Episode #006 | Ree Scales, People and Development Manager at Mother Kelly's - a podcast by Natalya Watson

Today’s guest is Ree Scales, People and Development Manager for Mother Kelly’s, an independent group of pubs, bars, and bottle shops based here in London.

Back in 2015, Ree and I used to work together behind the bar at Mother Kelly’s in Bethnal Green, an East London beer institution. She started there in April that year, just a year after Mother Kelly’s opened, and has since worked her way up to the head office role she's in now.

Ree got her professional start in her hometown of Bury St Edmunds, and when she felt there were no new challenges for her there, she left town to make it in London.

But it wasn’t an easy transition. She speaks openly and honestly about the struggles she faced when looking for work and how it’s impacted the way she acts in her role today.

Ree’s story is one of grit - she’s used to starting at the bottom and working her way up. She says it’s the only way she knows how. And I’m sure it’s made her a better manager because she truly understands the roles she’s recruiting for. Why? She’s held them herself.

You’ll hear what work Ree was looking for when she moved to London and how she ended up at Mother Kelly’s instead. Then how she transitioned to her full-time head office role and what she’s learned along the way.

I’m grateful for Ree and others in roles like hers because - for me - it’s the people in this industry that make it so wonderful.

Ree lets us in on the one trait that every person she’s hired has had in common. We also talk about how people act differently online versus in real life, as not only is Ree involved in hiring, she also helps to manage some of the Mother Kelly’s social media, too.

She tells us what her day-to-day looks like now, what the best bit of her job is, and what she enjoys most about being a part of the beer industry. Here she is...

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