Our Q&A with John Hughes – Team Leader at Kingswood Colomendy, Wales

Question and Answer content for John Hughes – Team Leader at Kingswood Colomendy, Wales

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Where were you before Kingswood?

Before Colomendy, I worked for several large hospitality companies as a regional director. I looked after pubs, restaurants, and hotels across the country. I was lucky enough to be able to retire early. However, I found that I wanted something to fill up my day - as did my wife when I was suddenly spending all my time at home! I wanted to return to a job that I would have enjoyed doing when I was younger and that would keep me active.

What skills are needed for your job?

Having a passion for something is essential for this type of work, regardless of whether that passion is for the outdoors. Being motivated and passionate about hobbies and activities translates really well into working in the outdoors, although of course, it does help if you like being outside to begin with!

At a managerial level, it’s important to be an open-minded team leader that welcomes other people’s suggestions.

Colomendy values flexible working, and we’re keen to make the odd working hours of the week fit to an employee’s individual lifestyle. In our employment, we have ex-forces people, ex-paramedics, former teachers and people looking for a break from office work. We also have people who are real outdoor professionals that want more experience on how to run a business. A key aim of the business is for people to learn and improve the industry as they do so.

What’s the most enjoyable thing about your job?

I enjoy the customer interaction, honing down on customer skills and communication skills. As someone who has previously worked in hospitality, a fast-moving, customer-focused background is perfect for working in a business like this. As someone also coming from an operational background, it also helps to be very commercially-thinking.

From a customer’s point of view, my team and I are the face of the company and who customers remember. It’s important to have an understanding that everyone who comes through the centre is a customer, even if they are not the person who pays – it's a challenge having lots of different customers, but I enjoy making sure they are all kept happy. Everyone must go home feeling like they’ve had a great time, and if we can achieve that, then I can go home satisfied.

What’s the most challenging thing about your job?

The part of the job that I worried about the most was whether I was too old to be starting in a very active role. From the ages of 16-26 I had an extremely active life. For some time, I was in a mountain rescue team, which required a lot of activity and physical exertion, so I was worried about whether I was fit enough. I’ve been at Colomendy for four years now, so safe to say I’ve proved I?am!?