Polly Dunn, Group Openings Manager

We recently sat down with Polly Dunn, our Group Openings Manager to learn more about her hospitality journey and her time at BBCo.

Was hospitality always the industry you wanted to work??

Like many, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do as my career so started out studying Psychology as I had a real interest in the subject and took it from there. I had worked as a KP when I was 13 in between time at school so when I was 18 I took a gap year and worked full time in hospitality and my understanding of people really came into its own. It was a different style of hospitality back then, you weren’t given rigid responsibilities, you were expected to be able to turn your hand at everything. Whilst this sounds like madness in today's world, this was definitely a stand out moment where I learned to multitask and surprisingly I loved it.?

When and how did your career with BBCo begin?

I started in 2012 where I trained in our Threadneedle Brasserie Blanc as an Assistant Manager before moving to manage our flagship pub The King’s Head in Teddington. I quickly progressed to General Manager which was a proud moment for me because at the time, I was the youngest GM in the company. I spent 7 years in this role and loved it - Teddington, the regulars and the staff, we made great moments happen.

What were the highlights of your GM role at The King’s Head?

We made record days, record weeks & we won site of the year. Personally within the company I won GM of the year and the Call of Duty award for London.?

During my time at the Kings I also came runner up for the 2020 Publican of the year - I worked hard to build the team and processes that helped make our site work efficiently and to be recognised for this effort, was a great feeling.

‘Many people think there is little or no meaningful career progression in hospitality, but that’s simply not true. I’ve achieved so much during my hospitality career to date’

Where has your career gone since being GM at The King’s Head?

I left my role in Teddington and went back down south to manage our Brasserie Blanc in Bournemouth. Ironically, this move took me closer to my friends and family so ended up being the right fit at the time. This was when my role started to transition into a senior GM which led me to being located at our Prestbury site to train up their new General Manager.

This role was all about supporting, structuring and helping the site and manager to thrive. I worked alongside a handful of sites to get them in the best place possible which then opened up the promotion to my current role as Group Openings Manager.

Can you tell us about your current role?

My role as Group Openings Manager essentially means I am the lead when it comes to the opening of our new sites. This ranges from overseeing site plans such as the internal layout through to guest flows throughout the pub or brasserie, the management of the stock and ordering process through to account set up and so much more. Overall, my role is about getting the site off the ground in the best way possible. I have complete control of the pre-opening budget & contribute to setting the first years site budget, which the site is then handed full responsibility to achieve. As well as this, is the staffing of a site. As part of the openings plan, I’m responsible for hiring and training all of the Front of House team & ensuring in the handover period when the site first opens, it runs smoothly, offering support in any way I can.

Once a site is open I am usually supporting the team within their first month across a broad range of areas.

What do you like most about your role?

The people and the learning journey, because wow am I learning a lot right now. It is also amazing to see a building site that then transforms into a beautiful setting that guests truly enjoy spending time. I enjoy seeing the behind the scenes of all that goes into such a transformation - my first experience of the full transformation process was during the opening of The Britannia, our first opening post pandemic that I fully oversaw from start through to launch.

What advice would you give someone thinking about a career in hospitality?

Absolutely do it! If you have a passion for customer service, even though it can be long hours, it is such a fulfilling job. You create a second family through your team and many of your guests become lifelong friends. Following a recent family bereavement, I was really touched by how many of my past guests reached out to offer their love, support and condolences. They didn't need to take the time to do it but they did and that means a lot.

Biggest career highlight to date?

Serving Madonna a bottle of water at 16...?

I don’t really have one because I am on an incredible journey and every time I have been promoted or stepped into a new task felt like a career highlight, so I guess I would have to say my most recent promotion has to be the best…so far ….?

Tell us something someone might not know about you?

I am a fly fisher-woman and have been so since 13 alongside my Dad.?

Finally….

• Would you rather work an extra hour but get an hour of break time or work with no breaks but leave an hour earlier? Work with no breaks and leave earlier?
• Pre or post opening? My life is easier pre, but it's more satisfying post when it has all come together?
• Would you rather have a job where you talk to people all day or a job where you stay at your desk by yourself all day? Talk allllll day.
• Rugby or football? Rugby, I’ve been lucky to go with our Chairman Mark Derry to the Six Nations & Internationals
• Tea or coffee? Tea 100%. (Polly is known for carrying her own large mug round because standard size is not enough)
• Starter or dessert? I’m more of a two starter & dessert person rather than dessert
• Sweet or Savoury? Sweet, I'm partial to a cookie.?