Values Champions

Our Values are at the heart of our culture, which means they guide the way we behave, operate, reward and recognise each other.  They are embedded within our communication, recruitment & induction, appraisal and learning and development processes, as well as how we reward and recognise our GREAT team.

 

Each month we recognise the contribution of our team and select monthly values winners across all of our sites, based on their actions and behaviour which is aligned to our values. This all comes together at the end of each year, where we celebrate all the GREAT things we have done and crown our annual values champions.

 

Here you can read about our most recent champions.

Our Champions

  • POSITIVE

    SHANNON CARTER

  • RESPECTFUL

    STEPH BATES

  • ACCOUNTABLE

    DIANE FARRAR

  • EXCELLENCE

    SHELBY MADDEN

  • HONEST

    ALEX METCALF

  • TEAM

    KEVIN SMITH

Positive champion

SHANNON CARTER

Shannon (Retail Assistant, Garden Sundries, Tong) was the recipient of our ‘Positive’ Award after receiving 8 nominations across the year in recognition of her contribution to the business. Our Positive Value is all about being proud to work here, having a ‘can do’ attitude, finding solutions to problems, working in a professional way with energy, enthusiasm and commitment, while getting ‘stuck in’ and reacting positively towards change. It is also about giving a big, warm, friendly “Yorkshire” welcome to everyone, or in Shannon’s case, a nice, warm, friendly ‘Kiwi’ welcome – as Shannon originates from New Zealand.

We asked Shannon what it meant to win this award…

It’s hard to articulate what this award means to me. It made me very emotional. To be short listed amongst such an amazing group of people was brilliant and I would have been so happy with just that, but to then be picked as the winner is next level. I do really try to make everyone I see throughout the day smile. I suffer from anxiety and depression and know that that one interaction can make a huge difference. I absolutely love my job and the people I work with and that can make it very easy to be positive. It’s such a wonderful feeling to have,  knowing that your teammates feel you are worthy enough to deserve to win. All the hugs and lovely comments were so heart-warming and something I will cherish for a lifetime. It makes me want to strive to do better and gives me the confidence to keep being me. Something which I struggle with a lot.

We also asked Shannon what it means to her to work for a business which recognises its employees this way?

Everything! And I can honestly say if it wasn’t for my job at Tong, I would have left to country already. I have never worked in a workplace where there is so much in place to reward and recognise the team. You really do get a sense of family and care from the entire team from bottom to top. Work takes up an enormous part of your life and to work somewhere you feel supported and genuinely cared about is very rare. I look forward to coming to work every day, even on my low days, as I know once I’m there, the culture of Tong will pick me up.  I feel like the People and Culture team have really got a good idea on how to fully support the Team and are always coming up with new and exciting ways to make us all feel recognised and seen. It is absolutely the way of the future and I just really love my job.

Respectful champion

STEPH BATES

Steph (YGC People and Culture Business Partner - Sustainability Lead) won our ‘Respectful’ award and is someone who has demonstrated the respectful value in many ways throughout 2022, nominated 3 times by colleagues for showing care and consideration – supporting our team and helping customers. This value is also all about respecting and caring for the environment we work in, and Steph has embraced this, organising an amazing sustainability week, and engaging the wider team as she drives our sustainability strategy.

We asked Steph what it meant to win this award…

It’s hard to put into works just how proud I am. I work alongside the most incredible team who all work so passionately, with the greatest care for all that they do, so it means the world that I would receive this award when the bar is set so high.

We also asked Steph what it means to her to work for a business which recognises its employees this way?

It is a privilege to work here. It truly is! From day one I knew it was special, but every day you see that our people and our values are at the heart of everything we do. There is no place like it and I’m so proud to say I work here. 

Accountable champion

DIANE FARRAR

Diane (YGC Group Tills and Customer Services Manager) is the absolute epitome of accountable, she takes full responsibility for her role, goes above and beyond every single day to ensure we deliver as a business. She is also an absolute perfectionist, ensuring accuracy is at the forefront of every task she does. Diane spends her days ensuring everyone has what they need, enables her team to learn and grow whilst completing every task to the absolute best of her ability. Diane has recently been required to stretch herself over 4 sites, ensuring her ever growing team are fully trained in their new roles, and has been an absolute asset to the business particularly over the last year.

We asked Diane what it meant to win this award…

I cannot express how truly thankful I am for receiving my award, I honestly did not expect it.

There have been so many “hair raising” highs and lows over the last few months, from missing till parts, figures not pulling through, welcoming new team members and showing them they were joining a great company. I am so lucky to have such a great team and each and every one of them have supported me with their own unique qualities.

We also asked Diane what it means to her to work for a business which recognises its employees this way?

I had a heart to heart with my manager recently, as I was unsure of the direction my role and future was going.  They were so understanding and tried to put my mind at ease.  To then receive such generous recognition, support and amazingly kind words from the business,  I am totally blown away. Having worked for a bad company, it makes you appreciate a good one so much more.

EXCELLENCE champion

SHELBY MADDEN

Our Excellence Award winner went to Shelby Madden (Catering Assistant, Blooms, Tong) who is a real role model in everything she does, she leads by example and is always willing to share her knowledge and experience with other members of the team. Shelby received multiple nominations over the year for her caring spirit, brilliant work ethic and ability to always remain calm - even when the checks are building up! Shelby has really developed her barista skills over the years and now help to train new starters showing great patience and respect. In addition to this she demonstrated great initiative by developing a range of luxury hot chocolates which were rolled out across Blooms & Grasshoppers at Tong and Tingley, generating an incremental £20K of sales.

We asked Shelby what it meant to win this award…

I felt quite touched, especially considering all the other nominees were really deserving too. You’re only as good as your team, so I’m lucky and thankful that I get to work with so many equally excellent people!

We also asked Shelby what it means to her to work for a business which recognises its employees this way?

Not every workplace recognises its employees, or even has events like our Annual Awards Evening, so it’s nice to be appreciated for the work we all do, and to know, even on challenging days, your efforts don’t go unnoticed - that either way you’re working in a team that supports you and has your back.

HONEST champion

ALEX METCALF

Alex Metcalf (Catering Supervisor, Mezzanine, Tong) was the recipient of our Honest Champion Award. Our Honest Value is all about being consistent and reliable, giving honest advice and feedback in a sincere way, making time for others and being inquisitive, asking questions to give the right advice – something with Alex has embraced over the past 12 months. Alex has helped transform our Mezzanine service levels by engaging, coaching, and developing his team, turning plans into action to ensure things get done. Alex isn’t one to shy away from things and will often roll up his sleeves and jump straight in, clearing tables, sweep, mop and help in any way he can when the team need his help, he even drove one of his team 100 miles (each way) to attend a workshop on his day off.

We asked Alex what it meant to win this award…

It means a huge amount to me personally, and more importantly, I think it means a lot to my entire team, seeing their reaction to me winning was better than the award itself! It’s a real confirmation that everything I try to do for and with my team is worthwhile.

We also asked Alex what it means to him to work for a business which recognises its employees this way?

Having worked for a big brand previously it was obvious you were just a number, here feels completely different. The values awards recognise that everybody has different strengths and bring something different to the table, and all those strengths are equally important.

TEAM champion

Kevin Smith

Our Team Award winner, Kevin Smith (YGC Joinery Manager) is someone who demonstrates that “Your team is my team, and my team is your team”. Along with his own team, Kevin has worked across the business, transforming not only the shop floors but also Grasshoppers, Mission Out and spaces behind closed doors that only our teams see. With a never-ending list of jobs, he approaches everything with a can-do attitude, with no job being too big or too small. Kevin has taken control of costs and has saved the business thousands of pounds over the last 12 months. Everything he does is to an incredibly high standard, there isn’t a department throughout the whole business that hasn’t asked for Kevin and his teams’ help.

We asked Kevin what it meant to win this award…

This is one of the proudest moments in my career, to have all my hard work recognised and seen by so many across the organisation. I haven’t given it my all just to win an award, but it’s a bonus especially after only being here for little over 12 months.

We also asked Kevin what it means to him to work for a business which recognises its employees this way?

Having come from an organisation that did very little to recognise its employees, it’s nice to be a part of one that puts so much effort into ensuring people don’t go unnoticed, and it’s a huge motivator for myself. It makes me proud of where I work.