Episode Summary
Episode Eight: Culture – Design The Journey, Measure The Mood, Grow The Leaders
In the second half of this two-part series with Kate Hemat-Siraky from Zest People, Leon pivots from “boring but essential” compliance to the motivating half of People Experience (aka the dry, defunct term Human Resources) – Culture. They start by stressing that engagement only works if compliance is structurally sound – otherwise you’re “pouring into a bucket with a hole in it.” From there, they zoom into how engagement really shows up in a hospitality business: the journeys people take, how you measure how they feel, and how honestly you manage performance, potential and exit moments.
They unpack people journeys as a full loop: recruitment, onboarding, growth & development – and crucially, off-boarding. Recruitment is framed as filtration, not desperation: values, service style (“warm vs cold” and “polished vs loose”), distance from work, and even the tone of your job ad should help people self-select in or out early. Onboarding is treated as a designed experience, not a scramble: clear day-0 / day-1 / day-7 / day-30 touchpoints, founder-led “why” messaging, buddies outside the department, and practical info (“where do I park, will I really finish at my rostered time?”) so new hires aren’t burning mental energy on avoidable anxiety. Off-boarding is reframed as a brand moment – alumni as your most frequent guests, best referrers and long-term ambassadors when endings are done well.
From there, the conversation goes deep into measurement and leadership. Leon and Kate argue that you can’t run culture “on vibe” – you need systems: regular engagement pulses, happiness scores, eNPS, open comment boxes and the discipline to act on “we keep running out of pens” before it becomes a resignation. They distinguish management (skills like rostering and recruitment) from leadership (self-awareness, trust, emotional intelligence) and explore tools like the nine-box performance/potential grid and strengths-based coaching. The through-line: when you design people journeys end-to-end, measure how people feel, and build leaders who can give and receive feedback safely, you create the conditions for high engagement and genuinely great hospitality.
Topics covered:
Why compliance is the non-negotiable foundation for any engagement or culture work.
People journeys in hospitality: recruitment, onboarding, growth & development, and off-boarding/alumni.
Designing recruitment as filtration: values/mission, service-style fit, job-ad language, referrals and talent pooling.
Building onboarding and growth systems: day-0 → day-30 plans, monthly development chats, performance vs potential, leadership vs management.
Measuring engagement and safety: happiness surveys, eNPS, anonymous comments, psychological safety and acting on feedback (from missing pens to serious issues).
And the 5 key takeaways?
1. Compliance is the foundation for real engagement.
If your structural compliance is shaky, any engagement initiative is leaking value. Legal frameworks aren’t just red tape; they’re best-practice guardrails that protect both people and the business. When compliance is tight, engagement work actually sticks and delivers returns instead of masking deeper issues.
“Compliance is your foundation for success… whatever you do in engagement is gonna have a hole in the bucket.”
2. Design people journeys end-to-end – including the exit.
Recruitment, onboarding, development and off-boarding are one connected journey, not isolated events. Kate and Leon push owners to be deliberate about each stage: recruit for values and service style, onboard with a plan, revisit growth monthly, and treat exits as alumni moments, not failures. Handled well, leavers become your most loyal guests and referrers.
“They can become your biggest ambassadors, maybe your most frequent guests… it doesn’t need to be ugly.”
3. Recruitment is filtration – and talent is everyone’s responsibility.
Good recruitment is about minimising the time to realise someone isn’t right, not filling a slot at any cost. Values-led job ads, service-style language, and simple questions (distance, transport, availability) filter early. From there, referrals and everyday interactions with great service staff become a live talent pool – if everyone on the team sees talent as part of their job.
“The whole point of recruitment is to minimise the amount of time it takes you to realise someone’s not right for your business.”
4. Growth and performance conversations should be regular, honest and written down.
Monthly one-to-ones that cover what someone does well, where they need to grow, and what their future looks like in the business are framed as a duty of care, not a bureaucratic chore. Tools like the nine-box grid (performance vs potential) help decide whether the conversation is about development, capability, or an honest path out – but either way, people deserve clarity, not guesswork about how they’re seen.
“You have to let people know where they stand… that should be your basic duty as an employer.”
5. You can’t lead on vibe – you have to measure and act.
Engagement and psychological safety can’t be run by “how the room feels around the boss.” Regular happiness pulses, eNPS, and anonymous comments turn feelings into data and give people a safe voice. The kicker is action: fixing small irritants (like always running out of pens) and responding to low scores is what earns trust and keeps people talking.
“You cannot just be relying on the vibe… you need to have some analytics around the culture in your organization.”
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Credits
The PAX Hospitality Podcast is produced by PAX and Craate Creative. Support for this podcast comes from Square and Brunswick Design and Innovation. Our music is produced by Patricia Heath and Mattias Westergren.
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