Minimum No More: Crew HR, Standards & People Culture | The Crew Car

Yachting is built on crew. Without them, nothing works.

In this episode of The Crew Car, Captain James Battey speaks with Kayleigh Liddell, Crew HR Manager at Hill Robinson, about crew HR, people culture, yacht management, retention, and why the industry needs to move beyond simply meeting the minimum.

Kayleigh shares her route from education, recruitment, and HR into yachting, and how her work with Hill Robinson Crew Services has shown her both the need for better crew support and the resistance that can appear when trying to bring more structured people-focused systems into the industry.

This conversation looks at why HR in yachting should not be treated as rules for the sake of rules. It is about structure, communication, consistency, care, and creating working environments where crew and captains are properly supported.

From welcome packs and compassionate leave policies to training budgets, leadership development, shipyard learning opportunities, collaboration between management companies, and the pressure placed on captains, this episode looks at what it will really take to move yachting forward.

Kayleigh also raises one of the strongest points of the conversation: the industry needs to stop aiming for “minimum” and start talking about standards.

Minimum safe manning.
Minimum support.
Minimum training.
Minimum accountability.

Why is minimum still the ambition?

In this episode:
• Kayleigh Liddell’s route into yachting and crew HR
• Why people care sits at the heart of her work
• How Hill Robinson began building HR support for yacht crew
• Why captains need to be part of the conversation
• Why HR in yachting is really about people and culture
• The importance of welcome packs, policies, and support structures
• Why training budgets and personal development matter
• How shipyards could become powerful spaces for crew training
• Why collaboration across the industry is essential
• The problem with fragmented standards across yachts
• Why captains carry responsibility without always having support
• Why the term “minimum” holds the industry back
• How yachting can move from minimum standards to real standards

Connect & Learn More:

Hill Robinson
https://www.hillrobinson.com

Yacht Workers Council
https://yachtworkerscouncil.com

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https://www.yachtinginternationalradio.com/yachting-news

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🎙️ The Crew Car | Yachting International Radio