Taking lessons from the early days of the Gordon Ramsay Group, and applying them in today’s market, with Gillian Thomson.

“It’s the people that vote with their feet or their wallet that are really the most important ones to listen to.”

This week Jane is talking to Gillian Thomson, Director at ACT Clean. Gillian previously spent eight years as the operations director at Gordon Ramsay Restaurants, helping to grow the business from 2 to 23 restaurants by the time she left. Since then, Gillian has moved into the catering services sector and is now a director and the COO of ACT Clean, a cleaning and support services firm supporting some of the best restaurants in and around London.

During the interview Gillian talks about her time with the Gordon Ramsay group of restaurants, and shares some great stories from the early days. She also goes on to give some great insight into the changing trends and new struggles facing would-be restaurateurs in today’s market. With an expanding staff base and growing business at ACT Clean, Gillian shares her simple but highly effective approach to people management. The approach which she uses daily to keep her great staff and help maintain a healthy, happy culture.