Record Weather, Colleague Pulse Survey & Member First

I am now back from my family holiday and I would like to say a big thank you to guest bloggers, Sally Bonnar and Mike Pickering for writing their interesting blogs and giving us a good insight into what’s happening across the Society in Childcare and Sustainability.

I’ve come back to the UK at a time of uncertainty with Brexit negotiations likely to start again following the appointment of a new Prime Minister and I think it is important for us to keep a very close eye on how the UK is going to navigate the next few months ahead, in the lead up to leaving the EU. We will continue to prepare for all outcomes and put plans in place to reduce the impact of a ‘no deal’ scenario.

On a somewhat brighter note, it is good to be back at work and it looks as though I have brought the sunny weather with me! One of the hottest days on record yesterday will have meant our food stores being very busy and I really appreciate the efforts of all our Colleagues to ensure customers continue to get great service through these exceptional trading conditions. I also know that the extreme heat makes working conditions difficult for many of you across the Society and I am grateful for your patience and commitment at this time.

It’s turning out to be quite an unpredictable summer and perfect timing to send out our Summer Members Magazine. The magazine has a vibrant ‘ice lolly’ cover to celebrate staying cool over summer in the hope that the sunshine continues! Click here to have a read.

As you may have heard, as part of the Team Midcounties Strategy and in particular the Colleague engagement plan within the Society, the Colleague Pulse Survey is now open for you as a valued Colleague to take part in. The survey is just 10 questions long and I would encourage all Colleagues to share your views in this survey. It’s really important that you use this opportunity to tell us how we can make the Society a better place to work and shop. The survey will close on Monday 29th July, so for more information and how to take part please click here.

Member First was launched to all Colleagues in early May and continues to gain momentum in our Head Offices. Since the launch, the Member First Team have completed 20 roadshows and engaged with over 200 colleagues. I hope that you have looked at the Member First section on your Colleague Connect dashboard, which provides you with a comprehensive overview of the Programme along with the opportunity to submit your own ideas via the Process Improvement Request form. This is a great way for you to highlight any frustrations with working practices and routines that are inefficient or non-value adding and to make a positive difference. The Member First Team are keen to make the process of submitting an improvement idea as easy as possible. To help them achieve this, they are holding a focus group where you can share your thoughts and feedback. If you are interested in attending, please contact Daisy Clifford. So far over 30 ideas have been submitted and I look forward to seeing that figure grow over the coming weeks.

That’s all for this week and if you enjoyed reading my blog why not leave a comment below by signing in?