One Whole Year of Being an EOT Business ●
Last month marked the one year anniversary of entering an EOT Business Model at S&W Wholesale which allowed further investment back into the business, our staff benefits and the local community for the future of S&W. This milestone was also marked with the green light provided by local Newry, Mourne & District Council Planning Committee for S&W’s new major, multi-purpose built facility. Representing an investment of circa £15Million, it will support the business’s future growth plans. The proposal for the 16,730 sqm storage and distribution centre including state-of-the-art office accommodation will also offer a major boost for the both the local economy and S&W as the business looks to the future.
Michael Skelton, CEO commented: “2023 for us at S&W was all about pioneering the way for the move in Northern Ireland for a company of this scale. We knew there were going to be learnings on the journey but we were committed to showing our staff, their families, the local community and all involved with S&W that we are an organisation for the future.”
An EOT Business model allows staff to potentially reap benefits as the business continues to thrive. Within the short space of time since it’s implementation we have been able to introduce bi-annual payments based on company performance to all staff totalling in excess of c£400k, provided two additional days annual leave, increased Death in Service to 3x times a staff member’s salary. Further to this we have opened new channels of communication and engagement through skip level meetings and ask the CEO forum for all employees.
Michael Skelton continued: “The overall engagement opportunities has increased and employees have become more involved with developing the culture of S&W; shaping some fantastic initiatives such as the free breakfast all year round project and supporting local charities in our S&W Christmas in the Community initiative where five local charities got a share of £5,000.
Our suppliers are safe in the knowledge too that S&W will continue to be their partners for the long term with ambitious growth and investment plans in motion for the year ahead. We will continue to invest as part of EOT, back into the business. Within the past year our new dynamic IT System launched in order to provide further efficiencies across the business.
To celebrate One Whole Year of being an EOT business with our staff we sent out surprise S&W celebration cards with a QR code for a chance for every member of the team to scan and win some fantastic prizes. There was also a two tier cake at reception and individual EOT cupcakes made locally for each member to enjoy.
Anthony McVeigh Deputy CEO had this to say: “Celebrating the one year milestone of being an EOT business is important for all our members of staff. January and Februry can be a challenging long month; especially from the lull after the festive period so being able to give back to our employees with prizes and celebratory events will go a long way. It’s also a great opportunity to reflect and showcase how far we have progressed and the fantastic staff benefits that have already been implemented across the entire business in the last year.”
20th February 2024