Integration Highlights Pt. 2

This integration is about bringing our co-operative societies together to create one stronger, member-owned organisation. By joining forces, we can share our knowledge, resources and experience to grow sustainably, invest more in our future and return more value to our members. Most importantly, it helps us better support our colleagues and the communities we serve.

Our integration workstreams are now fully up and running, with clear leads across Culture and Colleagues, IT, Brand, Marketing & Membership, Food Retail and Legal & Governance. These teams are working hard behind the scenes to make sure everything joins up properly and that we move forward in a steady and organised way.

Integration Highlights

• A visit took place at the former Central England Support Centre to move forward with the new branding - an exciting step in bringing “OurCoop” to life;

• The first Board meeting of “OurCoop” was held on 19 February, where important decisions were made about how the Board and its committees will operate;

• Our first joint risk meeting has taken place, starting the work to align how we manage risk and compliance across the new Society;

• The Food Retail teams held their first joint meeting, coming together to share plans and begin working more closely as one team.

Other Key Programme Updates

A lot of detailed work is happening behind the scenes. This week has focused on reviewing how things work today and mapping out what needs to happen next, including;

• Reviewing HR policies across societies to understand differences and move towards a clear and consistent approach for colleagues;

• Continuing work on the IT roadmap, with a first draft expected in early March;

• Holding an IT and Finance workshop on 23 February to look at finance systems and possible timelines, with more sessions planned;

• Working with FuneralCoop and TravelCoop to make sure the new branding is applied consistently;

• Hosting a Safe Stores strategy day on 25 February to focus on keeping our colleagues, customers and assets safe;

• Setting the date for our Annual Members’ Meeting - 6.30pm on Wednesday 20 May. It will be a hybrid event, broadcast from Oxford with local meetings in Walsall, Yorkshire, Chelmsford, Derby, Huntingdon and Leicester. More details will follow soon.