On The Pret Perspective podcast, Instep Client Director Lisa Khosla sat down with Daksha Stancilas, Learning & Development Manager at Pret A Manger, to explore how one of the UK’s most recognisable brands is developing future leaders, embracing AI and keeping human connection at the heart of customer experience.
The worlds of retail, hospitality and customer service are changing at pace.
New technologies are transforming how organisations operate. Customer expectations continue to evolve. Employees are seeking clearer career pathways, more development opportunities and greater flexibility in how they learn.
Against this backdrop, Instep Client Director Lisa Khosla recently welcomed Daksha Stancilas, Learning & Development Manager at Pret A Manger, to The Pret Perspective podcast to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing modern employers. Together, they explored everything from leadership and learning to apprenticeships, customer experience and artificial intelligence.
While the conversation covered a wide range of topics, one message stood out above all else:
In an increasingly digital world, it’s often the human elements of leadership that make the biggest difference.
Creating Meaningful Experiences in a Fast-Paced Environment
Pret operates in one of the most demanding customer-facing sectors. Teams must deliver exceptional service at speed, often during busy periods where every second counts.
But as Daksha explains, success isn’t simply about efficiency.
“It’s not just about selling the product. It’s a service that comes with our products.”
The challenge lies in creating meaningful customer interactions while maintaining operational performance.
“One of our KPIs is making sure we serve our customers at speed. How can we do that in a meaningful way?”
It’s a question facing organisations well beyond retail. Whether serving customers, clients, residents or patients, today’s organisations must find ways to balance productivity with genuine human connection.
Because while customers may forget the transaction itself, they rarely forget how an experience made them feel.
Why Empathy Is Becoming a Leadership Superpower
One of the most compelling parts of the discussion centred around leadership.
When asked which leadership qualities matter most in a fast-moving environment, Daksha didn’t focus on technical expertise or operational excellence.
Instead, she highlighted empathy, listening and coaching.
“I think one of the major leadership qualities that matters the most is empathy and coaching and leading whilst listening.”
In fast-paced workplaces, leaders are often pulled in multiple directions at once. They’re supporting frontline teams, delivering business objectives and managing change simultaneously.
For Daksha, the ability to slow down, understand different perspectives and genuinely listen is what separates good leaders from great ones.
“Being able to listen and coach is what will motivate your team because then they will feel heard.”
Importantly, she believes people judge leaders not simply by whether they listen, but by what they do next.
“That’s how people know you’ve listened because they see you doing it in action.”
The Leadership Metric Many Organisations Overlook
Measuring technical capability is relatively straightforward.
Measuring empathy, coaching and communication is considerably harder.
Daksha acknowledges this challenge, but believes there are other indicators organisations should pay attention to.
One of the strongest is progression.
At Pret, more than 90% of General Managers have progressed internally from team member roles. That statistic highlights what can happen when organisations invest consistently in development and create clear opportunities for growth.
“If you didn’t enjoy what you were doing, you wouldn’t want to progress to become the next leader or the next assistant manager.”
For employers focused on retention and capability-building, internal progression may be one of the clearest indicators of a healthy learning culture.
Learning Has to Be More Than Content
As skills requirements evolve, organisations are under increasing pressure to help people learn quickly and effectively.
However, Daksha believes too much corporate learning still focuses on information transfer rather than practical application.
The most effective learning happens when employees can step away, develop new knowledge and then immediately apply it in their role.
This philosophy is one of the reasons apprenticeships continue to play such an important role at Pret.
“Apprenticeships work really well because it’s all about applying that knowledge, skills and behaviours into your job.”
It reflects a broader shift across learning and development, where capability is increasingly built through experience rather than simply through content consumption.
AI Should Create More Human Moments
Like many organisations, Pret is exploring how emerging technologies can improve efficiency and support growth.
Yet Daksha offers a refreshingly balanced perspective on AI.
Rather than seeing it as a replacement for people, she sees it as a tool that can help organisations create more opportunities for human connection.
“We want to use technology to make the work that sits behind the scenes quicker so that we can use the time we’re saving to make those customer experiences positive.”
For Daksha, much of the current anxiety surrounding AI mirrors concerns that surfaced during previous technological shifts.
“People are scared. They’re thinking, ‘Oh my God, it’s going to take over my job.’ But actually it’s about how you use AI as a tool for you to best deliver what you need to deliver.”
Perhaps the most important takeaway was her advice not to become overwhelmed by the pace of change.
“Focus on what it is that you need to deliver, and then focus on the tools that can help you achieve that.”
Small Actions Create Lasting Impact
One of the most memorable moments from the conversation came when discussing seemingly small behaviours that have a disproportionately large impact.
For Daksha, meaningful experiences aren’t always created by major initiatives.
Often, they’re created through simple acts of recognition.
“It’s these little small changes that actually have a massive impact on those individuals because it’s a sense of acknowledgement.”
Whether it’s thanking a colleague, recognising a team member or creating a memorable interaction for a customer, these moments contribute to culture in ways that are difficult to measure but impossible to ignore.
The same principle sits at the heart of Pret’s well-known “Joy of Pret” philosophy.
“These are the small things that have a big impact and can change things massively for people.”
The Future Belongs to Organisations That Invest in Their People
Wrapping up the conversation, Daksha reflected on the importance of learning pathways and creating environments where people can continue to grow throughout their careers.
She believes today’s workforce wants more than a job. People want to see a future.
They want opportunities to learn.
They want visible progression.
And they want leaders who demonstrate those values themselves.
“If the leaders demonstrate that through their own acts, through their own messaging, then that is how you make a big difference.”
It’s a simple idea, but one that resonated throughout the entire discussion.
Technology will continue to evolve. Customer expectations will continue to change. New challenges will emerge.
But organisations that continue investing in learning, leadership and people development will be best placed to adapt.
As Daksha’s insights demonstrate, the future may be increasingly digital, but success will still be built on very human foundations.
Watch the Full Podcast
Want to hear the full conversation?
Watch the complete episode of The Pret Perspective podcast below, where Lisa Khosla and Daksha Stancilas discuss leadership development, apprenticeships, AI, customer experience and the future of learning in the era of artificial intelligence.
