Treat Staff Fairly: People, Diversity and Culture at JKS

How would you describe your core values when it comes to people management? 

Our values are something that we’ve gone back and forth on quite a lot in terms of what they really mean. Around 10 years ago, we went through the process of asking, what are our values? We came up with things like ‘ambition’ and ‘integrity’ and those sort of words. Three or four years ago when we looked back over it, yes, those words describe us and what we want to create and instil within our teams — but ultimately, other than when employees are going through induction and they see these words, how does that really feed into what we are as a company? 

We knew we needed these to come to life a little bit more, as opposed to just being words on paper, so we began defining our ‘how, what and why?’. To do that when you've already been in business for years is almost easier, because everything's already in place. At a fundamental level, what we're doing is trying to serve guests and transport them by consistently delivering excellent and exceptional memorable dining experiences. That affects how we look after our staff as well — they are the ones who will allow us to achieve what we want to achieve.  

It really comes down to collaboration. I'm probably going to use that word quite a lot, because it defines us as a company. If you look at the way we've grown, we have always looked for partnerships with various people. Yes, Indian food is our bread and butter and we're very confident with that — but even that is still a result of collaboration between our chefs and the people running the team on the ground. We've partnered with other chefs because we want to be able to create a best-in-class offering across multiple cuisines, which is something that we'd never attempt to do ourselves where we don't have the expertise — it wouldn't feel authentic if it was coming from us. Collaboration is very much visible across a lot of the business. 

When it comes to management of our teams, we want to stay agile. A decision that was right for the company at a certain point in time might not be right for the company we are today. Being open to having those conversations and not being afraid to change things means we're not stuck in our ways. I think COVID helped us realise that you have to be constantly reviewing everything so that the decision you're making is the right decision for now and not for the company you were even six months ago. This really feeds into that collaboration and an openness: our culture is very much, let's figure out the best way of doing this together. 

I think sometimes people might find that a little bit unsettling because it can feel like a lot of change, which I completely understand. As a result, we've been putting in some training modules for managers on agility and change management to help get our people a little more comfortable with it — and to make sure that we're doing it in a way that is open and clear. We don’t want to be ‘cloak and dagger’ about what we do. 

How do you think your background and identity as a South Asian woman has shaped both your career and your approach to your role now as Chief People Officer? 

I was very young when we started — when I took over managing front-of-house at Trishna, I was not quite 23, fresh out of university and I felt I didn’t know what I was doing. In those early days, I was very, very conscious of my background, of my age and the fact that I was female. Working on the floor is one thing, but when I went into the world of wine, I was even more conscious of it. I think I toed the line quite a bit. I needed to build up my confidence, so I would make sure I was really good at what I was doing. We’re talking about 2010, too; it was a different world then. I would go over to a table and people would say “No, we asked for the sommelier”. Or a table would want to give some feedback and they would ask me to pass on a message to the owners, not realising I was one of them.  

Really, it was about ripping off that Band-Aid, trying to break out of my historic role as the little sister in the family. At the start, I was a little bit more guarded in the way I did that, a bit conscious of how my actions would look coming from a young Asian girl — but as we grew relatively quickly, I didn’t have much time to come up for air. In the meantime, we were starting to see a rise in female leadership — more women in wine and more women in leadership roles. 

I was very passive along that journey just because of how much was happening; to an extent, I was just riding it. Only in the last five years have I really been much more active about it. We’re in a fortunate position now where people look up to us and what we’re doing, so I want to make sure we're doing some really cool stuff. That journey has been an interesting one to reflect on. It’s always been important to us to encourage diversity — including female empowerment — within the company. We didn't always shout about it, but now we’re more open: this is what we’re doing, and we know there’s always more we can improve on. Let's share more within the industry and across different industries.  

You lead an annual conference for International Women’s Day — can you explain why this is so important to you, how it links to your work at JKS and what you aim to accomplish through this event? 

This is where taking a more active approach has come in. We’re really fortunate that we have really good representation of female leadership across the group: aside from myself, we've got managing directors, our finance director, sales directors, marketing directors, operations directors, etc. 

A couple of years ago, I was talking to Laura, who was our CMO at the time but is now the MD for our Indian restaurants. We had both been asked to sit on other people's panels, and we got to chatting about how it’s always senior managers who get these opportunities. We’ve got such amazing leaders at all levels — and not only leaders, but other people who are coming up through the ranks. We should be giving these people a voice as well, but most people won't get that exposure until they're in a much more senior position. 

So that’s why we decided to host our own conference. We want to utilise our platform to really shine a light on the key issues that we find important, to share advice with the next generation of leadership and to give them the opportunity to get that exposure and have their voices heard at an earlier stage of their careers. At our last conference, we had a Gen Z panel, giving them the opportunity to talk about expectations from their side versus from the employer side.  

Hospitality is a very unique industry and because of that, we can often be quite narrow-minded. I believe there are a lot of lessons to be learned from other industries and sectors too. Because of who we are, hospitality is our main audience for our conferences, but we’re trying to bring in people from outside of the industry as well, because we can learn a lot from them — particularly when it comes from a female perspective and from an opportunities perspective. 

For example, at the last one we got someone to come in and discuss investing for women. They spoke about a platform that’s designed purely to get women on the ladder of investing and show them how easy it can be, even if it’s only a tenner a month. It's about giving people the opportunity to have a bit more of a holistic view, past the skill set that would usually be associated with the industry. That’s really what we want to accomplish: awareness and exposure for our teams as well as giving them a voice.  

In the wider hospitality industry, do you think there are still significant barriers in place for women who are trying to build long-term and fulfilling careers? 

It’s easy to get into hospitality, but there is definitely a lack of education on what your long-term achievements could be. I don't think people have seen hospitality as a real career option for a long time. I also think most people consider hospitality purely as working in the kitchen or on the floor, whether that be in a restaurant, a hotel or in catering. Whereas actually you could still be in marketing, finance, HR, property — all of those things, but within the hospitality industry. It’s about helping people to understand that variety. Perhaps you have a passion for food and you started as a waiter, but maybe you have a relevant qualification that would let you end up HR or finance. 

I think a lot of this stems from how we approach the industry within schools, at careers fairs, at colleges, universities, even at second level. We need to make sure that we're shedding a light on what opportunities are really there, because it can be a very fulfilling career and it's not limited to working on the floor. So, if that's a barrier because you want to start a family or for any other reason, you should know that there’s very little difference between working in finance in hospitality and doing the same job at a financial services company. 

What do you see as the biggest benefits of consciously cultivating a diverse workforce? 

In very simple terms, I don't think you can ever downplay how important it is to be creating a balanced, welcoming environment — one where people feel like they belong, regardless of who they are. That’s what we’re working towards.  

I’m not saying that we've got it right 100% of the time. For example, our Indian kitchens are pretty much all male; that's been the nature of the market. We are trying to address that by making more systemic changes to get that balance in there. We don't want just to do something for the sake of it; we need to make sure that it's fundamentally for the right reasons. 

In working on our diversity and inclusion, we’re making sure that we are removing any unconscious bias and that we're essentially developing teams that are welcoming to all experiences and points of view. We're much more conscious about ensuring that we have a diverse and balanced management team when we’re opening a site. In the long run, this creates more stability. If we want to put numbers to that, it means lower turnover and lower costs for recruitment, training and everything else. If you’re not consciously making these changes, it's never going to just happen itself. 

How have you approached building a distinct culture at JKS, especially since your portfolio is quite diverse? How would you describe the overall JKS culture, and how is this adapted for each of your brands?   

With the way that we started, it’s been relatively organic. We’ve started one different brand after another, and we were very conscious of the fact that we weren't trying to create a high street chain or a corporate group. Only later did we start asking, what’s the JKS way? It’s come about naturally, but I think what’s apparent within all of the brands is this sort of entrepreneurial spirit. I mean, that's what got us here today.  

We give a lot of autonomy to each site and to the brands within the portfolio and I think that's really important for us because you know we don't want to have a ‘nanny state’ of instructing from the outside in. We’re not there for the day-to-day operations in all of these sites, so it's not fair to do that. It’s not about dictating what should and shouldn't be done. It's about giving them the tools, the support and the guard rails so that they’re able to deliver and to achieve what we feel, collectively, is success. 

In an industry where long hours are often ‘the norm’, how do you manage time off for your teams to ensure their careers are physically and mentally sustainable in the long term? For example, what are your thoughts on the ‘right to rest’ and how do you balance this concept against people’s expectations of long, ‘hardcore’ hours? 

There's been a significant shift in how people think about mental health. Many of our chef partners have been come up through that ‘old-school’ mentality of 100-hour weeks and awful working environments, and they are so conscious and overtly aware that they want to move away from that. It’s about asking what we can be doing for our teams, from four-day weeks to making sure that they have access to mental health support. 

We partnered with a company called Kelly's Cause, which is amazing. We give mental health first aid training to our seniors and managers so that they’re able to engage with and assist someone who might be going through any challenges. The nature of the industry is, yes, it's likely going to be unsociable hours and it’s often going to be intense as well — so what can we do to protect and support our people through that? It’s about giving our senior managers the tools so that they can identify when someone may be going through something and point them in the right direction. Having these 24/7 helplines is amazing. Mental health and well-being is probably the area into which we put most of our resources. 

We know there's a lot of addiction that exists in the industry as well. We want to support our teams to make sure that they're not burning themselves out. We’re encouraging a shift away from that old-school mentality that said the only way a chef can be successful is through working stupid hours. We’ve put a lot of leadership training in place as well. Madeleine Geach from The Good Life is amazing; we've developed quite a lot of stuff with her directly.  

We're also conscious of different hours. People in head office are working completely different hours to people in the restaurants. A chef is not going to respond at 2pm on a Friday because they’re in the middle of lunch service, so we have to respect that. Later, when they email you at 10pm, they don't expect to get something back right away. 

The expectations are for everybody to respect the boundaries of communication, respect who you're talking to and understand that their schedule might be quite different to yours. 

What impact do you think your focus on people and culture has on your business overall? Does prioritising things like DEI make a difference to your success? 

We are where we are today because of the people who have come along for this journey with us. Like I said, we've got some incredible people, some of whom have been with us for 14 or 15 years — and we've only been around for 16 or 17.  

We haven’t always gotten it right. In the early days, you don't realise the importance of really putting focus and attention on it because you're constantly in survival mode. We entered the industry without having any experience in hospitality, so we were figuring it out as we went along. After a while, we realised we needed something properly structured in place, and we have made sure that it’s very clearly people first and people forward. That’s much better than simply being reactive, of which I think we've definitely been guilty in the past. 

Now, we aim to be proactive about the way we're approaching everything, including how we want people to grow within our business. How are we setting them up for success? What training are we putting in for them? We're proactively making sure they feel looked after and they feel like they can grow with us — they have the opportunity and the structures in place. We're giving them a really good foundation for wherever they want to end up. 

When it comes to people and culture, what other changes have you seen since you first began working in restaurants? What still needs to change?  

On the DEI side, we partner with Be Inclusive Hospitality, and three of us are mentors on their mentorship programme, which is amazing. I've just become a mentor on the Boardwalk Mentoring programme, too, which is about getting more females onto boards within the hospitality industry. 

There’s a lot more support out there now, and it’s not about highly expensive leadership and training courses — it's actually just getting people from within the industry to support others coming up behind them as mentors. As far as mentorship goes, having these formal things in place is brilliant. There will never be enough of them, in my opinion. One of the main barriers to developing people is the cost, whereas this is something that's very affordable, if not free. There's nothing better than having real life examples of how to get through real life challenges — it gives you practical, personal and guided advice. That’s hugely valuable. 

In terms of what else needs to change, for the UK specifically, I think we’re missing a highly reputable world class institution that delivers education in hospitality management. If you look at Europe or Asia, you've got amazing hotel schools, like EHL in Lausanne — these really massive institutions with such a great reputation for giving people a fantastic springboard for starting a career in hospitality. And that shows how seriously it's taken in those areas, you know, and that's something we're definitely missing. Really, it’s a branding piece, isn't it? It’s painting hospitality in a new light: it’s actually very cool. You're not going to be any less successful than if you go work in another industry. 

What’s your best piece of advice for building an engaged, motivated workforce and for showing that hospitality can offer a rewarding long term career? 

From the employer side, make sure that you are providing opportunity and building the structure for very clear and direct professional development. Your people should know what opportunities they might have, because otherwise what often happens is that you enter into a role and you get stuck there, because there's no conversation around what’s next. Make sure that you're providing a platform for people to be able to communicate openly about their goals and their passions, and then you can subsequently provide them with the structure and the support for really solid professional development. 

I touched on it briefly already, but also: don’t be afraid to take lessons from other industries. For example, when I was looking at our parental leave policy, the research that I did in terms of what we should provide was largely from outside the hospitality industry — because, notoriously, hospitality is awful for that. Not being afraid to look outside of our sphere is definitely something I've realised is hugely valuable and also helps us to really make sure that we're looking after our people as well as — if not better than — anybody else is. 

JKS Restaurants have achieved a one-star rating in the Food Made Good Standard for the Indian restaurants in their portfolio: Trishna, Gymkhana and Brigadiers. Taking the FMG Standard shows they’re taking the right steps, thoroughly measuring, calculating, assessing and analysing every part of their operations. Now they’ve got their report, we’re already hearing from their sustainability team that they’re putting strategies in place to improve ahead of their next assessment in two years’ time. You can find out more about JKS here.  

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