Working at Prezzo - An interview with Talent Partner Harry Lawrence

Harry Lawrence shares?an insight into life at Prezzo, what he loves most, the tech he can't do without and his worst vs best experience working in hospitality.

How many restaurants do you recruit for? ? I support with recruitment in the South & West region of Prezzo, which includes 84 restaurants across Hampshire, the South Coast, Surrey, London, North London & Hertfordshire, Suffolk, Essex and the Southeast.

What do you like best about your role?? The best part of my role is spending time with our restaurant teams and my colleagues in our support centre. Prezzo is such a fun and friendly place to work, where you get a real sense of belonging.

What’s your biggest frustration in your role? My biggest frustration is the negative image of a career in our industry. I was once told that “there are no opportunities in hospitality”. I started in hospitality when I was 14, washing up in my local pub. I joined Prezzo in 2021 as a Duty Manager before being promoted to Assistant Manager 8 months later. During my time as an Assistant Manager, I developed a particular interest in HR/ Recruitment, so I approached our support centre about opportunities. After 4 months of being an Assistant Manager, I started my role as a Recruitment Coordinator at our support centre in London. I got stuck in and 5 months later I was promoted to Talent Partner, which is where I am now. Who says there are no opportunities in hospitality!

Would you recommend any technology that helps you in your day-to-day role?? Aside from us having a comprehensive ATS and being an active user of Linked In, I also use colour categories on outlook to separate interviews from other meetings etc. I also use dual sim on my iPhone to make and receive work calls from a work number without the need for a second device. And I use WhatsApp business as a point of contact for candidates, as I find most prefer this form of contact post interview rather than email etc.

What’s your worst vs best experience working in hospitality? Worst experience in hospitality was working at a gastropub, where the head chef (and owner) was very verbally aggressive towards the team. Best experience so far is working for Prezzo, where I have been recognised for hard work and had the opportunity to develop very quickly.?

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