Olympic snowboarder Zoe Gillings was the special guest at a Manx Telecom annual update and staff awards event held at the Mount Murray Hotel and Country Club. Zoe, who is Britain’s number one Olympic snowboard cross athlete, spoke about her rise to the top of her sport and the amazing experiences of competing at the Winter Olympics and World Cups – including representing Team GB at this year’s Winter Olympics in Sochi. All of Manx Telecom’s employees attended the event to kick-off what Manx Telecom Marketing Director David Smith says will be a busy and exciting few months. He said:
“Every year, we take our employees off-site to receive an update on how the business has performed over the previous 12 months and the plans for the coming year. It’s also a chance to celebrate some of the successes of 2013 and present awards to staff. This year’s event was the first since the company’s recent flotation, so it was also a chance to explain first-hand what this new chapter in Manx Telecom’s history means for staff.”
Manx Telecom CEO Mike Dee presented four awards for outstanding performance in categories which reflect Manx Telecom’s core values – enterprising, confident, proactive, and trusted. All staff can nominate the colleague who they think has exemplified each one of these values in their work over the previous year. The winners for 2013 are Barry Neville, Customer Service Advisor– Enterprising Award; Gareth Whorrall, Technical Specialist – Confident Award; Rachelle Cain, Accounts Assistant – Proactive Award; and Stephen Smith, Estates Maintenance Officer – Trusted Award.
Staff were also given updates from directors and senior managers on some of the key challenges for the year ahead. The company’s top priority is to launch the Island’s first 4G mobile network this summer, and news of positive progress was shared with staff. Continued development of its Global Solutions business is another key focus for Manx Telecom and this subject was also one which received close attention.
Commenting on the event, Zoe said that she shared Manx Telecom’s core values and that following similar principles has been a key to her success. In particular, she explained that her ‘enterprising’ approach was critical in achieving even a minute advantage over her rivals, and like Manx Telecom she was always looking for innovative ways to utilise new technology. One example is Zoe’s use of a ?35,000 pair of ‘eye tracking’ ski goggles in training for Sochi. The goggles have two cameras – one focused on the snowboarder’s eyes, and the other on the track ahead. The technology allowed Zoe to train to focus on the racing line and not to be distracted by looking at rivals in her peripheral vision. Away from sport, Zoe is also a successful businesswoman and is the founder and CEO of isleofdeals.com and experthealth.me
Photo - Zoe Gillings (centre) with Manx Telecom staff (left to right) Gavin Smith, Alex Barlow, Tristan Gell and Voirrey Barron.
