Interviews

Employee of the year

by Mark Rowe

A member of Ward Security’s 400-strong staff was named Employee of the Year at the Kent company’s Annual Employee Awards. Akinola Ogedengbe was honoured at a ceremony at the Thistle Brands Hatch Hotel, Dartford, on Thursday, May 9. Left to right are Akinola Ogedengbe, Employee of the Year, and David Ward, Managing Director of Ward Security

Akinola was described by the panel of judges as richly deserving of the award because he was “an extremely pro-active and diligent employee. His loyalty to the site where he is assigned is unquestionable and the manner in which he supports his security manager is exemplary”. Akinola has been with the Rocester-based company for five years and received an award in 2008 for best newcomer. He has regularly reported for duty in advance of his shift start time to ensure that building operations at his site remained unaffected.

At Ward’s sixth annual awards, 12 awards were presented, including four regional awards. Two members of staff received special recognition accolades.

Staff were eligible to be entered for an award if they had previously been nominated for one of the company’s Employee of the Month awards by a client or colleague. Winners received an engraved trophy and vouchers.

The ceremony brought together both staff and clients, who enjoyed a meal and presentation ceremony led by Ward operations director Samantha Pullen. Akinola said: “To have won this award is unexpected but I am thrilled. It is fantastic that Ward Security holds these annual awards as it highlights the amazing work that colleagues are doing and helps inspire everyone within the business to drive standards up even higher.”

Ward Security has attained Investors in People Gold status for its work with staff. Ward managing director David Ward said: “Delivering an unparalleled service to clients is what drives us on at Ward Security, so we take employee development, training and welfare very seriously. Our Annual Employee Awards is part of that strategy, helping to highlight examples of exceptional service and best practice. We do our utmost to support our staff at Ward Security, and the Employee Awards complements our extensive training programme, which includes NVQs, internal diplomas and the sponsorship of trainees. Competition for the awards was intense and reading through the entries highlighted the quality of service that clients can expect from Ward Security.”

Awards winners:

London Regional Winner 2013
Sharon Smith

Central Regional Winner 2013
Jarnal Panesar

South East Regional Winner 2013
Chris Dale

West Regional Winner 2013
Harvinder Devsi

Response/C4R Winner 2013
Stephen Feist

Head Office Winner 2013
Charlie Pearce

Driver of the Year 2013
Nicola Byrne

Dog Handler Winner 2013
Wayne Stafford

Team of the Year 2013
ADM

2013 Special Recognition Award
Alex Ambrose

Special Recognition Award
Tony Burns

Employee of the Year 2013
Akinola Ogedengbe.

About Ward Security

Ward has regional offices in Bracknell and Harrogate and will open its central London office on July 1. The company employs 400 security personnel and is owned by brothers David and Kevin Ward. A specialism of the company is the provision of search and guard dogs. It has worked with the Metropolitan Police and Bromley and Bexley Borough Councils on a number of specialist dog guarding projects.

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