Staff Newsletter March 18

Swimming Lessons For YOU!

ISSUE 27 : March 2018 Making your time with Trafford Leisure that little bit more interesting

After discussions from Employee Voice, we would like to give all the staff the opportunity to learn to swim as part of staff wellbeing. Have you booked a holiday and want to go swimming with the kids? Swimming can open so many doors! Itâ€™s never too late to learn. If you are interested in attending swimming lessons, please contact Fiona Buckley on: Fiona.buckley@traffordleisure.co.uk

Tweets of the Month

Employee Of The Month

Nathan Fleury

Sale Leisure Assistant Sale Leisure Centre

Trafford Cheer Teams Power Nation Competition Winners Gymnastics Trafford have got 2 teams

Quote Of The Month

which have been set up by Ashley Robertson, GB Cheerleader and Coaching Director for Little Rays and Wildfire. At the weekend both teams won first place in the Power Nation Competition

What would you like to see in your Newsletter?

Trophies for their age groups and then

This is your newsletter and we want your ideas! This could be anything from events, to competitions, to customer feedback, to a quote or tweet of the month.

the Little Rays were crowned Grand Champions for the whole day!

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See page 7

Let me know by email: heather.gaulton@traffordleisure.co.uk

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GOLF WEBSITE

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PRIZE DRAW

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TRAFFORD LEISURE APP PEOPLEâ€™S PENSION UPDATE

BUILDING POSITIVE FUTURES

Power Nation Competition

A FEW WORDS FROM OUR

Trafford Leisure’s Little Rays and Wildfire both teams won first place in the Power

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

Nation Competition Trophies for their age groups and then the Little Rays were

Jo Cherrett

crowned Grand Champions for the whole day. Little Rays – Youth Level 1 Team, as always a very strong routine from our little ones which not only earned them first place but Grand Champions which means they YOUR NEW SALE AND YOUR NEW ALTRINCHAM No new update from Feb’s Newsletter, although we have been out to both these centres in the last week continuing to review plans. Please do share with customers, when they ask, that the Senior Leadership Team are working hard with Trafford Council on the plans for both Sale and Altrincham and as soon as we have the proposals You, as my team, will hear first to advise your customers.

Spring has sprung (well almost!) the clocks have gone forward; lighter nights are on their way (and a little snow!) Firstly, I want to update on the developments and I will continue to do this every month:

THE DEVELOPMENTS YOUR NEW URMSTON For those of you who have not been to Urmston recently, it is really starting to look different with preparation work taking place ahead of the project officially starting. The team in place have done a great job in moving our gymnastics and some sports hall customers across to George H Carnall. The gym has now been relocated into the sport hall – it looks great and a dividing board is going up imminently to ensure the other side of the hall can continue to be used for classes/sports and the school. A partition is going up to separate the pool hall entirely from the works, ensuring the noise is reduced where possible whilst the works are taking place and the pool hall temperature and conditions are maintained. Portacabins arrive on site next week and the team will take the final steps in getting ready for an alternative entrance. Throughout the works, the intention is to upload videos biweekly for both customers and staff – so we can all see the changes taking place. In addition to this, if you have access to the P Drive please do go to this file P:\Future Developments\Your Urmston where you will find before and during photos and all the live information for this project. A great team effort from all staff in the West Area in starting to bring this to life.... YOUR NEW STRETFORD Work is taking place on the location of this leisure centre and how it will feed into the overall Stretford Masterplan (the area where the leisure centre will go is being referred to as the Civic Quarter). Once the location is agreed, further work will take place on the facility mix (what will go into the centre) and what new opportunities are presented as part of this exciting project. You may have seen that the new UA92 University has released its first prospectus https://andersonquigley.com/content/uploads/2018/02/ UA92-Master-Prospectus-Digital.pdf I am also supporting the council on how we can include information on the new leisure centre in the next edition to be produced. TURN MOSS Nothing further to update, we await the decision of the planning application that has been submitted.

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YOUR NEW GOLF Despite the challenging weather the work on bringing central heating in to this barn has commenced and the quotes are in for the car park work. 5plus architects have been appointed to produce the feasibility of the golf for the longer term and this work will take approx. 4-6 weeks to complete.

SO WHAT ELSE HAS BEEN HAPPENING? iViewIT Trafford Leisure is embarking on an exciting journey with customer engagement specialists iViewIT. Paul and Richard from the team have over 20 years’ experience in the world of digital, technology and innovation – delivering tailored and bespoke customer journey solutions to companies from all industries. Some of their biggest clients include the likes of Virgin and British Airways. We are really excited to be working with them putting technology in the heart of everything we do and we are making sure that we work closely with the architects to ensure that the technology works hand in hand with the building – starting with Your New Urmston. UK Active Uprising Manchester is very excited to be hosting this year’s UK Active Uprising event (previously UK Active Flame) from 20th – 23rd June at Manchester Central…a sure sign that UK Active are also excited by all the many wonderful things happening around sport and physical activity in Greater Manchester. The event is a real opportunity to showcase the good work happening and in particular Trafford Leisure will play an important role via GM Active of raising awareness of the different projects we are working on. In addition, we also will look to use the event as the launch for the reciprocal membership in GM. Thursday 21st June is also the UK Active Awards. Trafford Leisure is very excited to be entering the UK Active Health Communities category for this year....so watch this space! Wishing everyone a very Happy (or Hoppy) Easter!

were the best of the best!! The team also has two new joiners who only had their first sessions just 2 weeks ago. Wildfire – Junior Level 2 Team, A great routine competed despite an injury in warm up and an athlete that didn’t turn up!! The athletes on this team are getting more and more confident and it’s exciting to see what they will achieve by the end of the season. Ashley Robertson – GB Cheerleader and Coaching Director of Little Rays and Wildfire “I am so proud of our athletes, they are very hard working and have a lot of love and respect for each other. They handled themselves so professionally at the competition, cheering each other on and they proved what fabulous young sportswomen they are. A massive thank you as ever to our supportive cheer parents who have fully embraced this crazy but wonderful sport” Sue Dempsey – Brand Development Manager for Gymnastics Trafford inc Trafford Cheer Centre. Ashley has done an absolutely amazing job putting these teams together. All her hard work, effort and massive amounts of enthusiasm have always been there for anyone to see, the girls love her and it’s because of this the teams are producing fantastic results the teams are now achieving.

The World’s First City Region Committed To The Daily Mile It gives me great pleasure to inform you of a special announcement that was made in the afternoon on Monday 26th March. Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester was joined by Elaine Wyllie, founder of The Daily Mile, to celebrate Greater Manchester becoming the world’s first City

Staff Referrals – recommend a friend We’ve got amazing staff and we want more. Do you love your job? Do your friends and family?– refer someone to join our team and once they start to love their job and you could earn anything from £50 - £250, depending on terms and conditions! What are you waiting for…

Region committed to The Daily Mile. The Daily Mile forms part of the GM Moving

You know what we are looking for in a staff member to join our team. You have the best understanding of what values and skills we need for the roles in our company, Our Positive, Responsible and Open Honest Values are always helping to ensure we have the very best people and from the feedback at Employee Voice over the last 12 months the thing you love the most about working here is the people! So to ensure we continue to have

Whilst we know many primary schools have embraced The Daily Mile, and we will

ambition to get everyone in Greater Manchester more active and to secure the fastest and greatest improvement to the health, wealth and wellbeing of its 2.8 million residents.

continue to help grow the number of 5-11 year olds participating, our commitment to this will extend beyond schools into nurseries, workplaces and community settings. We really want to create a Daily Mile movement with people from right across the life course walking, jogging or running 15 minutes every day! 7

the very best people. We are offering bonus of between £50 and £200 for members of staff that refer someone to apply for a job that we then recruit. Ask your Employee Voice Rep for more information or look out for details, coming soon, in the staff room! Employee Voice - Solutions Groups Cast your mind back to the February issue of newsletter, we shared with you some of the things that you as team members “like” about Trafford Leisure. As we turn our attention to what you maybe didn’t like or what you might change, these are some of the key issues that came out:

My role and responsibilities as a lifeguard are to ensure and maintain the safety of the people in and around the pool. I work solely to ensure members of our community feel safe, welcome and at home in our environment.

Nathan Fleury Leisure Assistant

Sale Leisure Centre

If I am not lifeguarding then I would be either helping with a changeover or ensuring the job tasks for that particular day were being completed. I also take it on myself to make sure the building is looking first class, anything that needs cleaning or if anyone needs help I am always on hand. I am also always ready for if there are any first aid duties that need attending to. I love working for Trafford Leisure, it feels like a second home. I don’t treat my colleagues as friends but I treat them as family, everyday I come into work I’m surrounded by the best people and introduced to new faces each week.

First Class Life Support On the 1st of March at around 5:40, Aaron Downs was on shift at Sale and Aaron was alerted about an incident round the corner from the leisure centre on Hope Road. Aaron was informed that a gentleman had collapsed and could he assist with first aid and the defibrillator. After ensuring the Leisure Centre was in safe hands, Aaron and Nathan Fleury headed out as quick as they could to attend the gentleman. Upon approaching him the man who was later discovered to be called Andy, was laid on the doorstep and it so happened to be Aaron’s sister that had discovered him and was caring for him until help arrived. Aaron with Nathan proceeded with first aid, asking questions and checking his alertness and responses and for any injuries. Andy was conscious and could speak, but was clearly not well, Aaron discovered he suffered from diabetes and this may have been the issue. When speaking with the ambulance service, who were on their way they were very encouraged Aaron was there and had the defibrillator

• Retirement age policy, • Recruitment of young people, • Communication, • Physical activity referral – how our staff can become ambassadors/referral agents, • P drive, • Recruitments/assessment of internal staff, • What makes your job difficult, • Benefits package, • Inconsistency of PROfile. On Wednesday 14th March Jo Cherrett, COO, met with your Employee Voice reps it was a chance to talk through in more detail, the concerns above and to start thinking about how all our staff can help bring about change. It was a really good first meeting and we have agreed a number of things that I will start to communicate out to all via newsletter, the first thing that was agreed is that the Employee Voice reps will meet with me bi-monthly. Following 9 months of Employee Voice lunches, there have been some common themes from the staff, and I feel that now is the time to start working on those which are most prominent. The Employee Voice lunches have given a voice to the staff and I want to continue to empower staff to speak out, we are looking for volunteers to have the opportunity to be part of the solutions for some of the concerns staff have raised. And so we are creating some solution groups which aim to draw on staff experience, and through a tried and tested methodology empower staff to develop their own solutions to a problem facing them, it will also allow people to use skills they don’t necessarily use in their everyday roles which they would like the chance to develop or to try new skills. Initially the solutions groups will be focussing on two areas. The first group is to be tasked with looking at communication, during the Employee Voice lunches this is a strong theme coming through, that many members of staff feel that communication from management through to

all staff is slow, and sometimes feel that customers are more informed than they are, so we would like a group of people to look at how this can be improved. The second group is to be tasked with looking at the retirement policy and the recruitment of young people. Trafford leisure currently has a default retirement age in place, but some staff feel that this is no longer needed. Is this something you have an opinion on and what solutions do you have? It is also felt by many people that there aren’t enough opportunities for employment for young people (at age 15 I had a Saturday job, did you?) What could we offer? Do you want to be part of either of these groups? If so please email Heather Gaulton on heather.gaulton@hotmail.co.uk

Prize Draw Do you love coffee? Then we have a fantastic prize for you, for only £1 per person you could win, a Meru Farm Project Box, this box, worth £149.99, includes the key to your coffee tree. Once you own this box you also own a tree on the Meru Farm. You will have become a member of the Meru Farm Project. Your membership box will include a shipment of single origin Kenyan coffee to try whilst you register your plot and agree your shipping dates in 2018. You will also receive a farm pass card (you’ll need this card to access the farm if you ever visit), your tree plot number, branded reusable steel coffee container and a strictly limited edition Meru Farm Project coffee cup. Members will get special access to monthly subscriptions services, updates from the farm and names will be entered into a ballot box to win a free trip to Kenya to visit the farm. All money raised will go to the company chosen charity – Once upon a Smile. https:// youtu.be/PJDxWlw1GMI

People’s Pension - Staff Update Please keep a look out for an email regarding the People’s Pension for more information.

as this is essential in case the man worsened again highlighting the importance of having defibrillators at site for our staff and customers.

In the email you will receive information that we have received from the People’s Pension

Aaron and Nathan stayed with Andy for an hour and tried to keep him alert but mainly comfortable, particularly with the bitter icy weather

regarding your contributions from April 2018. It is important that you are aware of the

from Russia. Andy did keep losing consciousness but Aaron and Nathan managed to bring him back round and maintain his alertness and

changes. Good news – the total amount saved towards your retirement is increasing!

keep him comfortable and warm until the ambulance eventually arrived.

When you’re automatically enrolled into a pension scheme (like The People’s Pension), by law there are set minimum contribution levels. From 6 April 2018, the total minimum

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It turns out that Andy was very poorly indeed and ended up being treated with a blood transfusion at hospital and is now on the road to

contribution is going up. This means the minimum amount we pay into your pension pot

recovery. Well done Aaron and Nathan!

will be increasing. 3

Sneak a peek at our New Trafford Leisure App We are working on launching a new smartphone Mobile Pro App enabling us to stay better connected to our customers and boost online bookings, sales and leads. The customised app, enables us to add any number of information pages to market our products and services to prospects, as well as update members with news, promotions and new activities or facilities on offer. Our app also allows customers to book and pay on the go on any type of smartphone. The tiled app interacts with Gladstone's Plus2 Leisure Management System in real-time so that members receive all their usual pricing and booking benefits. It is the only app on the market that fully integrates with Gladstone's membership management software. The app is so quick and easy to navigate that we hope it will encourage more people to book and pay in this way, easing the pressure on our front-of-house team. Lesley Aitken, Sales & Marketing Director said: "We love the look and feel of the new app and the marketing team have been working alongside Gladstone to get the contents together and to configure the modules ready for the launch to our customers. The app has now gone to Apple for approval, which will take approximately two weeks. We are very excited about this powerful business tool, which will enable us to adopt a completely new strategy around communicating with our customers. They can book and pay for fitness classes on the move and we can instantly keep them informed of promotions or changes to the programme.

NEW website for Altrincham Golf To celebrate our 125 years Old Anniversary the new fully-responsive site – viewable at www.altrinchamgolfclub.com – has been designed with our golfers’ user-experience firmly in mind. With superb navigation and functionality, customers can easily book a tee, access detailed product information such as tuition and course and driving range. The interactive map of the course enables customers to click on the hole and take a closer look! It also offers the opportunity to share pages across all major social media platforms. You will also see the main memberships displayed in a way that encourages more customers to buy and plenty of buy now buttons. For the first time customers can

This will be the most efficient and effective enhancement to our Gladstone software package

buy Golf membership online which has enabled us to launch our first on-line and off-line golf acquisition campaign. We can now drive Golf

- it is very easy to administer and maintain, ensuring the customer information is correct at all

leads to the new website and influence them to join.

times." Paul Murray, General Manager, South Locality says, “I’m delighted with the new website and so is the team and to celebrate the "With over 60 percent of our web users now viewing our site through their mobile or tablet

launch we are offering new golfers the opportunity to enjoy £125 gift of golf when they join. The golf season has begun, we are celebrating

device - and this figure growing month on month - we needed our own mobile app to keep up

125 years old and there is no better time than now to launch a new website and golf campaign to invite new members. I also welcome

with our customers' needs," said Chris Johnson, Acquisitions Manager.

Glyn Richards who is our new Golf Sales Manager. Glyn’s vast experience in Golf and sales will ensure that all potential members who enquire digitally will be personally looked after to help them become a new member. He will also be generating his own new members

Lesley Aitken, Sales & Marketing Director: “New membership leads are very precious to

and driving range customers by engaging in the local community. We have ensured that the resources linking marketing and sales are in

us and the best leads are generated via our customers. The app enables customers to get

place for success ”

‘Bring a buddy offers’ via the app and in-turn this will provide us with a constant stream of quality referral leads.”

“We’ve made a significant investment in the new site to keep up with increased demand from our customers,” said Lesley Aitken, Marketing and Sales Director.

Heather Gaulton, Content Manager: "As many of you know I attend the Employee Voice lunch every month to support with notes - I know this news will be welcomed by a number

Chris Johnson, Acquisitions Managers says “I’ve fully enjoyed building the website over the last three months with help from the

of staff that have suggested this over the last 9 months. Trafford Leisure is always looking

project team – Paul Murray, Heather Gaulton & Lesley Aitken. It represents a complete new build of the site. The fresh, modern look

for ways to supply interesting and meaningful content for our customers, this app can be

epitomises our brand and the Golf products we now have available. It will prove to be the perfect resource for anyone wanting in-depth information on Altrincham Golf Club,” he added.

downloaded within seconds and customers can start getting great content, such as blog and push notifications keeping them up to date on news, events and offers connected to their local centre. Customers can also interact with social media sites, sharing their activities and giving

Lesley Aitken, Marketing & Sales Director, “We’re a key player in the Golf

even more exposure to Trafford Leisure. The app will be available to download from Apple and

market and we have some very exciting developments coming in the near future,

Google Play.”

that will continue to break our service boundaries and the new site is the perfect place to showcase them to our customers.”

Lesley Aitken, Sales & Marketing Director: "We are working towards a May launch, this will hopefully give us enough time to get the app approved via Apple, and test it with staff and customers getting as much feedback as possible. It’s important we get the app right before we

Your feedback is important to us, please visit the website and email Chris Johnson to

launch. At the moment we are linking the app to our existing website, however the app will soon link to our NEW Trafford Leisure Website

let us know what you think. We will continue to monitor the Google analytics closely

which has been a major investment for us and big project. All I can say at this stage – watch this space for MORE new and exciting - forward

and customer feedback to ensure we are always improving the user experience.

thinking news about our NEW website! 4

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