Business Leaders interview: Kate Nicholls

Tell us a little about yourself and your business 

I am Chief Executive of UKHospitality, the leading trade body for the hospitality and leisure industry. We are the voice of the sector, lobbying UK governments at all levels to ensure hospitality businesses are properly supported, providing them with expert advice and guidance, and networking opportunities. I am so proud to champion a sector that generates more than £140 billion in revenue for the economy each year, a thriving sector in which people want to live, work and invest.

What motivates you in your work and what do you find most fulfilling about being a business leader? 

Being the voice of more than 130,000 hospitality venues and 700 companies is incredibly motivating, ensuring they are properly represented at the highest levels of government at all times. Having worked in hospitality myself, I know how important this sector is for the communities we serve and the people we employ. I also know the many challenges that operators can face and it’s incredibly fulfilling getting to play a part in driving truly positive change for businesses and providing solutions to some of those challenges.

What’s the most important leadership lesson you’ve learned? 

One of the most important leadership lessons I’ve learnt has been to ‘lift as you climb’, and it’s what I proffer when asked for advice. It’s something I’ve tried to do throughout my career, especially as a woman having worked in several male-dominated industries. It’s something that I learnt from one of my first bosses at Whitbread, who always emphasised the importance of being helpful and supportive, and ensuring that opportunities are fair and equal for everyone.

What does success mean for you as a business leader? 

For a trade body, success is all about making sure there is an environment that allows businesses to fulfil their potential and do what they do best. For hospitality, this is serving their communities, providing memorable experiences, creating jobs for everyone and driving economic growth. There is nothing better than being able to deliver real, positive change for a business, with clear, transformational results. 

What strategies do you use to attract and recruit a diverse workforce? 

Hospitality is a sector with something for everyone and there are many innovative methods and strategies used when it comes to recruitment. Firstly, we’re a sector has jobs for everyone. Whether it’s someone that is looking for full-time work or working parents, students or carers, to name a few, who might need more flexible work. That fact alone allows us to create one of the most diverse workforces in the economy. 

We’re also doing a lot of work to promote the sector to different audiences. There are some fantastic charities and organisations, such as Only a Pavement Away, that work tirelessly and help transform people’s lives by providing disadvantaged people with the training and skills required to work in the sector. There has also been a movement to portray the industry as a more attractive and viable career path for younger people, driven chiefly by the incredible Hospitality Rising initiative, which generated more than 300,000 job applications throughout its campaign. Those are just two of many examples - I could go on!

How can we ensure that, in the workplace, all employees have equal opportunities for advancement? 

The hospitality industry is incredibly meritocratic. There are countless examples of C-suite executives who started out in relatively junior roles, and have climbed all the way to the top. One of the standout examples of this is Pano Christou, the current CEO of Pret a Manger, who started out as a store manager in the company If you have the commitment, desire and passion for the job, then the world really is your oyster and you have every chance of progressing, which simply isn’t the case for the majority of industries out there. 

What can businesses do so that all their employees feel equally valued and respected?

There’s plenty that sector businesses can do to ensure their employees feel valued and respected. The Hotelier’s Charter is a valuable resource that helps to dispel the myth that a job in the sector cannot translate to a successful and fulfilling career; it was founded to unify the hotel sector and provide advice and guidance that is relevant to the wider industry. There is also the Hospitality Wellbeing and Development Promise that has attracted signatories from across the sector and acts as a one-stop shop for resources focused on employee wellbeing and development. 

In order to position hospitality as a viable career option it’s vital that businesses are providing adequate training and access to things like apprenticeships, coaching and mentoring. It’s also crucial that a fair work/life balance is implemented, giving staff more notice over their rotas and ensuring that a range of shift patterns are available to support everyone, from those with young families, students and part-time workers. 

Do you encourage open dialogue about diversity and inclusion among employees? 

Absolutely - we believe that open dialogue about diversity and inclusion is crucial, which is why we have set up our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Group as a space for representatives from across the industry to come together to share their best practices and discuss challenges and issues. The forum focuses on issues such as sex and gender, age, race and ethnicity, neurodiversity and disability inclusion, socio-economic inclusion, LGBTQIA+ and more, providing advice and guidance so that members can learn each other’s experiences. If anyone is interested in joining, you can find out more here.