Nick Mackenzie, chief executive officer
Steering the business during a pandemic has been challenging. But CEO Nick Mackenzie says the new company values have helped us to come out stronger.
At the start of 2020 I put together a crisis committee to deal with the ‘what ifs’ of a new virus rampaging in China that we’d had a heads up about from Hong Kong. At that stage none of us thought we’d end up fighting it here in the UK… and for so long.
In fact, in March we were in the final stages of rolling out the new company values which we called, ‘Unleashed – we pour happiness into lives’ when the news headlines became alarming. We cancelled all launch events and put these values to work immediately.
We set objectives that included ensuring the survival of the business, caring for our people and coming out stronger. But at times working through this pandemic has felt like a real battle. I caught Covid-19 early on and worked from my bedroom, sleeping in between meetings and generally feeling pretty rough while my wife passed meals to me through the door. And there have been a number of occasions when I’ve felt at the end of my tether, especially with the government. I tried not to show my anger, but more than once I’ve thought: how will we survive?
Showing we care
Whenever I had to make a complex decision, I kept coming back to the objective: ‘We Care’. I sense checked everything against this and asked how we could demonstrate this with real action so it didn’t just become a meaningless statement. So, during that first lockdown we decided to pay everyone until the end of April to take the pressure off while there was so much fear and worry. I then took a 50% pay cut. It felt like the right thing to do, and our exec team joined me. The money saved was used to set up the Support Fund for team members in real need. This value had to include everyone, including our Pub Partners. So as the pandemic wore on, we reduced tenants’ rents by 90% to help them out.
But caring isn’t just about money. It’s about understanding and sharing, too. That’s why I did the team member videos. I didn’t feel comfortable speaking to camera, but was determined to be open from the start: if we didn’t know what new rules meant for us, I said so. My team sometimes needed time to make important decisions in a fast-moving situation, and as the government often sent out mixed messages, I didn’t want to add to uncertainty by making a hasty decision and then changing things the next day.
We also listened to what you had to say – and when pubs opened again, we asked customers for their opinions, too. This was a health crisis, not just a financial one, and safety was a top priority. By staying connected we were able to adapt quickly. The communications team did a fantastic job at getting messages out to everyone under some really testing conditions.
I’ve also been blown away with how this industry has come together. We’ve worked with our competitors to get the powers-that-be to listen to us. At times it’s really felt like we were under siege – I think that’s why many of us speak about working during the pandemic as being like a war effort.
Stronger together
I’ve felt great pride at how our teams have responded under extreme circumstances. I’ve read messages and posts and listened to stories of people pulling together and I really mean it when I say I’ve been blown away. Take the brewery, for example – every week was like Christmas for them as they worked to meet supermarket and online demand during lockdowns. And I don’t think anyone could foresee a shortage in metal cans as demand rose, or that we’d have to figure out how to pull full kegs of beer out of deep cellars. But teams did it – and did it admirably.
You’ve been patient, resilient and caring… even when we’ve had to make some tough decisions. You’ve really stepped up, working – or not working – under pretty challenging conditions. Whether navigating Pub Safe and adapting quickly, being in and out of furlough or working from home in quite isolating conditions, everyone has come together. I couldn’t be prouder. More than once I’ve shed a quiet tear.
Just reading the stories here you’ll see how many of our people have gone above and beyond during the pandemic. Pubs are about community and we’ve seen this in you’ve responded: giving to food banks, preparing meals for NHS workers, raising money for good causes, lending a helping hand in your communities. The fact that we raised a mind-blowing amount of money for Macmillan during the pandemic is simply phenomenal and demonstrates our values, perfectly.
And there’s no doubt that we’ve come through this stronger as a team. Everyone has stepped up on all levels. We’ve headed online and held quizzes, talent shows, award ceremonies, charity nights and team events and gone the extra mile to keep the spirit of Greene King alive while our venues have been closed. And, you know, I think people have had a very long break and come back re-energised. We’ve all found our love for the pub again.
Above and beyond
Team members were patient, resilient and caring... even when we had to make some tough decisions. They really stepped up, working – or not working – under challenging conditions. Whether navigating Pub Safe and adapting quickly and effectively, being in and out of furlough or working from home in quite isolating conditions, everyone came together as a team… as a family.
We’ve seen this too in how team members have responded: giving to food banks, preparing meals for NHS workers, raising money for good causes, lending a helping hand in local communities. The fact that we raised a mind-blowing £1.5 million for Macmillan during the pandemic shows that not only do we care as a company, but our people do, as well. Everyone stepped up on all levels – even heading online to keep the spirit of Greene King alive while our pubs were closed.
There’s no doubt at all that we’ve succeeded in coming through this stronger. I read my direct messages, saw posts on our employee app, Kingdom, listened to stories of people pulling together and I really mean it when I say I was blown away. More than once I got pretty emotional: I couldn’t be more proud. And, you know, I think despite all the challenges we faced, our customers and teams came back re-energised. We’ve all found a true love for the pub again.