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They might have fared well during the festive period, but three new local businesses say that staffing is set to be a key hurdle for them in 2022.
Bruno Santos-Costa – who opened The Watchmaker bar on the corner of Halkett Place and Waterloo Street in November – said he had had “a great Christmas”.
And Harriet Rouse, owner of Harriet & Rose at 71 King Street, said that Christmas had “surpassed her expectations”.
Finally, Iselin Jones, director of the Moorings Hotel and Restaurant, which she and her husband Mathew took over in August, said they had had a “phenomenal start”.
However, these enthusiastic traders still recognise the significant challenge of staffing, an issue compounded by Brexit and covid but with its underlying cause rooted in Jersey’s high cost of living and lack of affordable accommodation...
Mr Santos-Costa said: “It was a great Christmas - it was fabulous to be open and St. Helier seemed to be busy, with a lot of people excited by the food and drink on offer.
“There was also a positive frame of mind towards hospitality, with people accepting of staff shortages and the challenges that that brings. I am really grateful of their support.”
Pictured: Bruno Santos-Costa behind the bar at The Watchmaker in Halkett Place.
He added: “I have a great team, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say it is a bit of a struggle at the moment, especially with covid. It’s really hard work, but I know I’m not alone there.
“But Jersey is still in a strong position, especially compared with the UK, where the high street is really struggling. Town was busy for most days around Christmas, whereas people were working from home far earlier in the UK.”
However, Mr Santos-Costa said that last week – the first of the Government’s work-from-home recommendation – was very quiet.
“St. Helier has been dead, but I suppose a small saving grace for me is that a lot of people choose not to drink in January anyway. That said, the sooner people are back, the better.”
Out east, Mrs Jones said that being ‘a new kid on the block’ as well as having a website that allowed people to book as soon as a table had been cancelled had helped.
“We were almost fully booked all the way to Christmas within the first few weeks of opening, so when there was last-minute availability the ‘appetite’, excuse the pun, was there. Being out of town I think has also been an advantage,” she said.
“With covid numbers going up, people were reluctant to go into town and I think having a new ‘neighbourhood’ bistro to go to was a real bonus for people.
Pictured: Iselin Jones, who has taken over The Moorings at Gorey with husband Matthew, says that staffing issues have meant they haven't been able to open their rooms yet.
“We also made the decision early on not to focus on the events and functions market. Our bookings are capped at ten per party, as that’s the max capacity of our biggest tables, so that saved us the heartache of having lots of ‘big’ cancellations which could have had a really detrimental impact on us early on.”
Addressing the key issue of staffing, she said: “It is without a doubt the biggest issue the industry faces. It’s the reason we’ve only been able to open the restaurant so far. The café/bar is only open on an ad-hoc basis when we feel we’ve got capacity to cope with the staff we do have.
“Likewise, we’ve not yet been able to open the rooms, as we can’t staff them. Our attitude from the start has been very much focused on building not just ‘a’ team, but the ‘right’ team, so we choose to hold off until the right people come our way and that’s paid off in the sense that the people we do have are wonderful.
“They have gone above and beyond to make the business the success it’s been early on. Being a family business, having a ‘family’ team is even more important because we spend so much time together and they become an extension of our family.
“Matthew and I have also lived in the hotel with the children for the first ten weeks, simply to be able to fill the gap, and we’ve been in all areas. Matthew, as head of operations, has been barman and KP when needed. I too, in addition to doing the HR, the accounts and marketing have also got very good at drying glasses and making Espresso Martinis!
“It’s an all-hands-on-deck approach, because there’s no other way!”
Mrs Jones added that clarity on licences would be a significant help.
“We don’t have a cache of permits to employ ‘registered’ islanders as such, as we’re a new business,” she said.
"So, for every potential member of staff we find, who hasn’t lived in the island for five years, we have to make a new application. That is time consuming and interrupts the recruitment process, because you can’t just offer someone a job when you find someone you like, you have to do it with caveats and tell them it all depends on whether or not the business is granted ‘another permit’.
“We spend an inordinate amount of time jumping through hoops and could really do with more security on that front.
“As an example of the staffing issues we’ve had, we had about 25 people on payroll this month, but more than half were zero-hour employees, mainly teenagers, who might do a shift here and a shift there.
“Coordinating rosters and issuing contracts for that number of part-time staff takes up an incredible amount of time. Not least when half of them have never had an ITIS rate or a registration card, and you have to manage that process too, which, again, takes time.
“So, what’s really lacking is full-time staff who can give us the commitment we need in terms of realistic forward planning, not just in terms of shifts but the business as a whole.”
Despite the challenges, Mrs Jones said she was optimistic for the year ahead, as the Moorings built its team.
It was also heartening to see businesses collaborating to share staff, something she said could be promoted further.
“We have borrowed a chef from a seasonal hotel, we’ve had a barman from Longueville while they closed for Christmas, and we’re able to share permits with other hospitality venues until the end of April.
“Initiatives like that do work, but probably need to be extended. Covid and Brexit had a significant impact on our people pool in Jersey, and there’s no getting away from that.
“It has to form a cornerstone of any future Government Plan, and that’s not just in this industry, it’s across so many. We have to make Jersey a more attractive place to come to.
“We can’t strip people of all rights long-term and expect them to still want to come here. It’s that simple.”
Mrs Rouse opened her independent gift shop in August, taking a business that had launched online three years ago into bricks and mortar.
Talking about Christmas trading, she said: “It was hard work, but it has surpassed my expectations. When I opened the physical shop, I didn’t quite appreciate how much busier it would be, and I’ve worked some pretty long days, but it’s all been worthwhile.
Mrs Rouse brands her shop as 'thoughtful gifts made simple'. In the run-up to Christmas, she said that locally made goods such as skin products and candles had sold well, as did its eclectic collection of non-fiction books.
Pictured: Harriet Rouse, who has opened the independent gift shop Harriet & Rose on King Street.
“People can, of course, buy online but I am passionate about creating a shopping experience. I genuinely try to treat every customer the same, whether they are just browsing or spending a lot of money. I want customers to enjoy coming into the shop.”
Mrs Rouse said that staffing was a huge challenge for retail but, for an independent business, it was important to hire the right people.
"Being completely independent, I can perhaps be a little more patient than a chain to find the right staff who share the values of the business," she said. "But it has still been a significant challenge, especially with Covid and the five-year-rule.
"It also means that, should someone become sick or a direct contact, I'm the one covering their absence, but that's the nature of my business."
Town Centre Manager Connor Burgher said that 13-19 December had been the busiest week before Christmas, with 171,174 people visiting St. Helier then, compared with 136,600 in 2020. However, that was still more than 50,000 down on pre-pandemic 2019 when 225,534 people visited.
Pictured: Town Centre Manager Connor Burgher.
He added: “Traders have told me that although footfall is down, those coming to town are actually spending rather than browsing, or spending more than normal.
“This is all positive and a move in the right direction, as footfall without spend is not good for retail.
“There’s been a big drop off since the start of January, which is a trend we saw even pre-pandemic, but I've no doubt it's been increased by the latest government advice.
“So my plea is that, if you are able to, please come into town to shop, follow the necessary guidance and help keep St. Helier open.”
Mr Burgher added: “Covid isn't the only issue facing retailers at the moment though, there are significant implications of Brexit which are still being ironed out and coming into effect.
"It’s also good that new businesses are opening, and I think this just shows again the confidence that retailers have in the St. Helier Town Centre.”
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