A Guest blog by Thomas Temple from NXT Recruitment
Business Bravery
It takes guts to jump from the 14m high deck to whizz down the 250m zipline at Treetop Trek, but I think it takes more guts to do something different in business. Brockhole and Treetop Trek are fine examples of brave businesses and I believe we can all learn something from their approach to investment, diversity and staff culture.
Keep on Treetop Trekking
Treetop Trek is superb, if you haven’t experienced it for yourself you must. Once you’ve been you’ll understand how it was awarded the UK’s Best Visitor Attraction. Success always looks easy in retrospect so opening a high ropes course that appealed to everyone from toddlers to grannies might now seem like a no brainer but ten years ago, having tried and failed elsewhere, investing huge sums of money and taking on a tender at a Lake District attraction whose visitor numbers had been declining for over twenty years was actually pretty ballsy. Managing Director Mike Turner‘s risk paid off, why?
Investing in what was then a revolutionary rope system meant people could move freely whilst always attached to the safety line. No clipping and unclipping of carabiners opened up the thrill of high ropes to all, not just skilled climbers and suddenly a new market of people and families, could enjoy adventuring through the trees. Investing in new technology wasn’t the only bold decision Mike made along the way. As a recruiter I found Mike’s staffing policy both progressive and impressive. From the very outset Mike wanted to move away from the typical staffing model for climbing activities (white men aged 20-25) and intentionally set out to hire 50% women 50% men, and from across a much wider range of ages and ethnic backgrounds. Mike explained that having a more balanced workforce was better for staff morale and crucially that Treetop Trek customers ‘saw themselves’ when they took part. For a family focussed attraction this was vital, encouraging your mother-in-law to adventure across the rope platforms high in the canopy is a damn-sight easier if there’s someone they can relate to up there too! Creating a friendly team who are brilliant with people (and everyone who attended LA23NET can absolutely testify this to be the case) is as a result of Mike’s motto for all recruitment.
“Hire for attitude, fire for attitude.
Skills can be taught but personality and cultural fit can’t”
What’s your approach when it comes to recruitment? Aptitude or attitude? Depending on your business, you may need a different balance. If ever you need support figuring this out, you know where we are.
There’s no holes in Brockhole
When was the last time you went to Brockhole? If you haven’t been for a few years, or think it’s ‘just for people with kids’ then you need to go back. A lot has changed. Sam Mason the General Manager is a brave man, he took on Brockhole when its visitor numbers had been in consistent decline for over twenty years. The task ahead was huge, but for Sam, taking it on was more than a job. He’d seen the magic and potential of Brockhole since coming when he was a child to bringing his own children over the years and wanted to help bring that magic back. People and investment were at the heart of Sam’s plan.
The Brockhole site occupies thirty acres, taking in the lake shore, house and café, formal gardens, woodland walks, adventure playground and more. Sam was told to ‘sweat the assets’ but he could see the offering wasn’t up to scratch with today’s visitor expectations. Changing the culture was one of Sam’s first jobs. Entrenched ideas and habits can appear impossible to overcome but by setting new standards and sticking to them, celebrating existing staff with the right attitude and recruiting positive staff Sam made the culture shift happen.
Next came investment proving to the staff that he was serious about making changes. Transforming the café from a frozen food fest to fresh local produce, renovating the space, and creating The Gaddum restaurant took big money and a lot of hard work. Sam and his team even gave up their own free time to decorate some areas themselves, sourcing unique antiques and sanding tables. Challenging the ‘shoestring budget’ approach for their events calendar was a daunting prospect but properly investing in experiences (such as Halloween) returned double the investment.
Dedication to Sam’s vision is apparent, and what is that?
“To be the best in the world”
Simple. His argument is that even if they don’t quite make it (he has done it before though!) they’ll still make incredible improvements. Sam has been working hard to expand the offering at Brockhole, yes families remain an important focus, but improving the café, accessibility, shopping experience and putting some love back into the house itself has created an appealing offer to the over 55s market too. A canny move, particularly for the shoulder seasons.
Brockhole has come a long way and Sam and his team are taking it even further.
What can we learn as Cumbrian businesses from these two Lake District heavyweights? I’d sum it up like this.
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Aim high
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Invest
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Get the right people in place
A huge thanks to all the team at Treetop Trek, Brockhole and The Gaddum for an incredible and enlightening evening. We will be back!
Full gallery from Victoria Sedgwick here and video from John McKeown of Vidsmart and Wolftown Gin here too.
