Author: Katherine Wyles

Clive Sheppard has extensive purchasing and procurement experience within the luxury hospitality sector with brands including The Savoy, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Rosewood Hotels & Resorts and The Dorchester Collection. 

Clive brings his expertise in hotel and restaurant openings, developing and implementing new systems and his exceptional negotiation skills to Zero Procure, which launched in 2020. Born out of a desire to support industries affected by the pandemic, with the purpose of simplifying procurement, Zero Procure brings operators and suppliers together to benefit from efficiencies and cost savings. With over 20 years of operational knowledge and expertise in procurement, he has a passion for excellence and leads by example in delivering results for Zero Procure’s operators and suppliers. 

FM Recruitment has a long-standing relationship with Clive, as both a candidate and client, since 1998. We are delighted to share his insights on the hospitality industry as part of our Success Stories series. 

What inspired you to follow a career in hospitality?
I’ve always worked in a service-based industry, beginning my career in retail. I love the energy and camaraderie of a people-oriented business and from an early stage in my career, I was actively trying to break into the buying side. A close friend and hospitality advocate from FM Recruitment, who probably knew me better than I knew myself at the time, introduced me to the world of hospitality with a six-week placement opportunity in the purchasing department of a hotel. 

I had been saving and planning to go backpacking in Asia so I definitely hesitated for a moment. Although I was intrigued by the opportunity to move into purchasing, I had never really considered hospitality as an option. As I explored the opportunity further, I learnt that the placement was at The Savoy. I promptly cancelled my trip and started the placement the week after, beginning a career in hospitality at one of the most iconic hotels in the world. I eventually became the Area Director of Procurement for Fairmont, overseeing the full refurbishment of The Savoy, whilst leading four other Purchasing Managers at other hotels in the region.   

What advice would you give to someone who is just starting (or considering to start) their career in the hospitality industry?
I was very lucky to have access to people who knew the hospitality industry so well. Through my long standing relationship with FM Recruitment, I was able to share experiences, have some frank conversations and understand opportunities for development. In many ways, they were mentors and have supported me with my career trajectory. 

Therefore, it may be no surprise that I would advise everyone to find themselves a mentor as soon as possible during their early career. Whilst many companies may have their own programs within the company, I would also recommend finding someone completely separate, ideally a few positions ahead of you, who still knows the landscape of your position and has some wider picture of what lies ahead. 

 I would also suggest that you try to diversify your skills as early as possible. If you aspire to progress to a Hotel General Manager and beyond, those candidates who have worked in numerous disciplines such as Food & Beverage, Finance and Rooms early in their career, will likely have more opportunities to advance quickly.  

What are the biggest opportunities in the hospitality industry as it recovers from the pandemic?    
One of the biggest challenges at the moment involves the recruitment and retention of employees. The pandemic combined with Brexit has led to huge vacancies as many candidates reconsider a career in hospitality.  

The hospitality industry is, and has always been, a valuable sector to learn transferable skills for life and other careers, with working hours that can be adapted around other commitments such as study. For those that are looking to develop further within the industry, there are few others that will give you the chance to take on the responsibility of supervising and leading teams at such an early stage of your career. The opportunities to progress are endless. With the apprenticeship level funding currently in place, hotels can provide great development opportunities to retain this future talent. 

From a procurement perspective, cost control comes into even sharper focus after a downturn. Those businesses that have faced significant drops in revenue need to protect profit (or minimise loss), with a strong profit protection strategy in place. This doesn’t always mean getting the cheapest price or driving down prices to try to stimulate demand, but working with suppliers to find the best deal for their business, with the flexibility they need to avoid unnecessary costs during periods of unpredictable revenue forecasts. 

Profit protection is an area that Zero Procure specialise in. We have walked a mile in our clients’ and suppliers’ shoes, from our many years working in the hospitality industry. We’ve experienced the ups and downs and understand what it takes to protect profits in lean times and maximise them once the market improves. We work with a network of industry specialists, who are flexible to adapt to the specific needs of a business, helping to minimise risk and allow businesses to stabilise before owning the upswing.   

With COP26 having recently taken place in Glasgow and a ‘Decade of Action’ for decarbonisation in place, what do you think will be the biggest changes in hospitality procurement over the next ten years?
Some of the big trends we are seeing with our network at Zero Procure is the hyper-localisation and focus on provenance. Customers want to know about the origin of their products, how they were created and taken care of and who are the people behind the brands they select to work with. 

Supply chain transparency has been driven by pressure from governments, customers and other stakeholders for companies. Customers and employees value information on employees engagement, company culture, the provenance of products and the conditions in which they were produced. 

The pandemic and Brexit has put a lot of pressure on businesses to control cost and unfortunately, sustainable products are still generally more expensive. A few hospitality companies are doing great things to try and drive this but I think many more may adapt a wait-and-see philosophy and hold off making any dramatic changes until they move beyond the recovery phase and they can see more customers voting with their feet to support those sustainably- led businesses. 

With unpredictable business levels and a challenging recruitment landscape, Outsourcing has become an appealing option for hospitality businesses. What tips can you share to help businesses choose the perfect outsourced partner?
We truly believe that outsourcing certain tasks can be a massive benefit to businesses, especially with regards to procurement! 

Some tips include choosing a partner to complement the team you have in-house. From our perspective, we pride ourselves on becoming part of the team. We love to work with an existing procurement team and we always try to share our knowledge and experience to help develop their skills and expertise in this area. 

 A great outsourced partner is also offering an outside perspective, something that often can’t be replicated by an in-house team. Our support isn’t blinkered with the internal structures of a business and we can give advice that is best for the business rather than for individuals within it. 

Most importantly, a great partner should be motivated by consistently offering great value to their clients, without the threat of a long inflexible contract that could stifle the benefits of the relationship. 

What is the greatest lesson you have learned, so far, through a career in hospitality?
I think that the idea of taking control of your own development is absolutely vital. Try to get comfortable with being uncomfortable – push yourself out of your comfort zone and actively seek out opportunities for progression. Your development supports the overall success of your business, so do carve out time for it. Setting yearly and monthly goals and targets and then pushing yourself to consistently measure your achievements and adapt, will help you concentrate on developing your skills and experience to put yourself in a position to take advantage of opportunities as they arise. 

Build and nurture a network within and outside your organisation, whether that is through a recruitment consultant, a professional association or on LinkedIn – you never know what opportunities may be awaiting. Whilst moving jobs can be stressful and has some risk involved, the benefit of new experiences and making contacts can be very helpful later in your career. 

For support with your next career move or to enhance your recruitment strategy, please call FM Recruitment on +44 20 8600 1160 or contact Chris Denison Smith or Andrea Shaw on fm@fmrecruitment.co.uk now. 

With over 30 years of international experience in luxury hospitality financial leadership, Doris Bernard is an industry icon. Doris is now Vice President of Corporate Finance for Kempinski Hotels, a role she has held for the last seven years, placed by FM Recruitment. Responsible for the senior leadership throughout the global Corporate Finance structure of the Kempinski Group, Doris is integral to the brand’s continued success internationally. Kempinski currently manages 79 hotels in 34 countries in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, China, South-East Asia and the Americas. 

A strong communicator and team leader, Doris joined Kempinski from Rocco Forte Hotels, where she held the role of Group Financial Controller, overseeing 13 properties in Europe and the Middle East. 

FM Recruitment continues to have a long-standing relationship with Doris, supporting her career trajectory, having placed her in several financial leadership roles with Rocco Forte Hotels, the Ascot Group, the Cliveden Group and the Conrad London. The collaboration with FM Recruitment equally extends to recruiting senior members of her team. 

In conversation with Doris Bernard 

How did you get into hospitality finance? 
First and foremost, there was hospitality – and ‘Grappa-Parfait’ – of which I made a lot when I started my hotel apprenticeship in 1986, with the first department to be covered being the kitchen (the hotel apologised and said, ‘Well, someone has to start in the kitchen…’). However, I loved it and did not want my time there to end. After the third extension, the ultimatum was given: Either I change the apprenticeship to become a chef or move on to the next department. I moved, and with my good instinct for numbers, logic, organisation and analysis, it was not a great surprise to fall for finance before long. And the rest, as they say, is history. 

What are the most important aspects of financial roles in hospitality and how has the role evolved over the years?
The evolution is that there is definitely a much more prominent space for and faster pace of analysis. Today’s availability of data inevitably leads to more options of analysis, which in turn lead to more demands, from internal and external stakeholders. The trick is to investigate and understand what the real question is that we are trying to answer. Based on this, finance should be able to offer the most efficient and repeatable/robust solution. This integrated understanding of the business, paired with the understanding of the capabilities of finance systems, is one of the most important aspects of today’s finance roles. In short: Any financial analysis has to have a purpose and not be analysis for analysis’ sake. 

What do you consider your biggest achievement so far and why? 
Being still here, in finance, in hospitality. Temptations to move out of the industry existed, but the most compelling factor to stay has always been the amazing teams I have worked with. Leading a group of people who have a can-do attitude, a strong sense of commitment and a passion for hospitality and are fun to be with is one of the most rewarding and invigorating things in my career and, in fact, my daily work life. I hope that I am right in thinking that I have continuously contributed to making such teamwork happen. 

What advice would you give to someone who is just starting their career in the industry?
Enjoy and commit to getting stuck in, roll up your sleeves, be curious and stay humble. Never stop learning throughout and engage with the very diverse workforce that you are likely to encounter. It will lead to a strong network of industry professionals and friends, which, if cultivated with sincerity and authenticity, carries you throughout your career. It is one of the best schools of life. 

What are the biggest opportunities in the hospitality industry as it recovers from the pandemic? 
The opportunity for a fresh approach, in a free spirit, to what hospitality is about. Offers that are interest-led versus the traditional guest segmentation (I very much like the Kempinski ‘Travel Your Way’ initiative). Basic human needs for belonging and community could be answered by hospitality through integrating local culture. A stronger desire for quality time with family and friends might come to the fore against a background of threats like the pandemic or climate change. We may see, for example, conference rooms used as co-working spaces to enable business travellers to combine remote working and extended family time. The inventiveness and flexibility that we have seen in many hotels when the pandemic hit are inspiring. I equally hope that the heightened appreciation for travel after the confinement creates a new buzz all-round.  

What would have been your Plan B?
When I started out, there was no Plan B; I did not apply for anything other than a hotel apprenticeship. Since then, I have sometimes joked that I would become a park ranger in a national park, taking care of footpath signage maintenance. I love walking and being out in the countryside and am fascinated by long-distance hiking paths (well signposted, of course). 

For support with your next career move or to improve your recruitment strategy, please contact FM Recruitment now using any of the below details: 

Office +44 20 8600 1160 I Email fm@fmrecruitment.co.uk
Chris Denison Smith +44 7775 711923 I Email chrisdenisonsmith@fmrecruitment.co.uk 
Andrea Shaw +44 7714 236469 I Email andreashaw@fmrecruitment.co.uk 

The Company Linchpin 

With the global economy currently undergoing a significant transformation as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the role of financial leaders in navigating businesses through these unprecedented times has been propelled into the spotlight.

The impact of the pandemic has been felt globally and by most industries, but perhaps none so severely as the travel and hospitality sector. Financial leaders are now in a position where they must not only address major setbacks but provide long-term confidence and strengthen recovery and growth prospects.

Financial chiefs have experienced downturns in the past, following the fallout of the 2008 global financial crash, the war in Iraq and the September 11th terrorist attacks, however, nothing compares to the wide-reaching impact of the pandemic. Hospitality Financial Directors had to move quickly to protect their businesses as much as possible; negotiate with partners to limit exposure, campaign for the government to support the industry through this crisis and make tough decisions regarding furlough and redundancy to ensure that the business survived. These financial crisis management strategies were activated quickly, to help support the recovery which is now underway.

Speed of response and flawless execution is critical in any crisis to reduce its impact and provide confidence to all stakeholders. Through effective financial planning, Chief Financial Officers have driven the timely execution of improvement initiatives to reduce costs, overhaul procurement, revisit pricing strategies, as well as spearheading process improvements and innovations that add value to the company.

“Working smarter, recognising and minimising risks and exploiting opportunities will mean having to be constantly creative”. Howard Field, founder of FM Recruitment commented as he shared his views on strategies for finance as the industry recovers from the pandemic

Maintaining Confidence in the Company

Financial Directors are required to instil confidence in all internal and external stakeholders.

Internally - With so many employees on furlough or made redundant during the pandemic, transparency and honesty were crucial to build trust in the long-term prospects of the company and to maintain integrity. Financial Directors who were able to highlight the challenges ahead with strategies to overcome them were able to help companies communicate and maintain engagement with employees, who could otherwise have chosen to move on. Many hospitality companies have been able to focus on retraining and cross-training employees, using the opportunity to develop employees to adapt to the challenges after re-opening. Businesses that have managed to retain key talent over the period of closure will be best placed to grow the business as we move forward.

Externally – For many customers, how businesses acted during the pandemic will live long in their memories. Financial leaders, under pressure to maximise revenues and reduce costs, needed to weigh up the short-term gains against the long-term prospects and introduce more flexibility. For the most part, customers were hugely understanding and opted for flexible vouchers rather than full refunds and now finance leaders have responded by offering more relaxed cancellation terms to remove barriers, offer flexibility and build confidence to encourage future bookings.

All of this activity is underpinned by increased investor scrutiny to cut costs, grow revenue, and ensure control, which means financial leaders have had to become adept at managing multiple stakeholder requirements to inspire confidence and lead the way with the recovery of the industry.

The Future of Finance – Nurturing the Pipeline of Emerging Talent

According to several UK universities offering courses relating to hospitality and related financial studies, the number of overall undergraduates in hospitality studies has dropped in the last year. With the true impact of Brexit also yet to be clear, it seems likely that hospitality will face some real challenges in recruiting and retaining top talent in the near future.

Undergraduates are reconsidering their options, often tempted into continuing their studies or shifting towards other industries with seemingly more secure prospects. Never has it been more important to guide and nurture those who are showing interest in the hospitality industry.

In a Forbes article from 2020, Robert Parsons, Chief Financial Officer of Exclusive Resorts made an important observation noting “Today’s finance undergraduates absolutely have the necessary hard skills and drive to be successful in the workforce of today and tomorrow. Besides, their ambitions are not curtailed by outdated notions of career trajectories. All they need is an opportunity and then some mentorship. My approach to recruiting and cultivating top talent is to look for the right attitude and core problem-solving skills over just the finance hard skills, and then create opportunities for career advancement.”

As active members of HOSPA, Chris and Andrea at FM Recruitment dedicate themselves to mentoring young talent as they progress through their careers. Our guiding hand can help businesses and candidates to optimise skills, showcase the opportunities to progress and help the hospitality industry recover and grow in the post-pandemic world.

For support with your next career move or to improve your recruitment strategy, please contact FM Recruitment now using any of the below details:

Office +44 20 8600 1160 I Email fm@fmrecruitment.co.uk
Chris Denison Smith +44 7775 711923 I Email chrisdenisonsmith@fmrecruitment.co.uk
Andrea Shaw +44 7714 236469 I Email andreashaw@fmrecruitment.co.uk