Colleague Thank you vouchers and Global Innovation Co-op Summit Winner

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Published 28 Jul 2023 in Phil's blog

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Colleague Thank You Vouchers

As voted by our members at the AGM, eligible colleagues will receive their thank vouchers digitally via the Your Co-op Members app on 31 July. To find out eligibility, and how to access and spend them click here.

I would like to say a thank you to all our colleagues for their hard work and dedication over the last year. Your continued support has allowed the Society to reach record member trade as we serve our members and customers.

And with it being pay day today, don’t forget you can use your vouchers with our enhanced 20% off in Food stores and gain up to £500 off in Travel. Plus, there are a number of great colleague deals across our Utilities business like their Superfast Plus Fibre Broadband and the Fairbuds XL headphones. To find out more click here.

Global Innovation Co-op Summit winner

I would like to pass on my thanks to all colleagues who submitted an idea for our Global Innovation Co-op Summit competition. As a reminder, we asked colleagues to nominate a UK Co-op that our Society could start working with and explain how by partnering with them, we’ll be able to build a fairer, more sustainable and ethical future. The winner of the competition is awarded the unique opportunity to represent our Society later this year at the Global Innovation Coop Summit taking place in Montreal, Canada, from the 27-29 September 2023.

Overall, we received 16 submissions, providing a great range of ideas including links to local food and supporting local farmers, tackling food waste, energy efficiency and renewable energy, supporting mental health, embracing artificial Intelligence, promoting our community work, and supporting education. Following the specific criteria, 5 of these ideas were shortlisted to the final stage where colleagues presented their idea earlier this week to a select panel that included myself, Pete Westall, Chief Values Officer, and Mike Pickering, Head of Sustainability.

I’m pleased to announce that following these presentations we have now selected an overall winner, Sam Webb, Store Manager of our Lydney Petrol Filling Station. His brilliant idea is working with The Big Solar Co-op to help identify, design and implement Solar Photovoltaic (PV) opportunities across a selection of our trading sites, whilst exploring community ownership options to help finance this activity. The idea is truly aligned to our purpose to build a fairer, more sustainable and ethical future, and provides a range of benefits to our business including reducing our impact on the environment, reducing costs through energy savings and engaging our members and communities in the process.

Congratulations to Sam, and whilst only one idea could be selected as our overall winner, we will still review opportunities to look into a range of other great ideas further working with the relevant Executive members and Chief Operating Officers for the Business Group that each idea refers to. Keep an eye out for our spotlight stories in the run-up to the summit in September, which will be all about the shortlisted colleague ideas that were submitted.

Fairbuds XL headphones colleague competition winner

Staying on the topic of sustainability, I am pleased to see the latest innovation from Your Co-op Broadband, the Fairbuds XL headphones. Responsibly sourced with Fairtrade and recycled materials, the headphones are 100% repairable that match the many industry-leading brands on the market. Have a read our special colleague review from Andy Kelley and how you can your own pair with our exclusive colleague discount here.

Now onto the winner of our colleague competition (*drum roll please*); congratulations to Debbie Anderson, Trainee Travel Consultant from our Lydney & Cinderford Travel branches. Well done Debbie, I hope you enjoy your Fairbuds XL headphones!

Fairbuds XL headphones competition winner - Debbie Anderson, Trainee Travel Consultant from our Lydney & Cinderford Travel

Colleague Pulse Survey now live

Finally, the latest colleague pulse survey is now live and will be open until 6 August. Please take the opportunity to share your thoughts and opinions by participating. Simply log in to Colleagues Connect and you will find the survey link in your notifications.

Your views are very important and help us gain a rounded view of our colleagues, enabling us to make positive improvements. So, I encourage you to take part and share the survey with your fellow colleagues. Rest assured; all responses are anonymous. By participating, you also stand a chance to win one of five £20 Your Co-op Vouchers. For more information, please click here.