BII Chief Executive, Neil Robertson reflects on the past year and looks forward in his annual lunch speech at the Grosvenor House on Tuesday.

Sharing his thoughts with 1000 BII members and industry peers at the 2010 BII Annual Lunch, Neil Robertson’s messages clearly supported the Annual Lunch’s theme of celebrating Local Heroes, Partnerships and Success.

Neil stressed the importance of the licensed retail industry raising its standards, whilst setting out a clear and proactive role for BII in supporting future change, through BII’s support for new entrants and BIIBAS’ accrediting company codes.

BII celebrated Local Heroes within the sector for their work for both charitable and professional causes. And, noting some of the progress achieved over the last twelve months, Neil reflected on the political environment, stressed the need for industry unity and further engagement with local authorities. Neil also announced new partnerships with Mitchells & Butlers on training and e-learning and with the ALMR on their new Ops manager awards.

Looking forward, Neil Robertson set out BII's plans to diversify into new areas including apprenticeships, additional security sectors and excitingly even overseas.

The lunch also saw the crowning of the 2010 BII Licensees of Year, Richard and Loren Pope, and overall winner of the BII NITA Supreme Award, the most prestigious industry training award, Enterprise Inns.

The annual raffle hosted by BII for the Licensed Trade Charity also raised x thousand for their important work.

Neil's full speech was as follows:

Today is a celebration.  A celebration of what we all stand for and do.  It is also a time to look back and forward from what has been a tough but lively year.  A year where many of you showed that excellence will always make money.  A year where I had the pleasure to see and hear what that means in practice. 

It was also a year where BII needed to be proactive.  And we have been.  Every area of BII’s work has been tested and in nearly all cases, proven. We have developed into new areas, strengthened some others and stood up for what we thought was right.  Even if it wasn’t always popular.  My parentage has been questioned, but i don’t think the importance of BII’s work has been. From helplines, magazines and roadshows, regional meetings and other events we have worked harder than ever to promote and support your work.

 
I am grateful for the support the BII has received from literally all quarters of the industry.  I hope we are repaying that.  We haven’t always got it right, but I have learned that we can expect clear and direct feedback when we don’t!  But the important thing is that i know thousands of licensees have benefited directly or indirectly from what we have done. Our business helpline run by Phil Dixon, has been an important example of how we have helped licensees during the downturn.

As well as being proactive on economic issues, we haven’t stood on the sidelines of the debate about how a big part of our industry is run.  It’s not our job to take sides, but it is our job to raise standards. And we won’t hesitate to do that.

If you asked me as a new boy whether I thought the government had a case against certain practices, the truthful answer is that i thought it did.  Equally, although we have not seen all the new codes of practice yet, i think genuine progress is being made.  The pace will not be fast enough for all of course, but i feel able from what we’ve seen so far to say ‘we are getting there’.  Perfection is a journey not a destination. 

I can assure all members, large or small, we will look at all issues brought to us as thoroughly and professionally as you would expect, whether that is through the members helplines, codes of practice or the industry rent review scheme, PIRRS.  We know that not all licensees are heroes, but all deserve fair treatment.

That’s why it was right for BII to sign the code, and thats why we need to continue to show better practice and standards.  Some will rightly feel they have operated best practice for hundreds of years.  The integrity of family brewers is an example to all of us.  We would like to support all companies in any way we can to minimise code bureaucracy.  And congratulations to Batemans for being the first in with their code. I am sure that this is one of the jigsaw pieces needed to attract the best new entrants.
I am excited about what we have all started to do to give new entrants the best chance of success.  The new pre entry course, put together by BII to give newcomers essential information about their contracts increasing numbers of mentors, better professional advice, improved transparency and sharpened company benchmarks will reduce churn and initial failures and attract a wider range of applicants. New apprenticeships will provide a better route in and onwards especially for younger entrants, as well as levering in some overdue government training cash.  Our new BDM qualification will help with a more consistent service, and ensure the innovations in the new codes are delivered.  This qualification will also help senior individual licensees stretch themselves, particularly if they are considering multiple unit operations.

In this same vein, we are delighted to be working with ALMR to help locate the excellent Ops Manager awards in a firmer career and qualification context, and are grateful to Keith Knowles for his astute, if not always concise, chairing of a cross industry group looking to establish clearer career pathways up and even across our industry.  Its nice to see one of our licensee of the year finalists was a former manager for Punch Spirit and now a freeholder, having been through an apprenticeship with punch and enterprise leases.

However, all this costs money to develop and manage, and as our AGM noted this morning, whilst we have steadied the ship financially we are far from flush.  So we will look to diversify our trading base to subsidise these and other exciting developments.  This will include working in China.  Initially hard to imagine, but as a thoroughly modern but in some ways young economy, the market research shows there are things we can do on both the membership and qualification sides of our business.

Another area we are working on is encouraging the unity that will be needed in the industry if we are to make headway against our detractors.  This industry has got a lot less to hide and a lot more to be proud of than we often let on.  Look around this room – BII membership brings people together – we need to do more to build on that fantastic starting point. That will involve working with all shades of opinion – no matter how challenging – to common ends.  Great British Pub Week will be just one of many examples of that.  The more we do of this the better our wider PR will be.

We will continue to be under pressure on ‘binge drinking’.  We have been building up evidence of the many programmes and initiatives to challenge this offered by different parts of the industry.  These amount to a pretty impressive list.  The challenge will be now to mainstream these, working with sometimes sceptical local authorities, in a context of cuts.  Not easy but isn’t it encouraging how so many are now recognising the community value of pubs.  Local action by you all will be as important as pressure at a national level.

A good example is the new mandatory code.  It is poor – but would have been worse had it not been for all our joint work, and indeed our colleagues from the better regulation executive who are here today.   I fear thousands of small businesses may need you more than they know in the coming months.  If you need some dutch courage to stand up to the home office you know where to come. Thankyou for coming today and let us know if you need a list of regulations we would like to see the back of.
Lets go forward proud of what we do for communities, ever more realistic about the need for the highest standards of responsible retail, building on our strengths, honest about where we need to all do better and lets have some fun along the way.

Trading conditions will improve, if not spectacularly.  The indicators also suggest eating out will grow – i know many BII members we will be competing hard for a decent slice of that growth.  It won’t be easy.  Recent research by coca- cola found that 80% customer satisfaction was not enough to retain customers.  The somewhat challenging message is, aim higher than mere satisfaction.

Every respected commentator says that training and marketing will become increasingly important.  And we need ever more flexible ways of getting that training to hard pressed licensees.  Thats why I am delighted to launch today our NCPLH elearning package. And we are even more delighted to announce our first corporate customer for the package, M & B. We look forward to a successful long term partnership. This will allow learning to happen in the pub, at a time that business permits.  We are not yet allowed to offer assessment in this way but we will continue to push for flexibility.  The quality of training offered by providers and companies must and is improving.  Its good to see developments such as the high quality bespoke training offered by M & B’s QUEST programme accredited today by BIIAB, congratulations! We also acknowledge the partnership arrangements between 5 of our big training centres under the banner of AQLT.

This industry has more heroes than any other sectors – with incredibly demanding jobs, and in tough times, they still find time and energy to support local and community events and charities.  Despite that, hardly a week goes by without a media story attacking our industry, attacking what our members do for a living and how they run their businesses. 

We asked Phil to pick out a tiny fraction of the heroes in our industry.  Unfortunately he felt the need to look more intelligent in this new reporter role.  It will take more than a beard Phil.I would now like to propose a somewhat complicated toast.  To the licensee of the year and all the finalists, to the supreme NITA winner, to all the ladies on the Ann Elliott and the Greene King tables, and to all our hardworking and professional members, and of course, without gritted teeth, to the England football team, and to all hard working licensees.  Please raise your glasses to these ‘local heroes’.

And so in keeping with a long standing tradition at the BII Annual Lunch I would like to say a few words about two more very deserving charities which we are supporting today at. The first is a new initiative to the industry brought to us by Water Aid with the encouragement of The Publican – Tap into Wateraid. As you know A new mandatory code for alcohol retailing too effect from 6th April and all alcohol retailers are now required to provide their patron’s with free tap water. Licensees who opt into supporting Tap into Water aid encourage their customers to donate 15 pence to the scheme when they order tap water. All of the money raised goes towards WaterAids life saving work helping communities gain access to safe water and sanitation throughout Africa, Asia and the Pacific Region. It’s a great initiative which are delighted to support. If you would like more information about this the WaterAid Team have a stand upstairs and are ready to sign you up.

Secondly I am delighted that BII has been making plans to engage in more fund raising schemes to support the Licensed Trade Charity. So in July I, along with some other well known names in the industry will be donning our leathers….. and taking part in a Charity Bike Ride to the South Coast, with all sponsorship raising being donated to this worthy cause. And of course no BII Annual Lunch would be complete without a raffle in aid of the LTC. This year we have one big BIG prize to offer you! A year’s supply of Champagne for some lucky person to toast their local heroes on behalf of the rest of us! Raffle tickets are on your table and cost £10 each. Thank you for your support.

Contact

Tara Ovington
Email: tarao@bii.org
Telephone: 01276 417846
Fax: 01276 23045