The Staff Matter Award - sponsored by Swagelok Scotland - was won by The Fife Arms at the Northern Star Business Awards 2025.
Under the Artfarm umbrella and opened at the end of 2018, the Fife Arms Hotel features 46 guest rooms and suites, as well as The Flying Stag Pub and The Clunie Dining Room.
The Fife Arms has a policy of education about the company and the location in which its team members are working. This starts from the get-go with an immersive induction programme. The programme includes an introduction to Artfarm and the story of the Fife Arms, followed by training on the onsite artworks, invoking a passion for art and learning within the team.
Staff Matter: The Fife Arms and sponsor Swagelok Scotland
In 2023 Artfarm launched the Talent Framework with The Fife Arms being the first property to actively use it as a tool for promoting personal development. The Talent Framework identifies the key skills and competencies required in each stage of the employee journey, ensuring managers are equipped to successfully lead and develop their teams and their own professional development. Furthermore, it also allows employees to take ownership of their careers and agree with their line manager an appropriate development plan in line with their needs and that of the business.
The Fife Arms also launched the Art of Leadership programme in 2023. Aligned with its Talent Framework and based on the Artfarm Leadership Principles, 11 of its managers and supervisors attended the seven-day programme that ran over three months.
Aside from internal training, The Fife Arms also secured six HiT Scholarships for its managers, including people management, sales, the art of leadership at Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne, as well as a tailored leadership programme for the general manager.
The Fife Arms is also a partner of the HANE apprenticeship programme and has consistently had two apprentices graduate from each cohort and remain in the industry.