THE GREEN - MALAHIDE (PETER O'BRIEN LANDSCAPING

Sitting at the heart of Malahide village, at a busy junction which is criss-crossed by traffic and services, the redevelopment of the Green presented the challenges from the outset. Add a global pandemic into the mix and we had the recipe for some of the toughest tests we’ve ever faced. Thankfully, our professional team with the support of Fingal County Council, the design team at Murray and Associates and the community of Malahide, were able work together to successfully deliver the project.

Our company had been constructing landscapes for well over 50 years so there are few with the experience to take on such a project; Traffic management, civil engineering, coordination of utility and service providers, engagement with local business owners and several complex elements added additional complexity to what was already a significant undertaking. Of note in the project is the 3000M2 of natural stone paving, which required 70 loads of high strength concrete and a team of Ireland’s top paving specialists to install. The lockdown in March halted work and initially put our team, headed by Paddy Smyth and Raivis Linins on the back foot. Rising to the challenges, the team adapted to the new working restrictions and did what they do best: they made it work. We are very proud of our achievement on completing this project. For us, it represents a benchmark in collaboration, communication, professionalism and effective community engagement. Sincere thanks to everyone at Fingal County Council, Murray and Associates, our own team and to the people of Malahide.

Peter O’Toole Company Director

Meath County Council becomes first local authority in Ireland to launch their employee engagement app, in partnership with Thrive

Meath County Council, a Local Authority in Ireland, has announced the full roll out of its employee engagement app, Thrive.App.

Following a successful pilot last year, the Council’s ‘MCC Connect’ app is now available to all employees on both mobile and computer desktops.

The Council has over 850 employees, working across multiple locations, in two main categories i.e. ‘indoor staff’ and ‘outdoor staff’. With 35% of employees having no regular access to work emails or a desktop along with the current challenges presented by Covid19, enhancing communication and promoting employee engagement is essential for the organisation.

Meath County Council Chief Executive, Jackie Maguire said; “Before the app, we used paper-based communication to alert staff of important information. There was a communication barrier to outdoor staff who felt like they were the ‘last to know and hear information’.

The deployment of the app enables everyone to receive weekly newsletters, policies, procedures, job vacancies, well-being information, video updates, Health and Safety information, Covid-19 updates and more; at the same time, in real time.

It’s helping us to provide a supportive and healthy working environment which is especially important during these challenging times. We are empowering and enabling our employees, managers and supervisors with the right information at the right time to carry out their duties effectively and we continue to encourage a culture of learning and development.

We have managed to bridge the gap between indoor and outdoor staff by ensuring everyone receives and contributes to the same information at the same time.”

James Scott, CEO, Co-Founder of Thrive, adds; “As businesses continue to navigate these challenging times, effective employee engagement has never been so important. We look forward to continuing to help Meath County Council achieve this in the weeks and months ahead and are delighted to be working with them.

Our goal is to help as many organisations as we can in shifting their communications from traditional methods such as printed newsletters, notice boards and team briefings to instant, modern, secure, engaging mobile apps that their employees love.”