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Strategy Clinic - Bullying

"As a hotel GM, I'm worried about the behaviour of the chefs in our kitchen and know that some of the 'banter' probably amounts to bullying. How can I deal with this?"

Any sort of harassment, including constant nit-picking, unfair treatment and being shouted at or threatened, constitutes bullying behaviour and really doesn't make good business sense.

Bullying should not be confused with "tough management". There are plenty of high-performing kitchens run by chefs who "grew up" in bullying cultures who now operate with exemplary management and without discriminatory behaviour.

The downsides of bullying include lost productivity, stress, illness and, in extreme cases, suicide. All of which will adversely affect the bottom line. Good practice comes from the top, so you need to tackle your chef. Presumably he wants to be the best at what he does, so explain that good leadership doesn't include bullying and that he has an opportunity to run his department in a new, more professional, contemporary way.

What was accepted years ago is becoming increasingly less so now. You should put a policy on discrimination and harassment in place and commit to investigate any incidents of bullying and harassment. Ensure all senior team members are involved in planning, including your chef. You could also carry out an anonymous survey to understand the extent of the current situation.

Guidelines should provide a clear statement to all employees, with an agreed course of action to be taken. People hate reading policy documents, so put the information in poster form or into your newsletter so staff understand the situation in simple terms. Having a policy statement in place also means that that you - and your chef- are much less likely to be involved in employment tribunals and litigation, and if you are, will be in a better position to defend yourself successfully.

Jane Sunley

26 January 2008