National pub company and brewer, Greene King, has become the first hospitality business to achieve a nationwide Best Bar None accreditation – meaning that it delivers best practice in customer and team members’ safety and welfare in all of its managed pubs.
Best Bar None is widely recognised within the hospitality industry for identifying well-run licensed premises, but the multi-site accreditation scheme is a new venture for the body, designed to complement its existing regional scheme model and help bring more hospitality venues up to its standards.
To receive that 100% accreditation pass rate, pubs across Greene King’s managed estate were assessed on venue management, staff training and care, customer safety and welfare, and customer service and community.
Chief communications and sustainability officer at Greene King, Assad Malic, said: “We want all of our pubs to be safe and welcoming for all, so to achieve a 100% pass rate in this new Best Bar None accreditation scheme is a real testament to the hard work and commitment of all our pub and operations teams as they strive to provide a safe environment for our customers to enjoy.
“It’s been extremely important to us to invest the time and effort into upskilling our teams to reach the highest standards of operational excellence, as we have a responsibility, not only to our customers but also to our pub teams, in reassuring them that our pubs are safe spaces to socialise and work.
“We’re pleased to be leading the way with this new multi-site accreditation with Best Bar None and are looking forward to seeing the positive impact this will have for the industry as this gets rolled out further.”
Chairman of Best Bar None, Lord Smith of Hindhead, said: “Congratulations to Greene King’s team for achieving a 100% pass rate in the Best Bar None accreditation across its entire managed pubs estate. We highly appreciate the dedication and commitment shown by everyone at Greene King, working closely with our national team to accomplish this industry first.
“Every managed pub team within Greene King has now attained the industry benchmark, demonstrating the company’s commitment to safer socialising. We hope this achievement serves as a catalyst for more companies to join our Home Office-supported scheme alongside over 2500 accredited venues.”
Benefits of becoming multi-site accredited include: ensuring compliance with the Licensing Act; supporting venue managers to make any required improvements including staff training; encouraging closer examination and monitoring of sites by area managers; and ensuring venues are managed to a consistently high standard across the estate.
In addition to these operational benefits, research shows that customers like the reassurance of knowing a venue is committed to the wellbeing of their customers and staff – 49% of adults are more likely to visit a venue that has measures to improve women’s safety, according to a September 2022 YouGov survey.
Greene King has committed to repeating the accreditation again in 2024, with assessments starting in the autumn.
