Combatting Retail Crime, Dementia Action Alliance visit & AGM 2022

This article will take approximately 3 minutes to read

Published 8 Apr 2022 in Phil's blog

Did you enjoy this post:

The week started with a visit to our new nurseries at Cheltenham and Emerson’s Green Bristol with Sally Bonnar, Chief Operating Officer for Childcare. It was great to see first-hand all the children and parents enjoying our state-of-the-art investments which opened last September and January this year, respectively.

With Nursery Manager, Shannon from Bristol Temple Mead

The Bristol Temple Mead Railway station

As part of my visits in the area, I had the chance to visit our charming nearby nursery at Bristol Temple Mead Railway station to discuss future plans with Nursery Manager, Shannon. Currently the nursery is housed in part of the historic train station complex which opened in 1840 and was the first to be designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. As a Grade l listed building, it won’t be without its challenges when we look to convert it to the full Little Pioneers specification. Watch this space.

Looking back through the Society archives

Yesterday while in Warwick, I bumped into Chas Townley, Chair of the Members Engagement Committee, and Ayesha Di’Angelo, Young Co-operators Co-ordinator. We had the chance to look through and examine archive photographs which had captured people and events from the Society over the last 100 years. An amazing insight to see, I found the trip down memory lane fascinating and look forward to seeing these images displayed for everyone to see.

Looking through the archives with Ayesha Di’Angelo, Young Co-operators Network Co-ordinator & Chas Townley, Member Engagement Committee member

Society Announcement – Changes to Food Retail estate

Over the last couple of years, we have been reviewing our Food estate in line with our strategy to serve our communities from convenience or food market format stores. Inevitably that has meant our Board have had to make difficult decisions about some of our stores that are not in line with our strategic plans.

As part of this ongoing review, it was identified that our Food store in Cinderford does not fit with our strategy, and we have this week announced to colleagues at the store that we have agreed a sale to Tesco with colleagues transferring over as well. I would like to thank all of our colleagues at the store for their hard work and contribution to the Society and wish them well in the future.

Retail Crime – our ongoing commitment

Since the turn of the year, we have continued efforts to gain greater protection for our colleagues, members and customers. So, I am proud to announce the Board have approved our 5-year strategy which will go towards upgrading infrastructure and Store equipment with enhanced security features.

With our dedicated Safer Stores team working hard to combat Retail crime across our stores and help create a safer place for those who work and shop with us. The Society has long campaigned for tougher penalties for those convicted of attacks on shop workers, which now looks set to be introduced when the Police, Crime, Courts and Sentencing Bill is passed into law.

This is a significant investment for our stores, including a new incident reporting portal and Roaming Officers. Where these dedicated officers will be available for all stores and help provide vital support for colleagues in the event of an incident. Other improvements include CCTV monitoring, a Crime Hub and a ‘Guardian Angel’ model which will be at our most at-risk sites. Retail crime is an area which we take extremely seriously, so I hope this continues to make our Stores and colleagues feel as safe as possible while serving members and customers. More updates in due course.

Dementia Action Alliance Shropshire visit

Last week along with my fellow Executive colleague, Alison Bain, I had the chance to visit one of our incredible charity partners, Dementia Action Alliance based in Shropshire. With dementia affecting 1 in 16 people over the age of 65, I got to see first-hand how this incredible charity helps to improve the lives of individuals affected by dementia and the invaluable support they give to their carers. An amazing partner, I’m so proud we continue to help them make a difference in our communities.

Watch the update...

Peter Kelly, Chief Financial Officer appointment

With our Chief Financial Officer, Peter Dubois leaving the Society in May after 26 years, I am delighted to announce that Peter Kelly will take up the position full time and join our Executive team. Having already been in the interim position since December, it is an exciting time as we look to grow the organisation through investment and partnerships. As well as his role in Finance, Peter will also pick up Executive responsibility for IT later in the year as we welcome in our new Head of IT, Jacob Isherwood.

I know that Peter shares the Board’s ambition to make a positive difference across the communities in which we trade and will play a key role in transforming the Society to meet the needs of a changing world and for the future generations.

Celebrating 35 years long service – Tarra Simmons

This week I joined the celebrations of Support Service colleague, Tarra Simmons, Head of Community and Democratic Engagement, who celebrated 35 years of service. It was great to catch up with Tarra to recall the highs and lows since starting with the Society. As I’m sure you’ll agree Tarra is a dedicated co-operator who really represents our values and beliefs. Well done and congratulations on all your hard work and dedication over the years.

Have a read of some of her interesting facts below:

Beginning as a student at Shaw Street food in April 1986, Tarra worked at Wednesbury & then was appointed Manager at Ashmore Park Co-op.
Following this, she moved to Support Office and began her training career. Being a key figure at the time of the Society merger & beyond, in 2005 she drove a joint culture and rolled out the DOES values across the combined Society.
Prestigious accolades – she is the driving force for the Society in that role including the Sunday Times top 20 employer; Investors in People awards & also took the lead in many external steering groups for BITC; ENEI and others.
Moved across to the CSR team in 2013, bringing Diversity & Inclusion; Learning & Development & Colleague Engagement with her. She has been a lead in Regional Communities; the Young Co-operators network and Your Co-op Conversations among other areas. Even being invited to Buckingham Palace as part of the Society team to be recognised for community work!

Meet Your Elected Board Members – 11April

As part of Your Co-op Conversations, we will be hosting a special webinar to meet our elected Board members. Running from 6.00 - 7.00pm, it’s an opportunity for members to get involved in a two-way conversation about things they care about or affect our Society. A chance for the Board to express views on changing shopping habits and impact on consumer trends (post-pandemic), I encourage you all to join in and let our Board know your views for future planning. Click here to book on.

AGM 2022 – Building a fairer future together

Finally, as we fast approach our first physical AGM since 2019, the date for this year’s AGM is Saturday 14^th May. Taking place at the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham, this will be our first hybrid meeting incorporating members online and in person at the same time, so I am really looking forward to meeting our members once again. As part of the day, special guests will include Adam Henson (featured on Countryfile) and the chance to meet and greet our amazing local suppliers. I welcome all colleagues to attend but if you can’t make it in person, we will also be streaming the event online.

With more exciting agenda items to follow, you can book your place here.

If you enjoyed this week's blog, why not give it a 'Heart' above or leave a comment below.