-of-year ‘Impact Review’ will now take place, providing an opportunity to reflect on our progress as a company, evaluating what’s been working and what hasn’t, as well as highlighting what should be the additional areas to focus on moving forward in our Impact Strategy 2023.
The three pillars of our impact strategy will be:
- Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
- Staff Mental Health
- Staff Upskilling & Career Development
We will partner with industry-leading third-party consultants to create this strategy, which will provide us with an ambitious and clear vision of the impact we wish to make, the goals and targets we wish to achieve, and most importantly the road map to get us there.
To manage these pillars and their process of development we have created a new company position: Interim-HR officer. Ross Davidson will be responsible for spearheading our annual review and delivery of our impact strategy while we look for a full-time, fully-qualified and experienced HR officer.
The position looks after the best interests of our staff, the development of their culture, careers and well-being, as well as offering them a safe space and a direct line for any confidential staff queries or complaints.
The Etiquette Group Impact Review of 2022
- Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
One of the challenges of our unprecedented 1,094% increase in staff numbers over the last 12 months has been developing an effective diversity, equity and inclusion strategy.
Diversity can bring new ideas and ways of thinking that can drive the company forward, and it is only through inward reflection and communication that we can strive to improve inclusivity within the company.
As of this review, the following has been actioned:
- Staff Database Assessment
A review of our staff database has been conducted to reveal the diversity within the company.
- Equal Opportunities Statement
We have produced an EO Policy document, outlining our commitment to creating an inclusive workspace that provides equality of opportunity to all.
- Partnered with D+I Consultants
A trusted third-party DE&I consultant has been sourced and partnered with; Your D+I consultants. They are an industry leader that helps SMEs embrace effective and long-lasting DEI strategies. An audit of the company is currently underway.
- Full-Time Staff Training
Our full-time team has begun training with Your D+I, focusing initially on Allyship in the workplace. The training includes understanding and assisting with inclusivity issues in the workplace, from intervening when there is discrimination at work, to self-reflecting and challenging behaviours.
- Team Training
Set up all team members to receive training on DEI alongside pre-existing training on day-to-day roles. This is through using the FLOW Training platform. Flow delivers a continuously evolving learning and development solution tailored to the hospitality and tourism sector, providing accredited, certificated training throughout the industry. As part of this, there is a module for Diversity, Inclusion and Equity; which takes learners through how to make a difference at work; to make colleagues and guests alike feel welcome; included and valued. This resource defines what diversity; inclusion and equity mean. Learners will explore small yet powerful ways to contribute to all three; while adhering to the relevant equality legislation.
Results from staff database assessment:
Age
Most of our staff remain within the 18-25 age bracket, with 51.5% of our staff between the ages of 18 and 20, and 46.0% between 21-25. Staff above the age of 25 total 2.5%
Disability
Fewer than 10% of our staff declared they have a disability.
Race
We do not require staff to declare a race or ethnicity at any point in the application process or during work for the company. As a result, we do not have statistics on race.
96.1% of our staff selected their Nationality as British.
Religion and belief
We do not require staff to declare a religion at any point in the application process or during work for the company. In each of the locations we provide staff to, the venues are required to provide the appropriate religious spaces.
Gender
Our study finds that the majority of our staff (54.1%) identify as Women, whilst 45.9% identify as Men. We do not discriminate against staff based on gender.
Sexual Orientation
We do not require staff to declare their sexual orientation at any point in the application process or during work for the company. As a result, we do not at this point possess any statistical findings for the company.
Exploring the sections on race, religion and belief, and sexual orientation are critical to becoming more transparent as a company. They will be a key focus that The Etiquette Group will work in conjunction with Your D+I consultants as part of the Impact Strategy 2023 document.
- Staff Mental Health
We want to strengthen our team’s mental and emotional health with professional support.
- Partnered with Hospitality Action
We have partnered with Hospitality Action, a leading mental health charity within the Industry, in order to provide professional, confidential support to our staff. This partnership also provides a sounding board for our managerial team to approach with queries on managing the mental health of team members.
- Full-time Staff Training
Our interim HR Manager, Ross Davidson, is undergoing training with MIND, in order to increase their awareness and abilities in offering better mental health support to our staff. The Managing Mental Health at Work course offered by Mind is targeted at Managers.
- Staff Upskilling & Career Development
By offering skill development and greater learning opportunities we know we can not only improve the careers of our staff but build up their confidence too.
Conclusion
We look forward to continually reviewing and assessing internal processes. The future looks bright for The Etiquette Group, and that is all down to our stellar staff that turn up to give their best every single day. We are committed to doing the hard work needed to provide the best working environment possible to support and nurture the well-being and careers of our staff. We believe this is the key to sustainable company growth and we look forward to the release of the Impact Strategy 2023 to show us what work lies ahead – as always, and like our staff, we’re excited to get to work!
Do you need to talk to someone with confidentiality?
The Etiquette Group operates with a zero-tolerance policy for any form of discrimination, microaggression, harassment or bullying and anyone can raise their concerns with our in-house Interim HR Officer Ross Davidson. Please contact Ross either via the website, or email ross@theetiquettegroup.com