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date: Winter

HAVE YOUR SAY! The staff survey is now open for your Feedback!

Your views, opinions and feedback shape the future direction of the company and help inform key decisions.

A link has been sent to your email or click this link https://ocl.staffmis .Net/?xtl=3 acfecb1263b9702

Please have your response in by the end of January.

What’s inside... * Stuart’s section...2 *Finance and Development...3

*Staff profile and day in the life...4 *Staff awards 2021...5

*Marathon and Staff benefit...6 *The man who travelled Europe...7 *Sports development...8,9 sports development...8,9

*Spot the difference...10 *Healthy recipe...11 *Vacancies...12

WELCOME TO YOUR STAFF NEWSLETTER

I’d like to thank you all personally for keeping the doors open, the pools and gyms staffed and the Stuart classes running, Lockwood even if they aren’t Chief always able to be Executive done as advertised. elcome to the Winter It has needed commitment edition of our newsletter. and flexibility like never before I hope everyone had an and I recognise many of you enjoyable break over the festive have gone over and above period as we start 2022. It feels your usual working hours. Its like the direction of travel on great that we are refurbishing Covid matters is loosening and and improving the sites, but hopefully lifting of restrictions, without the staff to keep things which can only be a good going, we simply wouldn’t be thing, as we welcome back seeing the growth in business customers driven by a “new year – new you” determination that we are so please keep up to get fitter. I realise also though the good work and we will be planning some Open Day that a large number of you events in the coming weeks to have either fallen ill with Covid show off everything we offer or had to isolate, especially in the last month or so as the and hopefully accelerate the Omicron wave sweeps through business recovery even further our communities.

- watch this space!

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F I N A N C E With Steven Holden • Financial performance to December • • • • • • •

Quote Of “Failure is the The Day: opportunity to begin again more intelligently.”

Income for the first nine months is over budget and overall the position to date is positive in comparison with budget but around break even for the year to date Membership has plateaued in the run up to Christmas and its improvement in the new calendar year is critical to getting back to prior income levels Swim lessons continue to improve and are now back to pre-pandemic levels However the trading position for the year remains challenging and in comparison to 2019/20 income is still significantly behind those levels so we still have a long way to go We have now drawn down just over £300k of additional support from the £0.8m available from the Council this year and more will be needed Pressures, aside from income, will be for utilities with significantly rising gas and electric prices, as well as national living wage increases due to next year Work continues on the contract extension beyond March 2023

DEVELOPMENTS With Glenn Tolan A lot of October to present has involved preparation for the Failsworth and Chadderton gym refurbishments but the following works have also taken place:

• Installation of the new car park barrier system at Oldham (Hopefully operational in the next 2 weeks) • Replacement of the generators in both the CHP units at Royton (Combined Heat and Power generators) • Changed the dosing systems at Oldham from salt to Calcium Hypochlorite granules for improving chlorination of our pools

• Resolved a number of major drainage issues at both Oldham and Saddleworth • Installation of new lockers on the gym corridor at Failsworth • Changed a significant number of emergency lights at Oldham, Royton and Failsworth • Re-lamp of the sports hall lights at Failsworth • Resolved a number of roof leaks at both Oldham and Royton • Preparation for the LED replacement project that starts at Oldham next week to include sports hall, bowls hall and gym lighting • Strip out and decoration of the new spin studio at Failsworth • Decoration of all the corridors around the gym at Failsworth • Replacement of the pool heating controllers for 2 of the 3 calorifiers at Royton pool

Upgraded “gym brand new spin” We have made a substantial investment into Failsworth Sports Centre, completing a refurbishment of its gym, including the installation of modern fitness equipment, and the creation of a bespoke indoor cycling studio. The works took a month to complete and were carried out over the Christmas period to reduce customer disruption.

The new equipment includes a high-tech cardio zone with upgraded Matrix cardiovascular equipment, as well as a comprehensive resistance area, which includes a top-of-the-range Technogym ‘Kinesis’ cable zone, a functional training zone with a large multi-use rig, and a large free weights area. The wide range of equipment will cater for people looking for strength, conditioning, toning, power and speed training.

The refurbishment also includes a brand-new designated indoor cycling studio that houses 25 bikes. Additionally, the entire space, including all the corridors, have been redecorated, a new floor has been installed and the gym lockers upgraded.

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S TA F F P R O F I L E Simon Mcdonald Building Service Manager A bit about me: I am a father to a 23 year old son and 21 year old daughter and co-owner of a Spanish rescue terrier!

Favourite food: Italian(Carbonara!)

Favourite film: Field of Dreams, Apocalypse Now Dream job: Doing it now!

3 Words to describe me: Loyal, committed and understanding

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D AY I N T H E L I F E Shaun Slater Duty Manager

“The strength of the team is each member.

The strength of each member is the team” (Phil Jackson).

Being a team leader can be both challenging and rewarding . A typical day starts with unlocking the building and ensuring that it is fit to receive the public who will use our centre that day, during this process there are a number of daily health and safety tasks to undertake before the public can be allowed in such as fire exits will open and not damaged, drown alarms are sounded and reset amongst others. Oldham leisure centre is open 7 days a week and can be open between thirteen hours and thirteen and a half hours a day during the week depending on the day 07:0021:00 and 06:30-21:00 and eight hours a day at the weekend 08:00-16:00.

Born in London, I started life in the Armed Forces serving in the First Gulf War, Northern Ireland and 2 tours of Bosnia. Upon leaving the services I helped run a family building and joinery company working my way up to Foreman and production Manager. I left the business to pursue a career in the Building Services sector and looked after the Maintenance and Engineering departments of some of the hotels in Manchester. I worked for a couple of years for United utilities as their Building Manager looking after 1800 sites stretching from Liverpool to Trafford before starting work with OCL about 4 years ago. With the help of my staff I have built a department that has the reputation for having a ‘can do’ attitude to any challenge that is put their way. It is a privilege to work with and be supported by a management team I have come to think of as family. I couldn’t have done everything that has been expected from me without them.

We offer a wide range of services at Oldham so it is handy to know as much as you can so that you can better guide and help our customers and as a team leader you try to adapt and become qualified in many areas.

Once the building is ok to open you can find yourself dealing with multiple tasks such as assisting on reception, lifeguarding the pool, dealing with customer complaints, checking pool water chlorine levels and anything inbetween sometime all at the same time and you can be very busy.

During your shift daily tasks are also undertaken such as ensuring the staff rota is up to date and all shifts are covered, the staff are completing daily/weekly cleaning tasks, pool tests, health and safety checks are complete and much more no two days are the same.

Alongside being a team leader I am also a board employee representative and attend regular meetings to discuss matters concerning the board although I am new to this role I am slowly finding my feet and adding my knowledge to the great minds who already contribute to the meetings.

As I am continuing developing my knowledge I am already embarking on another chapter of my professional journey, I am in the middle of becoming a tutor assessor where I will be hopefully inspiring the next generation of Oldham community leisure’s swim teachers.

STAFF AWARDS 2021

Save the date

The Staff Awards event is planned for Saturday, 21st May 2022 at Smokies Park Hotel so there is plenty of time for you to purchase your ticket from the Customer Contact Team at a cost of £15 each, £25 for guests. If you have any queries regarding nominations or the event please feel free to contact me directly and I look forward to this being another great event.

Your input is much appreciated.

Louise

OCL Employee Awards Nominations 2021 now open Get nominating…

It’s that time of year again when we look to acknowledge the good work and commitment throughout the year by opening our Awards nominations.

This year has been another strange and difficult year and it’s even more important to recognise our colleagues and employees for their hard work in keeping the company and each other going. Please take some time to complete the poll, nominating your preferred candidate for each category. The nominations span the whole calendar year of 2021. Please give a clear overview of your choice and do not use more than 200 words in each section. As we undertake blind short-listing to try to ensure a fair process, please only include the name of the person at the start of your nomination and then do not use their name in the remainder of the text. Please note that you will not be able to return to your submission once you have started to complete this so it may be best to prepare your nominations in a word document in advance and then copy and paste across when complete. Everybody who nominates has the opportunity to be entered into a special prize draw which takes place on the night so please leave your name at the end if you wish to be entered.

You will have been sent an email that provides a link to the poll to nominate on StaffMis

The categories…

• • • • • • • •

New Starter Instructor of the Year Volunteer of the Year Customer Service Raising the Bar Leader of the Year Team of the Year Employee of the Year

SAVE THE DATE Staff awards 21st May 2022

Head to your email in-box or follow this link to start nominating >> https://ocl.staffmis.net/?xtl=e6e3fd3748454a76

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M A R A T H O N

Louise Eadsforth ran a marathon in just 4 hours and 27 minutes. She ran this marathon to raise awareness and to raise money for Spring Hill Hospice.

She raised £1555.

If you would like to also donate go to Louise Eadsforth is fundraising for Springhill Hospice (Rochdale) ( justgiving. com)

6 STAFF BENEFIT Are you an affinity member?

Become one to get all these benefits: This provides employees access to exclusive offers including: * Up to 10% discount on tailor-made holidays and up to 5% discount on touroperator package travel holidays * Complimentary travel insurance, valid for up to two weeks’ holiday * A dedicated holiday team who will support you and your colleagues

TH E M A N W HO TR AVELLED EUROPE Dan Welsh

Dan decided he wanted to travel every country in Europe when he was a teenager. He started his mission when he was 18 with the first country he visited being France, and the latest being Russia when he was 26. His full mission to visit every European country should have taken 6 years but due to covid his last country visit was postponed, and as such took 8!

He said his top 3 countries he visited were Finland due to the Northern lights, Croatia because of its beauty and architecture and finally Switzerland.

Some of his highlights were when he climbed his first ever mountain in the Alps called Triglau in Slavinia, and paragliding in Australia.

His worst experience was when he went to Albinia and an ATM swallowed his credit card, leaving him with no money.

Another incident was when a taxi driver accidentally charged him £300 rather than £30 because of him accidentally pressing an extra 0!

He estimated all together he spent around £15,000 in total. “Worth every penny”. His next goal is to visit a total of 100 countries. He said his next country is probably going to be in South America or Antarctica.

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SPORTS DE WELCOME TO I am Adam Morris, I have been with Sport Development for 5 years from when I was an apprentice at 19 years old. I have gained many qualifications with my time at Sport Development and I currently specialise and lead on the Early Years delivery that we offer. I have coached and played basketball all of my life, as a result of this I am the Head Coach for Manchester Magic U18s Basketball team. I am very excited to meet the rest of the team.

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Hi I am Leanne Whitehead, I have been part of the Sport Development team for about 17 years. I love to see the young people of Oldham develop their enjoyment of sport in schools and further this into clubs. You will never see me far away from a netball court as I play recreationally 3 to 4 nights a week and in the summer love to play rounders. I have many qualifications which includes a Level 3 in Physical Education in School Sport (PESS Level3) but have recently completed my Level 2 swimming course. I am a dedicated member of any team and I have never had a day off since being in nursery and was rewarded with 20 free driving lessons for this achievement. I look forward to being part of the team and meeting you all in due course.

I am Nicola Martland, I have been with Sports Development for 8 years. My coaching qualifications are in a wide variety of sports but outside of work I coach Gymnastics; Gymnastics and Trampolining have been my hobbies since I was 4 years old. In 2012 I was a volunteer at the London 2012 Olympic games.

I am Dan Rawlinson, I have been with Sport Development for 6 months. I have gained lots of experience and many different qualifications with over 10 years’ experience in the school sports and football industry holding my UEFA B license and coaching at clubs such as Liverpool, Bury, Oldham and currently at Wigan Athletic FC. I look forward to getting to know people over the coming months and working together in the future.

Please meet our new team.

Oldham Council’s sport development team lead by Steve Ferriss, transferred over to Oldham Active on the 1st November and we’re now excited to be working alongside them. Over the coming months we will be looking to fully integrate them into the Oldham Active family.

HI I’m Jordyn Fitton, I have been with the sports development team for only a few months and I currently deliver in schools. I have collected the qualifications I have through football, and university. My main interests are football I cannot wait to learn from the rest of the sports dev team and gain greater knowledge in the different areas of sport that they are experts in.

I am Olivia Adams, I’ve been at Sport Development for 7 years and I am a dance specialist. I’ve danced since I was 3 years old but have always enjoyed sports, competing in gymnastics and horse riding when I was younger. I have been married 6 years and we have a little girl who’s 1 so I’m always very busy spending time with her, when I do get some me time I enjoy going to the gym and taking dance classes. I’m really looking forward to working with and getting to know the team here at OCL.

I am Ellie Mather and I am part of the dance teaching side of the service. I have been dancing since the age of 3 and teaching for 9 years. My favourite styles of dance are tap and street. Outside of work, I enjoy going to the gym and socialising with friends and family. I am looking forward to gaining more qualifications and building my experience up.

VELOPMENT THE TEAM The team are based at Oldham Leisure Centre, however their main elements of their work is in the primary schools across the borough. The team is to support the schools with their PE curriculum and sport delivery. Please make them feel part of the team.

I’m Shamas Ahmed I’ve been part of the service for 8 years. As much as I love teaching the sports side of things I enjoy helping the young people grow and mature to their full potential.

I am a keen gym goer and also play football 2/ 3 times a week. I look forward to working with and getting to know the team.

I am Steve Ferriss, I have been with Sport Development now for 15 years and currently manage the school delivery team. I have gained many different qualifications in coaching, assessing and tutoring over the years. I like to play and referee basketball outside of work, I am a current FIBA international referee and lucky enough to travel across Europe for games. I look forward to getting to know people over the coming months.

Hi, my name is Tom Ireland. I joined Oldham sport development as a casual staff member in March 2016 and eventually became part of the team full time in February 2017. I enjoy using my knowledge of a wide range of sports to help the children learn within schools and I qualified as a coach through football level 1 and 2. Outside of work I enjoy playing/ watching football and recently taken up golf as a hobby where I won my first major tournament at the golf club earlier this year.

I am Pete Jackson and I have worked for Sport Development for half of my life (16 years). I have always had a keen interest in playing sports, in particular football which I play 2 times a week. I have a variety of qualifications including a degree in Physical Education. I run sports competitions for local primary schools throughout the year and have a passion for getting children active and enjoying sports.

I am Emily Davies I first started Sports development as a volunteer when I was 14 years old. I loved it and realised this is what I wanted to do as my career. I did casual work with sports development then got offered the job.

I have also work for ocl for 4 years as a casual lifeguard at Chadderton leisure centre.

I am Lily Wright and I work in the dance delivery team. I have danced from being 4 years old, competing, performing, and teaching a range of different dance styles. I love dance and fitness, going to the gym and I am also a qualified Zumba Instructor!

My name is Scott Thompson, I have worked within the Sports Development team for over 5 years, delivering our in school coaching programmes across the borough. I am also First Team Coach at Mossley AFC, where I am working towards attaining the UEFA B Licence. In my spare time, I enjoy attending the gym, walking, running and playing football (badly).

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SPOT THE DIFFERENCE

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SPOT

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Veggie mulligatawny soup

Nutritional Simple Meal Ingredients

Let’s get cooking Step 1 Heat a splash of olive oil in a large saucepan and fry the onions, pepper and garlic gently for 5 minutes until softened.

Olive oil, for frying Step 2 2 onions, chopped 1 red pepper, de seeded and finely Add the curry powder for a minute then stir in the tomato purée, for another minute. Pour in the chopped coconut milk and add the remaining vegetables, 2 garlic cloves, crushed lentils and stock. Bring to a simmer, cover with a lid 1 tbsp. curry powder, plus extra to and cook for 25–30 minutes until the vegetables and lentils are soft. Season to taste. serve 30g/1oz tomato purée Step 3 400g tin coconut milk At this stage, you can either serve the soup ½ swede, peeled and finely chopped chunky, or use a stick blender to blend until 2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped smooth (or somewhere in between the two).

2 parsnips, peeled and finely chopped Step 4 100g/3½oz red lentils 1 vegetable stock cube, made up with Ladle the soup into warm bowls and top each with a swirl of yoghurt and a pinch of curry 750ml/26fl oz boiling water powder.

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

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Job Opportunities Training and Development And Vacancies Manager Digital Marketing Executive

£25,590 – £27,321 per annum plus benefits 40 hours per week We are looking for somebody who is able to develop, manage, monitor and report training and the accompanying financial performance across the company whilst developing our own internal workforce as well as ensuring statutory compliance across the company and maximising income streams.

Customer Service Manager

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£23,275 – £24,978 per annum plus benefits 40 hours per week The Digital Marketing Executive will be required to work under pressure to tight time-lines, manage multiple workloads and support project and campaign delivery across the business.

You will be responsible for; designing, implementing, and monitoring digital marketing campaigns, analysing and optimising SEO/PPC campaigns, utilising social media networks, coordinating the activities of all digital campaigns and analysing the performance of all digital marketing channels.

£25,590 – £27,321 per annum plus benefits The Customer Service Manager will have responsibility for ensuring that Membership and CRM memberships across Oldham Active are Officer managed effectively, which includes management of; the Customer £23,275 – £24,798 per annum plus Relationship Management system (CRM), benefits payment collections, rejections, debt 40 hours per week The Membership and cancellations. Through effective and CRM officer will have responsibility leadership, you will support, coach for ensuring that memberships across and manage a small team and set high Oldham Active are administered and standards in the delivery of our day managed efficiently, which includes to day customer service through our effective management of the Customer contact centre, whilst ensuring our Relationship Management system members and customers receive a first(CRM), payment collections, rejections, class experience. debt and cancellations.

If you have anything you would like to see in the next newsletter, or any info to add. Please contact Paige.Brierley@ocll.co.uk www.oclactive.co.uk