Young Staff Leading the Team

It is very typical within the catering industry to rely heavily upon part time staff due to of the nature of having varied and peak seasons. Over the summer and holiday periods we get a bunch of new and returning young staff coming into the business – we have always seen it as our responsibility to invest into these young members of the team to allow them to grow and develop in their roles which has resulted in many of our young staff leading the way in the company!

Copleys sees the importance and prides itself in nurturing young staff by giving them the tools and support to develop through the company in the time they are with us, gaining more skills and experience to take away with them as well as creating a supportive family environment to work in.

The key to any successful business is ‘happy employees make happy customers’! We know if we invest time and effort into our employees, helping them grow, this will only have a positive impact for our customers and company.

We would like to showcase some of our star examples of young personalities who have now become an integral part of Copleys operations!

Kelsey

A prime example of someone who has excelled and climbed her way up the business at such a young age is Kelsey.

She started back in 2017 when at 16 her responsibilities mainly consisted of washing up and taking out food (where everyone starts, learning the basics!). However, within a few weeks she must have showed potential as progressed onto food production, assisting in making salad and sandwich plates. As her knowledge began to grow within the business, she was able to take on a larger job role within the food production – taking charge of all tarts, sandwiches and puddings and later on even moving onto Sunday roast dinners!

During her third year at Copleys she was given the responsibility to manage the café at the Henry Moore foundation. Within this role, she is responsible for managing a whole team, food service and the overall maintenance of the café day to day. This has been a huge development in her career at and has helped her develop her confidence and communication skills at only 18.

Imogen

Similarly, Imogen began her journey at only 15 by helping out with washing up and cleaning before quickly moving on to being trained on food such as catering starters, support plates for mains and deserts. This gave her a focus and interest on how food is presented and prepared.

Over the past few years she gained more and more experience working in front of house roles as well at the kitchen. This year, whilst still studying at University she was given the opportunity along with Kelsey to manage the Henry Moore Café of behalf of Fiona. For Imogen this involves engaging with the team, making sure all customers are happy and overseeing a smooth operation so that a high standard is kept from the customer service to the food.

For all these girls, there confidence and abilities have flourished as a result of Copleys acting as a supportive steppingstone for wherever they may end up!