Our Online Doctor and Colleague Board

Hello again,

It was great to see you getting involved and joining in the conversation on my last blog and I really enjoyed reading your comments. Make sure you look back to check out my responses and I look forward to even more of you getting involved again this week!

Online Doctor

First up this week was a visit to Bilston Hub to meet with Phil Wilkes and his team (pictured above from left to right: Kiran, Samla, Chelsea, Surina, Phil, Manpreet, Louise, Jas, Andrew and Vicky). We discussed our growing online business and how the team are delivering new record sales on a week by week basis. 

Phil's team extended (from left to right: Nicholas, Surina, Phil, Chelsea, Kiran and Rachael)

I’m excited to see Coop Pharmacy move increasingly into a digital era and the cooppharmacy.coop site is something we can really be proud of. The site has been designed with our membership at the forefront where members can log in and enjoy preferential pricing. Additionally, members and customers can benefit from arranging for their NHS prescriptions to be dispensed and delivered to their door or desk as well as visit the Online Doctor.

The Online Doctor is all about offering a safe, effective and trusted means to obtain treatment without long waits to visit the GP. We have come a long way since launching in 2013 as a standalone digital offering. This has now become a part of our Coop Pharmacy website which has grown to dispense up to 1,000 prescriptions per week.

But we’re not stopping there, we are continuing to develop the website and we will soon be offering video consultations with a doctor which will open up the number of treatments we can offer as well as provide more choice for those who may prefer a face to face appointment. The continuous hard work from all colleagues involved has put Coop Pharmacy in a great position to be a trusted provider of healthcare products, advice and services to our members.

Chip and Pin readers fail in Food stores

Unfortunately our Food colleagues had a frustrating start to the week due to a fault in chip and pin devices. Mastercard were accountable for the error which took two days to resolve. We weren’t alone, companies including other Coops and M&S were also affected. Thank you to everyone for your patience and continuing to deliver excellent customer service.

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI)

For those of you concerned about Brexit negotiations and the impact this may have on our business, you may be interested to know that last week I met with Sally Hannah, the Deputy Director for West Midlands and Oxfordshire of CBI. They support us by helping us to plan ahead with confidence to grow and also advise government on viable solutions to promote our business interests.

During our meeting, Sally and I covered a lot including: the future of Midcounties, retailing, the public’s trust in business and the overall role of business in society. Another key topic of discussion, no surprises, Brexit. As Brexit negotiations continue we talked about the effect this is having on the health of our economy and the impact it may have on Midcounties. The reason why these meetings are so important is to make the CBI aware of our views so they can lobby with government on our behalf.

As some of you may be aware I am a member of the Regional Council for West Midlands for CBI and I look forward to telling you more about what we discuss following our meeting in September.

Colleague Board

The Colleague Board, not to be confused with Colleague Council, is made up of Executive and Leadership colleagues who meet to ensure there is consistency across the Society on strategy, policies and matters affecting our colleagues. It’s important to understand the Colleague Board do not work alone, we work alongside the Colleague Council and our union, USDAW, to discuss topics that affect you. Thus, it is one of my most important monthly meetings because discussing colleague matters is central to ensuring that you are happy, engaged and fulfilled at work.

I’d like to give you an insight into some of the work of the Colleague Board by sharing with you some previous decisions that have been made in these meetings. Last year, we reviewed the way colleagues are inducted into Midcounties, and decided that everyone should receive a face to face induction. We also decided that the colleague development programme, coupled with a refresh of our performance reviews, would better identify your development needs, allowing us to prioritise training activity and help you develop in your careers. Among other topics that matter to you, we are currently looking at how best to manage time off in lieu (TOIL). 

Charity Football Match

Now for some news you can’t have missed, Midcounties are taking on the TV Allstars at our Charity football match on Sunday 26th August. Sorry to disappoint anybody hoping to watch me bend it like Beckham but I’m afraid those days are long gone. I hope you’ve all got your tickets and I look forward to seeing you all there. If not, there’s still time and you can buy your tickets here. 

Ask me anything!

I’d love to hear what you want me to discuss in future blog posts. This platform is an opportunity for you to share your thoughts and ideas so don’t be shy, leave a comment for me below and I’ll be in touch.