Pastry Chef Ravneet Gill set up Countertalk as a platform for jobs and community-building in 2018. Driven by her own damaging experiences, she hadn’t realised that working in a kitchen could offer a different, more positive environment than the ones she had found until, on the verge of giving up, she stumbled by chance into the positive working environment at St. JOHN and her eyes were opened. She realised how vital it was to allow every single person in our industry to have knowledge and easy access to companies with positive values and great workplace cultures at their core.

Fast forward almost six years, and Countertalk has expanded its focus, but the job service remains at its core. Jobs, after all, play a central role in driving industry change – change that benefits every single one of us, whether you’re a first-time-job newbie, whether you own a business (or several), and everyone in between. So how do our jobs change things, and how does this affect YOU?

WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO

Good workplace culture isn’t just a ‘nice to have’, it’s not fluffy, and it doesn’t cost the business money. It’s essential, it’s a tangible need, and it makes smart financial sense. Happy and fulfilled people mean less (expensive!) staff turnover, less (expensive!) mistakes and inefficiency, better (profitable!) guest experience, better (profitable!) reputation. And it also looks to the long term – good treatment and fair pay means that we’ll attract and keep great people, which is key to the sustainability of our industry, of businesses and of lives.

There are many ways in which we assist businesses in building and maintaining their positive culture, through resources and more. But one of the most effective ways we can make an industry-wide shift that extends beyond Countertalk’s direct reach is by a more subtle pressure. The more people talk about the right way to do things and hold up other establishments as great examples, the more people will implement those changes in their own businesses or look for jobs which embody the values they admire. Countertalk lists those jobs.

HOW DO YOU LIST A JOB – AND WHY

Employers build a Profile on the Countertalk jobs platform which will appear alongside all the jobs that they list. The Profile is an opportunity to describe company values so candidates better understand the workplace environment and culture, beyond just concept and menu. Popular benefits appear as a tick box, so that you can easily showcase all the perks you offer – from cycle-to-work schemes to mental health programmes, as well as the ability to list many others.

When applicants apply, their Countertalk profile should provide details about the things they care about and how they work, which shows more than experience – it shines a light on what qualities they will bring to their workplace. It’s a more personal approach which ensures a great fit from the off.

Bash Redford of Forza Win says “You just get better people through Countertalk” and we are proud to agree – instead of being bombarded with unsuitable applicants which need extensive, time-consuming sifting, you will have fewer applicants who, because their interest in the industry is already proven by their involvement with Countertalk, are more suitable for the job. Applications are made on more than just salary and skillset, demonstrating a dedication to hospitality, genuine interest in a business, and a commitment to career growth.

HOW DO YOU APPLY FOR A JOB – AND WHY

First you need to build your Employee Profile, which is more than just a CV and a cover letter. It asks questions which take a deep dive into your passions and motivations, so that employers can see beyond a mere list of your relevant experience and into how you might work together – because in most cases skills can be taught, but a compatible attitude and outlook is the real gold.

Once your profile is built you can apply for jobs with just one click and you can then add supporting documents – we always advise adding your CV and cover letter to give employers a real insight into your interests and experience. You’ll then be notified if you’ve made it to interview stage.

Applying for a job through Countertalk gives you security that the workplace you’ll be entering is one that shares Countertalk’s values. The pay is transparent, the bonuses and benefits are listed, and the culture is positive.

HOW WE VET OUR EMPLOYERS

We rely on our own in-depth industry knowledge and connections, plus – crucially – the feedback and intel provided by the Countertalk community. When a job is listed we personally vet each one before it goes ‘live’.

If there are concerns about the level of pay in relation to responsibilities or hours, we will call the employer and work with them to ensure that this is rectified before we are able to list it. Often this will come down to a lack of understanding of industry benchmarks, or a miscalculation, which can easily be rectified.

As a trusted safe space, we receive frequent messages from our community notifying us about bad employer practice. It is our responsibility to investigate whether this information relates to a specific grievance or whether it is indicative of wider cultural issues. We will speak to the employer, ensuring that all feedback presented is anonymised and free of any identifying details. If we find that there is a problematic environment or problematic elements, we welcome them to participate in a detailed anonymised employee survey from which we provide recommendations after analysis. If they are willing to enter into that process, we do not list jobs until it is complete and we are able to prove that the recommendations have been implemented in an impactful manner.