Freedom day one month on – Thoughts from the IoH Youth Council

It’s been one month since Freedom Day, and we can all agree our present day is certainly a bit different from our pre-pandemic lives… Writes Clare Johnson AIH, Chair of the IoH Youth Council.

Our first week of freedom saw our very first ‘in person’ meeting of the Youth Council in none other than the fabulous 10° at Galvin at Windows. Little did we know that we would have a surprise visit from the IoH’s Robert Richardson FIH. It was great to hear the support he has for us and shared visions to attract people and develop future stars in the industry!

My usual journey that I’ve done a hundred times before was different, perfect you could say? The M25 was clear, my carpark had tonnes of free spaces and the usually packed Metropolitan line was eerily quiet, gracing me with my own seat for the full journey… it sounds like the dream – but it wasn’t, it was missing something. I love the city, I love hustle and bustle and I love people, so when the lift doors opened at my destination the sea of people made my face light up like a kid on Christmas morning. It was as if COVID was something we had fabricated in our minds, there was no way on this earth that the team of slick and professional staff members had been furloughed for a year. Yet, they had. For people to say our industry isn’t skilled, I challenge them to produce perfect cocktails, fantastic food, an atmosphere of excitement from day one of reopening, they couldn’t. We as hospitality folk have it in our blood, not only do we love it, we’re great at it and spend years in some cases to perfect our art. So why doesn’t anyone want to join in on our party?

According to the Office of National Statistics we have 102, 000 jobs vacancies for people to join our teams across the country. From chefs to housekeepers, sommeliers to theatre ushers we have gaps in the workforce which hits our people where it hurts – we can’t provide the experience for our customers that we want to. Yes it’s stressful, yes we feel overworked, yes sometimes calling off shift seems like the only option, however still our hospitality family ploughs ahead. I passed a chalk board outside of an establishment rushing to get back to the station which said, ‘The world is short staffed, please be kind to those that showed up’. I don’t think there could be a more fitting quote in this post lockdown world. We MUST look after our teams, we must give them the correct training to do their job and do it well. Remember to support your local hospitality businesses as customers and don’t forget what impact a great bit of feedback to your server, chef or receptionist might mean to someone in the back who has showed up, again and again. Not all customers will see the effort that goes into trying to run service as normal with half a team, but the ones that do and feedback how we’ve impacted their evening, event or life make it all worthwhile.

So what’s next? From my AIH perspective I want to see a few things:

• Those who have stepped up to the plate and worked hard for their site to be rewarded. It doesn’t always mean money. Training, responsibility, time and industry knowledge are all gifts that can be given. If you’ve thought about being someone’s mentor, do it. If you think your waiter could be moulded into one of your future leaders, do it. These people are the backbone of the industry.
• Challenge things that are wrong. Don’t watch things happen that you can help prevent. We can all romanticise our beloved industry, however we are not perfect. Don’t lose good people to bad attitudes.
• Lastly, don’t be ashamed.  If your niece, son or significant other wants to join the wacky world of restaurants, bars or hotels, let them. There is a lot to be said for someone to join or jump ship to our industry. Let’s welcome them with open arms and empower our people, don’t make them feel they can’t join in.

I think it’s evident the Institute of Hospitality is changing along with our industry, aiming to provide support to the future leaders as well as our respected veterans. The only thing that separates us is our time served, deep down we are all the same – we ARE hospitality.

So here’s to the next six months. We will be pinged, we will be short staffed, we will drop trays, pull dodgy pints and undoubtedly get a burger order incorrect, but we’ll still be here. This isn’t forever, it’s just right now.

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