A ripple of excitement is becoming the norm here in the dull, grey days of February. Last year we established our Colleague of the Year award. Meet this year's winner!
Meet Alex Bursuc
For this, our second award of Colleague of the Year, we’re proud to recognise Samples Supervisor Alex Bursuc. Samples may be small, but they present problems way beyond their weight, partly because of the volumes required. Cutting, storing, labelling and delivery all present their own particular challenges.
We’re lucky to have Alex on the case. With the introduction of LEAN working last year—a system whereby every process is examined and upgraded where possible—the Samples Department made 114 improvements.
“What Alex has done with the samples department is extraordinary over the last few years, with this year no different,” says Operations Director, Marius Catrinoi-Cornea. “Constant improvements have been implemented.”
One of Alex’s effective ways of working is to draw in other departments and gather ideas from across the company. “To give you a small example,” says Marius, “he saw a spike in internal defects that his team was raising against Sales and he decided to come with a plan that would help the Sales team to reduce those defects.”
In that case, the problems were caused by the wrong vehicles being selected for delivery, but it could be any aspect. “Recently, after a showroom manager toured the facility, he sought their feedback to see if there was anywhere else the department could improve,’ adds Marius.
As any company knows, it’s this sort of sideways thinking and willingness to co-operate that reaps results. And it’s testament to the impact of Alex’s contribution—one of his suggestions has saved the company £20,000—that he’s snaffled the award. There were eleven others in the running.
How we select Colleague of the Year
The award is the natural evolution of our Colleague of the Month award, instigated in September 2020. Every member of staff can take part, nominating a colleague who has made a special contribution. The company directors then discuss the nominees and vote on the winner. Criteria considered include proactive helpfulness, a creative, strategic approach and intradepartmental teamwork, all of which Alex demonstrated in spades. Sometimes it’s a lively exchange, though—we’re blessed with many colleagues who go ‘above and beyond’.
Since its start, we’ve celebrated the contributions of nearly 30 colleagues. Last year was the first for Colleague of the Year, won by London Stone’s Marketing Director Diana Catrinoi-Cornea.
We'd like to thank every member of our staff who contributed nominations as well as those who have received them. It's teamwork that makes London Stone such a special place to work.
And a final word from Alex. "It's a pleasure to be awarded such an important award and it will help me to continue improving my skills and knowledge to bring value into the company. Last year was an amazing year, with lots of improvements implemented in the department I drive. I'm happy to say that we will keep following the LEAN way by completing the projects in place for this year to improve the area, processes and all those things which will help us to provide the best services for our customers, as this is our main target."
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