Assistant Manager Review

As assistant manager I help with all aspects of running the business from ordering to staff training and anything else that can grow the business and ensure that we hit both financial targets and customer expectations.

When I started first I received extensive training on whisky due to our bar being a whisky specialist with 270 malts which I thought was fantastic. I have since gone on to do a level 3 in hospitality & supervision through work which was very easy to achieve and have now started to undertake the in-house manager development training which I find very useful for finding out I formation specific to our company.

I think it's very good to see how you progress and any opportunity to take part in additional training is always great to have on your c.v. going forward in your career.

I feel like Greene King always puts itself first, in my eyes it's company>customer>employees. Yes they offer 50% off meals while working but this is still making a profit off employees, yes they are good at ensuring you get your minimum legal breaks but they are unpaid and have recently been expanded to up to 30 minutes unpaid in an effort to save on wages although most workers still only take 20. They also try and save on wages by scheduling people at 15 minute intervals (which our bar doesn't do currently) but try getting staff to turn up at 12:15 or 15:45 they will either turn up to start on the hour and be early or vice versa. As a manager trying to dissuade enthusiastic staff from starting 10 minutes early because "the company doesnt want to pay you yet" never sends a good message. Some bars at the managers discretion as well do not allow staff into the bar when not working, while I get some of the reasoning behind this it leads to a lower staff morale and less of a friendly team feel.

The level 3 was quite flexible in that I would get a set/sets of questions each visit to answer for the next time but I also had a check list of evidence to gather throughout the course as I was able to get a hold of each piece needed.

She was very good, very friendly and always provided help when needed as some questions were poorly worded or didn't make much sense. She was always only an email away if I had any questions between visits too.

I was very much left to get on with it myself, if I ever had any questions on where to find stuff someone would always point me in the right direction but there was nobody at work checking on how I progressed until the review sessions with my trainer.

I work in a venue with quite a high revenue so my package is higher than other people in similar roles in our company. Even though my salary is higher than others in a similar position in the company I feel it does not pay well enough for the amount of responsibility and demands that the job has. Other people I know in similar roles for different companies are better reimbursed than myself and also have much more achievable bonus schemes that are also up to 4 times the value of Greene kings.

There are plenty of jobs always going in the hospitality industry and companies are always on the look out for good managers. Many independent places also pay better than chain pubs but they lack the training progress offered through Greene king.

No

At entry level to bar work there are much better options that provide better hourly rates, free staff meals, better working atmosphere for staff and some even offer a free pint after work. It's not that there is anything wrong with Greene king to work for but I feel like I would be selling my friend short when they could get much more elsewhere. On the other hand if they are looking to get training and progress Greene king is quite good for that up to a point, a lot of people see it as I'm going to work for Greene king until I have sufficient training to move on to a better option.

Make the most out of the training provided and if you find that the Greene king way suits you then great, maybe you can continue to grow up the management chain but in my opinion most people will find the training good but the company loyalty will be lacking as there is no reciprocal loyalty given to employees.