Businesses must hire for cultural fit to achieve sustainable growth – Soho Tavern boss

Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce’s Business Growth Studio Conference brought SME owners and leaders together at IET Birmingham: Austin Court for a day of keynotes, expert panels and practical workshops on growing a business in today’s economy. The conference was attended by over 100 guests and supported by Pioneer partner University College Birmingham. The Chamber’s media team of DAN HARRISON, FERON JAYAWARDENE and SASKIA MASAUN report from the event.

Businesses must prioritise shared values and cultural fit when recruiting to support sustainable growth, according to Mikey Singh, CEO of the Soho Tavern Group.

Speaking during the second keynote session at the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce Business Growth studio conference, Mikey explained how he built his business to a multi-site operation spanning the Midlands and the Northeast.

He founded the gastro pub brand alongside his brother Danny in 2013.

The founder explained that the challenge of building the business wasn’t necessarily a lack of skilled workers but finding people who shared the group’s approach to his work.

Mikey Singh said: “Hiring is not just about hiring the smartest people. It’s about hiring the people that are going to fit into your culture.”

He explained that finding employees who shared the groups values was one of the biggest challenges as the business developed.

Rather than focusing solely on skills and experience, he emphasised that the people who will help improve your business are the ones that fit into your family that you have created.

This decision was particularly important when he decided to expand his business and needed to delegate bigger responsibilities to employees.

He added: “You know when you are ready to scale when you have got all the systems in place, when you find that you are not having to work as much as you used to, and you know that the culture you have created is running a well-oiled machine.”

Find out more about the Business Growth Studio.

Pictures: Shaun Fellows/Shine Pix