TWO staff from Northern Ireland were the overall winners of their Award categories at the Sodexo 2016 Star Awards for the UK and Ireland held in London recently.
Alaistair Armstrong, who manages the PSNI contract in Northern Ireland, won the Overall Account Manager of the Year Award while Pamela Millar, Sodexo’s business manager at Allstate in Belfast, was presented with the Overall Employee Engagement Award.
The Star Awards are the annual highlight of the company calendar and recognises the most outstanding of its 34,000 employees in 23 categories and across all its divisions.
As Account Manager for the PSNI contract, Alaistair is responsible for the staff restaurants, operational meals, vending and hospitality in 23 locations and where services can be requested at any time and on any day of the year. The judges remarked that: “Alaistair’s presentation was engaging, on point, and clearly brought to life his passion for the business and how he and his team deliver for their clients, customers, team members and Sodexo on a daily basis. He is a real ambassador for the organisation.”
Alaistair, who was also a finalist in the Area Manager category in both the Catey and the FSM Awards for 2016, said: “I’m absolutely delighted to win this award given the level of the competition within this category. It’s not only the recognition of what I do but also the hard work and effort of my team. It was the first time I had been nominated for it so to win and bring this award back to Northern Ireland is such a great achievement.”
The Employee Engagement Award recognises someone who has demonstrated a measurable difference to the company’s business across a number of factors.
Under Pamela’s direction, Sodexo’s team on-site have collectively won multiple awards in catering and service excellence and it is now a designated centre of excellence for the development of new employees. The judges said: “Pamela’s approach has created a highly engaging, fun and family atmosphere for the whole team which has had a clear and measurable impact on the success of their business.”