A BEAR HUG from the doorman may not be usual when you go to the pub, but at Botanic Inns, a “hugs not thugs” initiative, where staff embraced customers for a small fee to raise money for the Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children, made for a warm welcome in the December chill. The idea for the scheme came from Paul McDonald, part of the door team at Apartment, the Belfast bar and restaurant. “You know, doormen get a lot of flak in this city but underneath it all we are just big softies,” he said.The food-and-drink chain has a positive My Company score of 71% and the 514 staff love working there (72%). Employees agree the company is run on strong values (71%), score it highly on teamwork and say that working with colleagues gives them a buzz (70%). Botanic Inns likes to celebrate success. Employees who recently completed training — such as customer-services classes and cookery courses — are met and thanked by managing director Stephen Magorrian, who also delivers part of the company's training for new recruits. His accessible style — he is an avid tweeter — chimes with staff, who have faith in him (72%). Botanic operates a hands-off approach, giving each bar or restaurant manager the responsibility for running the branch as if it were their own, including taking responsibility for marketing, finance and people management. Staff agree their job is good for their personal growth (75%) and say they can make a valuable contribution to the company's success (80%).
