Celebrating our team at Roslyns: A profile on Kate Gibson

Next in our series of colleague profiles I had a chat with Kate Gibson. Kate is one of our Senior Stock Managers and has worked up the ranks since starting as a stocktaker with a pause to her career when starting a family. It was interesting to hear Kate's perspective on her career so far.

Can you tell me about how you first joined the company and what attracted you to the stocktaking role?

I was a stock taker for a managed house company, and due to some restructuring, they no longer had my job role available, and I liked what I was doing. I enjoyed the stock auditing side, and I didn't want to give that up and go and do something else. So, I started looking for positions and applied for a few stock auditing roles.

Roslyn's weren't advertising where I lived, and I just thought I'd just throw my CV at them and see what happens. So I did, and then got a call back.

Had some interviews and joined the company!

What was your experience like as a trainee stock taker?

Obviously, it's going to be a bit different for you because you'd done a similar before, but was there any challenges or surprises early on?

Yeah. I think the biggest thing is that I came from one company where everything is the same, processes, products and suppliers etc. Coming into Roslyn's, there were just so many variables; the world of hospitality was bigger than what I knew.

I'd very much had an in-house managed experience, how I'd come up in pubs was also how I was auditing. Once I joined Roslyns, I got to see the range of different clients’ businesses we had and helped. That was the biggest challenge, being exposed to lots of different types of businesses. It opened my eyes to the hospitality industry enormously.

Once you've gone through the initial training period, how did it feel to become fully qualified then taking on the role independently?

It was good. My area was expansive, so there was a lot of driving in those days, but I also had sites close to home. It was much better because I was working from where I lived, whereas before I was covering London, and a few outliers. It led me to become a stronger auditor from the varied amount of work that I was doing.

You took some time away from work from maternity leave, how was that transition both leaving to go on to maternity leave and then coming back again to the business?

Maternity leave was a bit daunting. I think everyone feels that with their first child, their world completely changes, but we also had COVID at exactly the same time.

While I felt safe at home with my baby, everyone else was dealing with COVID's fallout.

I then returned to work at a strange time when we were still in and out of lockdowns, and some pubs were able to open, and some weren't. So, it staggered my reintroduction into the working world after having a child.

I think relinquishing control and handing your child to someone else while you go out to work is a hard transition. Roslyns gave me the space and time to sort of figure it all out.

I was able to make the job flexible around being a mum, whilst still being able to do what I loved.

So, did your perspective on work or career goals shift after you return from maternity leave?

There was always going to be a point where, due to what we do, and both my husband and I were site-based, one of us was going to have to make a change for the school run. So, I started hoping for a role that would suit what I needed to do for my family, but stay within the company that I enjoy working for and a job that I believe in.

Roslyns had developed a lot in terms of roles and different career pathways, and luckily, the timing was perfect for me to progress.

What does your current senior role involve that's different from your earlier role?

What I appreciate most is that it gives me the opportunity to help others develop and become part of the company’s growth. I’ve also gained a much deeper understanding of the company myself through this role.

What's been the most rewarding part of stepping into a leadership senior role?

Being part of the change, developing the team to help us continue to grow what we do and what we offer and giving them a chance to thrive. What we do helps people and can make a difference to their business because hospitality is not just a job, it's a lifestyle career.

Clearly you have really enjoyed developing your career and the careers of your team, how would you describe the team culture here? What makes it unique?

In stock auditing, we’re, in a way, lone workers. We are with people every day, but we're not with our colleagues every day. I think the one thing that we are good at is promoting a feeling of inclusion and support within the team whilst being remote.

Even though we're not sitting next to our work colleagues, having a chat and having a coffee together, there is a real sense of us all working as a Team to support each other. That in itself creates an almost unique culture. Then, when people do get to spend time together, it's a bit more magical.

What advice would you give to someone starting as a trainee today?

Being an auditor with Roslyn's gives you the opportunity to use all that experience and knowledge that you've gained through countless hours of work in hospitality and help our clients. It's a great way for people to have been in hospitality and don’t want to do the 8am until midnight shifts anymore to stay in the industry they love.

That helping is the core of what we do. There are always going to be bad days and good days, but seeing someone turn the results around and they can stave off having to close their doors is so rewarding. You will also meet some incredible characters, and they’ll make your day entertaining. You get to work with some amazing people, and we never rest on what we do, we always try to improve.

Lastly, looking back on your career journey, what are you the proudest of?

I think it's the step into management, being able to use the knowledge I had as a stock auditor to support and develop my team. It's the most important thing to me.