Co-Founder of catering company Houston & Hawkes, Simon Houston explains why bucking negative hospitality sector stereotypes has been important for their company culture.
Houston & Hawkes was set-up in 2019, at the start of the pandemic. While on paper this was a very challenging time to embark on a new business venture, lockdown gave us the head space to do things the right way, drawing on a passion for delicious food and a shared moral compass with a focus on caring for both people and the planet. Six-years on, we are the UK’s first B-Corp caterer and have been placed in The Caterer’s ‘Best Places to Work in Hospitality’ for the third consecutive year.
We started the business to make a difference, to always deliver on promises and of course to eat well and have fun – these really are the fundamentals behind Houston & Hawkes. Becoming a B-Corp was natural for us – prioritising a friendly, enjoyable and supportive staff culture was the ambition from the outset and something we had enjoyed in other organisations. We’ve started how we meant to go on and so far, it’s working!
Care at the core
Employees expect more from their employers these days – and well they should. Happy staff who feel valued, heard, supported and most importantly, safe, perform better and commit more; it’s a win-win scenario.
At Houston & Hawkes we’ve introduced initiatives ranging from signing-up to the Mindful Employer Charter, guiding our approach to mental health support, to contributing to charities such as Hospitality Action, which helps those within our industry who have fallen on hard times. Financial insecurity is often associated with the catering sector. Traditionally, many roles are viewed as casual, and zero hours contracts are rife. No staff at Houston & Hawkes are employed in this way and we’re proud to be a Living Wage employer – something that’s not very common in our industry.
We have an open-door policy, and that includes Dave, me and the rest of the senior leadership team.
The days of bottling up your problems and keeping what’s going on in your life from others, including your employer, are over. We’ve entered an era of greater empathy and understanding, and this is definitely a good thing.
Rewarding staff is important too, we have recently launched our first ever ‘Company Awards’, with different categories for everyone in the business. We always do a summer and Christmas party, both of which are extremely popular. Other ‘rewards’ include quarterly senior management nominations for an outstanding individual. The winner gets to have breakfast with Dave and I followed by a well-earned day off.
A place to progress
We want to make sure working for Houston & Hawkes is a future proof career choice. Hospitality employers also stand to lose from the traditionally ‘casual’ nature of the industry. We have clear progression routes, training programmes delivered from two London-based academies, and bursaries. In our recent employee outcomes report, net promotion rates across Houston & Hawkes stand at 79%, compared with 66% on average for our sector.
Measuring happiness, inspiring innovation
To ensure the happiness of our staff and continued progression, we conduct an annual survey. Feedback is listened and reacted to, with a full summary report sent to every individual. Off the back of this survey we have implemented new policies such as increased access to overtime and improved benefits. The breakfast with Dave and myself is something that came out of this survey. Houston & Hawkes is not just ‘our’ business, it’s theirs too, we want employees to feel part of its development.
Alongside the survey, we use structured performance reviews, regular site visits and anonymous feedback tools to keep a close eye on team morale and engagement.
Laying the groundwork
Underpinning all of this is our B-Corp accreditation. We’re proud to be the first business in our sector to have achieved it. Embarking in this way of doing things from the outset – an extremely demanding yet rewarding process – led us to create a better, more sustainably focused and socially aware organisation.
In fact, aligning our policies and procedures with such a rigorous scheme effectively afforded us ‘free’ consultancy. B-Corp values are in the very fabric of how our business is set-up, rather than having to adapt an established business to fit the framework.
This isn’t the end however. We are committed to continually challenging ourselves, further enhancing our social and environmental impact and bringing increased value to our clients, customers, supply partners and teams.
Customers with shared values
Our own ethos and strong sense of self even filters down to the clients we work with. We attract like-minded businesses that also want to do the right thing by their employees and the environment. Notable clients that share our values include VodafoneThree, a progressive employer which sees the benefits of treating their staff well, nourishing them with responsibly sourced healthy and delicious food, while creating spaces for time away from the desk and socialisation.
Of our B-Corp achievement, Charlotte Sealby, Senior Workspace Manager at VodafoneThree said: “(Houston & Hawkes’) focus on supporting the community in which they work, looking after their teams, and their relentless focus on local food and drink procurement stands out and is one of the many reasons we chose to partner with them.”
Care at the centre
Overall, our commitment to creating a people-focussed culture is integral to our success. Houston & Hawkes attracts good, hard-working people, who share our values, care about each other, care about the environment and ultimately, care about our business.
