People Philosophy

Venus employs a core group of 17 full time employees, all of whom were recruited locally. The team is supplemented during the summer period with a 45 strong pool of seasonal staff. Over 75% of our full-time employees have been with us for more than three years and 50% for more than nine.

Continuous training and skills development is fundamental to the Venus customer experience and to overall business performance. As a result we put a strong emphasis on staff training and welfare. The Managing Director, Michael Smith, visits each site fortnightly to give one-to-one training and support to the managers.

Our training doesn’t stop with the day to day management of our cafés. For us to ensure that we achieve our mission of being the greenest beach café and shop operator, our staff have also received training in environmental issues. In 2008, our staff undertook a training scheme with Devon Wildlife Trust considering the local beach wildlife habitats and the impacts of climate change and marine litter on them.

As with any successful business, a happy team leads to happy customers so, since June 2007, on every shift all staff take part in an employee satisfaction survey. The survey monitors “happiness scores” for each shift, for each site, day by day, by week and by month. The feedback enables managers to take steps to address any issues quickly. Happiest performing shifts are those that are busy!

For a number of years we have also employed staff with learning difficulties. For three years Venus employed a part-time person with learning difficulties and disabilities through the Ropewalk Resource Centre in Kingsbridge. Venus supports the Centre’s clients as and when the opportunity arises.

Torbay Industrial Services which employs people with disabilities and learning difficulties is contracted to machine embroider all Venus branding on its staff uniforms and aprons.

If you think you match what we look for in our employees and are interested in joining the Venus team, email a completed application form to melverley@venuscompany.co.uk or  post to: The Venus Company, Unit A, Block B, Halwell Business Park, Halwell, Totnes, Devon, TQ9 7LQ.