July 18, 2023
The Big Awards
The highlight of the PSS calendar and a time to celebrate all the incredible achievements of our PSS people. Our Big Awards celebration takes place each year and gives people the chance to show their teammates how much they appreciate them. They can nominate a colleague or volunteer who deserves to be recognised for living our values. Our company values aren’t just there to make us look good. They’re core values that all of our staff and volunteers live by.
The awards were in February (we know, that feels like a lifetime ago) and were hosted by our awesome chief executive, Lesley. There were lots of highs, lots of laughter and we even had some lovely singing! It was so great to reflect on the past year and see all the amazing achievements of our PSS people. Stay tuned to see who won and why.
The Big-Hearted Award
The Big-Hearted Award is for someone who is caring, kind and respectful. They’re the type of person who gives 110% to make sure that the people who use our services are getting the best support.
This year’s Big-Hearted Award winner is the awesome Frendy, a support worker in Liverpool who works in our Making Days service. He won this award for being the loveliest person to the people he supports and to everyone who walks through the doors of Eleanor Rathbone House. He’s one of the first in the office and makes sure everyone starts their day with a smile.
The Genuine Award
The Genuine Award is for someone who has integrity and is a real team player. They’re not afraid to get stuck-in and get things done. They’ve got passion and enthusiasm for everything they do.
The first of our joint winners is the awesome Rushell Small, from our people and culture team. Rushell won this award for going above and beyond in her role. She brightens everybody’s day with her brilliant sense of humour and positive energy. She’s a brilliant support to her team and everyone around her.
Our second award winner was the lovely Lucie Williams, from our Shared Lives Wales scheme. Lucie won this award for doing everything she can to make sure the people we support are getting the best possible care when it comes to PSS Shared Lives. Lucie loves being able to support people when they become a carer with PSS.
The Open-Minded Award
The Open-Minded Award is for a person who likes to think outside the box. They’re someone who is always looking for ways to make a difference and aren’t afraid to try something new. We simply couldn’t pick one, so we’ve got two winners for our Open-Minded Award.
Our winner is the awesome Jona, Plath from our Shared Lives England service. Jona won this award for being an all–round good egg. She’s always looking for innovative ways that we can show people how amazing Shared Lives is, and how it’s so much more than just a live-in carer job. Shared Lives is helping change the lives of so many people and we’re lucky to have Jona onboard to help share that message.
The Determined Award
The Determined Award is for someone determined to get the job done. They’ll go the extra mile to make sure that the people who use our services are receiving the best levels of support. They’re brave enough to do things differently and always see things through.
Not once, not twice but three times a winner! We’ve got three amazing award winners for our Determined Award this year.
Our first winner is the lovely Rachel Clark from our communications team. Rachel won this award for showing steely determination in everything that she does. Not only did she start a new career in communications (and ace her first year), but she also conquered her fear of open water swimming by completing her first triathlon to raise funds for her colleague Oliver.
Our second Determined Award winner is the wonderful Lauren Baines from our learning and development team. Lauren won this award for always giving her all to the tasks that she’s working on and going above and beyond for her team and colleagues around her. Lauren helps make sure that our PSS people are getting the best learning and development opportunities within their roles. Not one to shy away from a challenge, Lauren put her determination to the test by making sure she rocked the roadshows.
Our third winner is the fabulous Janice Hirrell from our Shared Lives Merseyside service. Janice won this award for having a can-do and will-do attitude when it comes to training in our Shared Lives Merseyside scheme. Janice made sure our carers were trained to the highest possible standard, so they were able to continue providing top-notch support.
The Professional Award
The Professional Award is for someone serious about doing things the right way. They do what they say they’ll do when they say they’ll do it. They’re respectful, and considerate and are an advocate for all things PSS.
The Professional Award winner is Lisa Hill, from our Shared Lives Midlands service. Lisa won this award for putting the p in professionalism since starting in her role at PSS. Being a carer in our Shared Lives scheme means Lisa has a fantastic relationship with the carers and can use her experience to shape the service provided in the Midlands.
The PSS Volunteer of the Year Award
Our wonderful volunteers are what help makes PSS what it is, and we wouldn’t be here today without them. All of our volunteers work incredibly hard, but the Volunteer of the Year Award is for someone who has made a difference to PSS and helped us be the best we can be.
The Volunteer of the Year Award winner is the brilliant Mitch. Mitch volunteers in our Shared Lives Midlands service as one of our experts by experience. He’s really stepped into his role and has done so much with the team and across other PSS Shared Lives schemes. He always has a big smile and lots of jokes to keep everyone laughing.
The Pride of PSS Award
The Pride of PSS Award is the crème de la crème of awards at PSS and goes to someone who’s dedicated to living all of our values and being an all-around wonderful person. They’re a sparkling example of why PSS is so great and we’re super proud to have them on our team.
This year’s Pride of PSS Award winner is the awesome Alison Arnold from our Shared Lives East service. Alison won this award for being hard-working and pushing herself to learn new skills. Alison is involved in lots of groups within PSS. She’s in our sustainability group, which focuses on us being more sustainable at work. The menopause group, which supports people who are dealing with menopause at work, and our equality, diversity and inclusion group who are dedicated to making PSS an inclusive and safe space for all of our PSS people.
Thank you
Well, what can we say? We really do have so many incredible individuals at PSS. How amazing are all our winners? We would like to thank everyone who took the time to make a nomination. We would also like to thank everyone at PSS for caring and working so hard in everything we do.
Thinking about a career in social care?
Are you thinking about joining PSS or know someone who’d be a great fit? Do you want to get involved with volunteering? Head to psspeople.com for more information on vacancies, volunteering, and our Shared Lives schemes.