Club Team • Virginia Masser
The Farmers Club Team of 2022 I have worked in the hotel, and therefore hospitality industry, all of my working career. In addition to the variety – sometimes the glamour, sometimes not – one of its attractions is the rich diversity of people that work within it. The exchange of ideas from the many cultures and nationalities around the world adds a special ingredient to the day, creating an amazing challenge of bringing that diversity together as one cohesive team, to achieve a common goal. One of the lessons I learnt early on in my career was how important every team member is, regardless of who they are and where they come from. As a Management Trainee at Claridges (some years ago!) I was on my hands and knees in the basement, cleaning the floor. Mr Jones, General Manager, stopped and said: “Virginia, how are you this morning?” and “Thank you for doing that job.” Wow, he knew my name and he said thank you. From that day on I vowed I would treat my future teams with the same friendliness and respect. I also recall the generosity of spirit of the portering team behind the scenes in banqueting at The Savoy when I was working with them (in my blue overalls and steel
capped shoes) day in, day out, cleaning plates of leftover food. One day in their break they brought their own food for lunch, in order to share it and their culture with me. When I arrived at The Farmers Club eight years ago there were many nationalities and cultures. That is true to this day, although based on Covid and BREXIT there are slightly fewer. However, as I write this in December 2021, we have 48 team members; 61% British, 33% European, 6% other, representing 14 countries from around the world; Britain, Romania, Lithuania, Ireland, Algeria, Germany, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, Iraq, Bulgaria, Poland, Netherlands and Spain.
“From that day on I vowed I would treat my future teams with the same friendliness and respect.” “The Club team also aligns to the Club membership, which currently represents 27 countries!”
Each and every one is hired for their skills and personality, regardless of creed, colour or sexual orientation. The Club team also aligns to the Club membership, which currently represents 27 countries! Do we get it right all the time? No, of course not – we are all human after all. But it is amazing how such a diverse team of people, with a rich tapestry of backgrounds, comes together to create a very British Farmers Club. Virginia Masser General Manager
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