Susan Robinson of the luxury B&B Nanny Brow at Clappersgate says companies which treat employees as ‘family’, regardless of DNA, will always do well

‘Family’ has always sat at the very heart of what we do here at Nanny Brow. Our five-star luxury B&B started its life with just three family members when we opened our doors in 2011: myself, my husband Pete and our daughter, Emma.

But if seven years in the hospitality industry in Cumbria has taught me anything, it’s that working long hours in close proximity with employees results in an unbreakable bond that is able to weather whatever storm the Lake District can throw at it.

Our young team members are family, although they don’t appear on my family tree.

We spend the majority of our time with one another, although we’re not related. Together, we have celebrated the good times (such as Nanny Brow picking up five industry awards in 2017, including ‘Family Business of the Year’) and lamented the not-so-good times.

Just like family, we’re all in it together.

I valued my fantastic young team more than ever, in February of this year, when I suffered complications following a routine hip operation.

Bed-bound for weeks in a specialist spinal unit in Salford, I set about planning my life in a wheelchair and a house full of ramps.

It was the most terrifying time, but I needn’t have worried about how Nanny Brow would function in my absence. The team were troopers, stepping up and rallying around me during my darkest hour. They more than proved that blood isn’t necessarily thicker than water.

I have always placed the development, progression – and most importantly - well-being, of my employees at the top of my priority list.

The hospitality industry is fickle. Staff come and go, so it’s important to look after them well and support their professional and emotional growth. Having a young team in tow is a responsibility, but I’d like to think I’ve risen to the challenge in motivating and developing them, creating a happy, passionate ‘team’, as opposed to just a group of colleagues.

I encourage my staff to try different skill sets and excel in everything they do.

Team social events are a regular occurrence at Nanny Brow, with everyone involved.

I push all of the team to reach their potential and support their training and education through Kendal College-accredited courses, such as social media, food hygiene and hospitality management. I have even insisted that some of my employees sitting A-levels complete assignments and revision at work, to which they have replied that I’m ‘worse than their mums!’

But I see it as an investment in their future – and mine. It’s also incredibly rewarding. What could be better than assisting the improvement of the next generation?

In September 2017, my young team entered me into the ‘Best Boss’ category at the Bay Living Awards, and I won! It was the best ‘thank you’ they could ever have given me and we all attended the event together.

Nanny Brow enjoyed an incredibly successful 2017 and 2018 is shaping up to be just as good. When I look back on our early years, full of the inevitable challenges that launching a new business brings, I’m proud of what we’ve achieved.

Most of all, I’m proud of my team and the remarkable young people that they have become.

‘Family’ is a strong word. For us, it means respect, loyalty and a problem shared, values well-beyond the traditional definition of blood ties.

In a county full to the rafters with family businesses, I’m sure these words will resonate with many.