Minster Law Awards Ball 2019: Meet our award-winning colleagues
Our annual Awards Ball took place on the 15 November at the Queens Hotel, Leeds this year. The Awards Ball is a fantastic opportunity for us to recognise our colleagues’ achievements over the past year and come together for a dazzling evening to celebrate together. This year around 340 colleagues attended the event to see which of our finalists would be taking home awards, based around our values and culture. Awards were presented by CEO Shirley Woolham and Chief Financial Officer, Martin Hume.
Find out more about our award-winning colleagues below.
Find a Way Award – The difference between what is difficult and what is possible lies within our own resolve
Winner: Kirsty Oldridge
Time with Minster Law: 6 years
Current position at Minster Law: Legal Executive & Assistant
Kirsty is hardworking and conscientious, taking on project work and new roles within the business to see what we can do to make our processes more efficient for the customer. She is never one to shout about her own success and deserves recognition for her ongoing efforts that usually see her having to give up her free time to ensure things get done.
“I was very surprised to have won the award but I was pleased and thought the comments made were lovely – it helped me get over the fear of not falling over on the way to the stage. It was nice to know that these things are noticed as so often it can appear that people are not aware of what you do.”
Be Courageous Award – Believe in the opportunity and have the courage to follow it to wherever it leads us
Winner: John Cuss
Time with Minster Law: 9 years
Current position at Minster Law: Solicitor
John works in the legal services team and handles a case load of predominantly serious injury claims including orthopaedic injuries, head and brain injuries, pain conditions and psychological disorders. John also handles occasional general civil litigation claims such as breach of contract and misrepresentation. He has developed a name in the industry for commentary on civil procedure as well as providing critical insight into digital transformation, regulatory reform and commentary on broader industry issues. John was successful in applying to join the Law Society Civil Litigation Committee in spring and was appointed as Vice-Chair in October.
“Next month I will be celebrating ten years at Minster Law so it was extra special to be recognised in my tenth anniversary year. I felt very proud to win the award especially when short-listed with some extremely talented colleagues.”
Stand Together Award – With a shared purpose, we can have a more positive impact on the people around us
Winner: Luke Rusling
Time with Minster Law: 2 years
Current position at Minster Law: QA Tester
Luke started in our Customer Support Centre at Minster Law and has been committed to developing himself personally, progressing to the IT department as a QA tester. Luke has been involved in many projects and is always keen to help. He has been recognised for spotting opportunities and grasping these with passion and enthusiasm.
“What was it like to win the award? To sum it up: gobsmacked! Especially considering the calibre of the other finalists in the ‘Stand Together’ category.
It was incredible to find out I had won the award and knowing this came from being nominated by my colleagues has really filled me with a great deal of pride.
Hopefully my celebration on-stage shows how over the moon I was!”
Community Award – Putting the unity into community by sharing skills, volunteering and fundraising to improve lives in our local community
Winner: Beverley Spence
Time with Minster Law: 9 years
Current position at Minster Law: File Handler and Make a Difference committee member
Bev is a real CSR champion and has been instrumental in ensuring Minster Law gives back to the community. She is a long-standing member of the Make a Difference committee and has been key in the creation of Minster Law’s new volunteering initiative. As well as dedicating her time inside of work, she actively volunteers for a number of charities in her spare time.
“I was very overwhelmed winning the award. I was not expecting the reaction that I received from my colleagues and the amazing support they gave me on the night. All the nominees for the community award have done some fabulous fundraising throughout the business so I was not expecting to win at all. Having to go on stage was a bit of a shock.
I have thoroughly enjoyed working in the Made a Difference committee and look forward to the coming years. I would encourage everyone to get involved, whether it be fundraising or taking part in a volunteer day.”
Great Service Award
Winner: Saeed Iqbal
Time with Minster Law: 1 year
Current position at Minster Law: Claims Assistant
This year, Sid has worked hard to delight our customers through great service. He is a shining star when it comes to giving great service and every customer he has spoken to has described him as polite, professional and approachable. His chatty nature provides our customers with a one of a kind personal service which is reflected through an impressive 35 5 star reviews this year!
“When my name was announced I was in complete shock. It was all so fast if felt so surreal: I just walked on to the stage (nearly walking the wrong way up until Shirley re-directed me!) and then I was congratulated by all my colleagues. It’s a very proud moment in my life and I’m very grateful to win the award. I would like to thank my managers, team leaders, my department and close friends at Minster. There are so many people I would like to thank but can’t name everyone so a big thank you to all.”
CEO Choice Award
Winner: Duncan Scargill
Time with Minster Law: 1 year
Current position at Minster Law: Operations Manager
Duncan oversees our Customer Support Centre, the department taking calls from our various business partners and assisting our mutual customers. During the course of the year, Duncan has reinvented the contact centre, focusing on our people and how they interact with the customer. He has worked hard with his team to engage our people, positively influence the culture and drive our customer service.
“I’ve been at Minster Law a little over a year, it’s been a great journey! It feels like a very different company now to the one I joined. It’s very forward thinking, focused on its people, their environment and development. It’s been a really compelling and exciting ride. I was genuinely elated to win the CEO Choice award. It should be viewed as an award for my whole team. The team have approached all our changes with open minds and hearts. I wouldn’t have won this award without the support of the team and the biggest feeling I had on the night was one of gratitude for working with such a fantastic, forward thinking team.”
Team of the Year Award
Winning team: Client Relations
Client Relations support our operational teams, ensuring that there is consistency in the customer journey and our customers are getting the best claim journey. They work hard to pin point any process improvement areas where we can enhance customer service. This team, comprised of Debbi Weston, Richard Cleary and James Heseltine, deal with the most difficult and complex issues, always with a smile and always in a professional manner.
Debbi, Client Relations Consultant: “When we won the award I was absolutely stunned but completely thrilled to bits. I still am thrilled to bits as it means so much to me. This is because sometimes I just feel the business sees us as a team always delivering bad news but from the feedback we’ve been told we got I understand that we are appreciated for what we try to do for everyone who works here. I had the most fantastic evening with fantastic people.”
Richard, Client Relations Consultant: “When we won, I couldn’t quite believe it if I’m honest – we are often the bearers of bad news so to find out we were shortlisted was a surprise but then to win was a complete shock! I’m so lucky to work in such a hardworking, close-nit and positive team, to win an award for this just made all the hard work we do all that more worthwhile.”
James, Client Relations Manager: “When Shirley mentioned the winning team “doing some of our most difficult work”, I knew that we were in with a shout! It felt great when it was our team announced and a testament to all the hard yards that Debbi and Rich put into fixing problems, restoring customer faith and supporting the operational business areas.”
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