| |
|
At its quarterly Manager’s meeting, Blue
Apple applauded and rewarded its key staff,
announced its financial results for the
previous year and launched its new marketing
initiative.
| The meeting was
held at one of Blue Apple’s most
supportive sites at Schering Plough
in Harefield, where their client,
Carmel Coyne kindly offered the
grounds and the conference facilities.
Hoping for good weather, Brian
and Ruston also organised a pre-summer
BBQ to make the most of the beautiful
surroundings at the Schering Plough
site. |
|
SNACK ATTACK
United Biscuits and 3663 presented their
latest initiative “Snack Attack”, which
focuses on matching the snack offer to
the demographics of the customer base,
guaranteeing to satisfy 80% of the site
population’s snack requirements. This
initiative is being rolled out across
Blue Apple’s business over the next two
weeks and will be trialled for a three-month
period. Having seen dramatic improvements
of up to 28% in sales of snack items over
1,000 sites for a large contract caterer,
Blue Apple is confident that sales in
this area will increase to a similar extent
for them, which will improve turnover
and reduce subsidies for its clients.
BLUE BRANDING
Linking in with this, Blue Apple’s own
marketing initiatives (managed by its
marketing team, headed by Liz Balmford)
will reinforce the selling attitude that
Blue Apple is driving through its business.
Liz presented the new merchandising and
the refreshed brand image, which was enthusiastically
received. Linking supplier offers to in-house
promotions, Liz will manage their implementation
throughout the business through direct
contact with unit managers, providing
promotional collateral and marketing support.
In addition, Brian and Ruston are offering
reward-based incentives to the teams who
improve sales the most through the introduction
of promotions and special days.
APPLE-AUD AND REWARD
As part of their commitment to applauding
and rewarding staff, Brian and Ruston
closed the meeting by presenting a series
of awards.
EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH
Employee of the month is given to staff
who show exceptional dedication to their
role and to Blue Apple – those people
who give that little bit extra, above
and beyond what is normally expected.
Each month, the esteemed recipient receives
an ‘Employee Of The Month’ certificate
and £50 worth of M&S gift vouchers.
Each recipient automatically gets entered
into the yearly ‘Big Apple Award’ draw,
with the winner enjoying a weekend in
New York for two.
BIG APPLE
To ensure the draw was completely impartial,
Paul Clare, (Business Development Manager
at United Biscuits) chose the winning
envelope as all the candidates waited
with bated breath. This year’s winner
was Sarah East, Blue Apple’s Chef Manager
at Aspect Communications, Stockley Park
near Heathrow.
Sarah who has never been to the USA said
excitedly, ”All the nominees were asked
to stand up and the names were read out.
People were gradually being eliminated;
the tension was incredible, I couldn’t
believe I’d won.”
Sarah is pictured having a stateside celebration
with Blue Apple Directors Ruston Toms
and Brian Allanson.
TEAM UP 2004
Sarah East also scooped the prize on behalf
of her team at Aspect Communications,
for Team Up 2004, an award given for the
first time to recognise the importance
of working as a team. The selection is
based on how the team members in each
unit interact amongst themselves, how
they help each other and how they help
other units – whether they socialise with
each other, whether they respond positively
to staff swapping, support and relief
– generally whether they are thinking
outside of their own team efforts to the
business as a whole. Sarah’s team of Claire
and Ida have worked hard all year and
supported each other and Blue Apple really
positively. Brian and Ruston were delighted
to be able to present them with a cheque
each for £100 and a certificate for them
to display on the wall in their unit.
THE END GOAL WAS CHARCOAL
The meeting was finished off with a delicious
barbecue, served on a warm (partly sunny)
patio. The al fresco meal was prepared
by Unit Manager, Glenn Coldwell and cooked
with much flair and aplomb by Brian and
Ruston themselves, who quickly donned
aprons to serve their staff as a demonstration
of their appreciation.
|
Look out for the next
“A Byte From Blue Apple”, coming soon....
Brian and Ruston |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
