Jonas Langhoff is the owner of a restaurant in Aarhus and a small hotel in Ebeltoft 40 minutes outside of Aarhus. Both places are run by the same staff and management, but for this case, we will explore the restaurant.
The basic idea behind the restaurant was to create a refuge from the daily bustle in a busy city. To create a place where the customers can find a “home away from home” enjoying good food in a relaxed setting.
In the beginning, it was important to prove to the employees, customers, and suppliers, that this way of doing things could be successful, but now there is a growing awareness in the service sector, and especially in the education of the next generations of service providers at the VET schools, that this way of doing thing is can be a viable alternative, so Jonas is also joining the effort to teach his principles to the next generation of service providers.
Today the focus is still the same, but now it has become even more of a political and an ideological mission: Proving that it’s possible to run a business that is NOT pandering to the busy society norms. That you CAN run a business on the principles of having time to do things right, and to feel relaxed and enjoy the moment - every moment. This mission applies both to the customers but also, and even more importantly, to the staff.
Social Circularity Factors - Time as a Resource
Time to perfect
The principle of time as a resource is simple: If you have enough time you will do a better job when you are doing it, be better prepared, be more aware in each moment that you interact with the customers and you will not deplete your other resources and get stressed and injured. You will on the other hand enjoy the work, find new and smarter ways of doing things and not least have time to reflect on the work and as a result be able to take on a much more individual responsibility of your tasks.
The practical way of providing more time to do all these things is to cut down opening hours, the restaurant is open only 3 nights a week: Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and in the off-season, the hotel is only open on the weekends.
No one at Langhoff & Juul should work more than 30 hours a week, and if they do so in peak periods the management team will come up with solutions for bringing it down to the preferred weekly workload.
Smart Booking
This of course means that the revenue is lower than what could be achieved with a full week opening plan, but then the staff would be just as busy as in all other restaurants, and the objective of having enough “time” would not be met. The restaurant also put a cap on the number of guests, so the maximum number for people is 35, even though the room and kitchen could probably serve 70 people.
Self management
The main reason for Jonas Langhoof to implement these principles is that he himself doesnøt want to work 60 hours or more. To reach this goal he has to make sure that his staff always knows what to do when they are at work. This requires an extensive on-the-job-training effort, and new staff are always required to be trained by a coworker until they feel comfortable with the tasks. If they call Jonas he will always ask them what they think should be done in the situation, and he will often go along with their decisions. This way all staff from the manager to the dishwasher will have a large degree of autonomy and feel more empowered and this in turn increases job satisfaction.
Planetary Circular factors - Preloved furniture and local ecological food
Preloved furniture and serviceAs for the restaurant itself, all the service and furniture is reused vintage. The decor and service was initially found in vintage shops on vacations to France, but this is very time-consuming, so they have outsourced this task to a local vintage broker. An expensive solution, but it reflects the mood and vision of the restaurant and the food. The furniture is a mix of old furniture found in vintage shops, bespoke tables made from reclaimed wood and Danish design classics, and if you order bubbles it will be served in a vintage champagne cooler from France.
Local ecological food
The produce for the food is sourced from local ecological farmers. The menu is constructed from what's in season, so it changes sometimes week by week after the micro seasons in the local supply chain. If they have to choose between a local ecological product and an “almost” ecological similar product, they will always go with the first choice even though it might be more expensive.
Microseasons
The menu is always updated to the locally sourced produce that are in season. So there will be periods where some types of food will not be on the menu. Besides the normal seasons there will be special occasions when local producers are harvesting, butchering or gathering special produce. This is a “microseason”. When the local farmer calls and says that there is fresh beef ready from his local cows, you know there will be beef on the menu that week.
Case debate questions:
(This general question can be used with any module case studied to warm up the case debate).
● What are the mail circular skills that you can Identify in the business management of Langhoff & Juul? You can also check with the National report to see what they focus on in the business.
● What is the economic, social and environmental added value of the value proposition of the studied case, which derives from its circular approach? - The triple bottom line.
● How do you think the Langhoff & Juul’s staff management principles can be viewed within the scope of the job value equation?
● Can you come up with other ideas for securing the Job satisfaction and self-management in a business like Langhoff & Juul?
● How would you implement the “time as a resource principle” in other types of Small tourism Businesses? Discuss examples in the group.
