Q&A with Ocado

The value celebrated at Ocado’s award-winning event is a crucial one – safety. Here, the team provides an insight into what goes into creating such a special event.

‘It’s a team effort to make sure the event runs smoothly on the day’

Winner: Channels > Best Event

Congratulations on winning the IoIC Award. How did you feel to win?
Completely unexpected. We were taken by surprise when the Awards host started reading out part of our submission – and the penny slowly sunk in that we were going to win!

What do you think makes your project so special?
I think our event stood out to the judging panel as it truly holds safety at the heart of it – from the selection of attendees, to activities and scoring on the day, plus the safe-driving exhibits provided by our sponsors.

For the project team, this event really holds a special place in our heart as it gives us the opportunity to provide something for our deserving colleagues that they would otherwise never get to do – seeing their faces and smiles on the day, and hearing their feedback really makes it worthwhile for us!

What do you put your success down to?
At Ocado Logistics, one of our values is “we’re in it together” and this event is a great example of teamwork and everyone helping. Despite organisation of the event not really fitting into anyone’s role responsibilities, anyone asked is keen to help in any way they can.

There are a lot of moving parts and lots to bring together, so it really is a team effort to make sure everything runs smoothly on the day! Having the weather on our side doesn’t hurt either…

What advice would you give to anyone considering entering the IoIC Awards?
Take some time to sit down and think about how you want to structure your entry, and what information you need to make it stand out. It makes writing the entry so much easier if you’ve done some work on the preparation. Data and proof of success is vital, so bear that in mind when choosing what project to enter!

What do you think of when you think of IoIC?
Best practice and industry recognition.

As an IC team, what would you like to achieve next?
Our plans for the next 12-18 months are all focused on upgrading our technology to provide a better foundational experience for our colleagues.

Alongside a new communications platform, the project also includes replacing our existing human capital management, payroll and workforce management systems, so a lot of change and lots to communicate and embed!

You can find out more about Ocado's award winning event in the Knowledge Hub.