18th March 2016
Rocialle named RCT Best Employer and Business of the Year
On hearing of Rocialle’s success at the RCT annual awards evening, Christine Chapman AM, Assembly Member for the Cynon Valley, commented, “I’m really pleased to be able to offer my congratulations to Rocialle for their success in the RCT Business Club awards. Winning Employer of the Year highlights Rocialle’s commitment to their workforce, and to win overall Business of the Year is a great testimony to Rocialle’s innovative approach and the high esteem they are held in by their peers.”
In naming Rocialle Employer of the Year, the judges from the Rhondda Cynon Taf Business Club recognised the investment in people made by the company and the success this has brought. Rocialle places great importance on attracting, recruiting, developing and retaining the best local talent and recognises that to improve continuously, training of the workforce is vital. Managers, Supervisors and Team Leaders progress through the levels of the Institute of Leadership and Management. Operators are given time to attend college and study Performance in Manufacturing Operations. They also attend courses on Lean manufacturing that cover QA and H&S.
2015 was the first full year that the company had held the SA8000 Social Accountability Standard, meeting criteria covering the working environment, provision of a living wage and employee representation. The first company in the medical industry and only the twelfth in the UK to receive this award, Rocialle had also demonstrated how it works to protect the rights of workers at suppliers around the world.
Rocialle recognises the importance of reaching out into the community and provides work experience for students of the comprehensive school, where Rocialle’s MD is a governor, sponsors KidSafe with primary schools and supports the local rugby club. Significantly, Rocialle recruits through Communities First, giving long term unemployed people the chance to be valued and to develop. Communities First commends a Rocialle initiative by which potential employees undertake assessments and if unsuccessful are given access to training and another interview upon its completion.
This high level of commitment wasn’t enough for the judges who wanted to understand the success achieved through this activity. Rocialle evidenced this by pointing to the number of people who, having started on the ‘shop floor’ can now be found utilizing their experience and in-depth knowledge of the company in Customer Service, Sales, Purchasing, Quality and Engineering. Rocialle’s Production Manager, Joanne Griffiths, has risen from building packs to overseeing all production. Employees see the level of support on offer and know their progress within Rocialle is limitless. In an increasingly competitive, cost driven market, recruiting, training and retaining the right people is the difference between success and failure. In recent years Rocialle’s workforce has achieved increased market share and profit.
The award for Employer of the Year was presented by Cllr Robert Bevan, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Planning, to Joanne Griffiths, Rocialle’s Production Manager. The final and most prestigious presentation of the night, The Business of The Year award, also went to Rocialle and was presented to Managing Director Stephen Burt.