IDBS Data Management Blog

Service Excellence Small Team of the Year Awards – the results are in

This is my last blog for the IDBS Support Service Desk Institute Small Team of the Year Service Excellence Awards – now there’s a mouthful for the morning after the night before! The final chapter played out last night. And as I sit in my office nursing a slightly sore head, my mind flits back to the events of the last 24 hours.

We had been shortlisted. The judges had interrogated us. We had created our video. Suddenly the day of the Awards was here. We made our way up the M40, realizing that we had a real chance of winning.

We got to the venue on time, with everyone making a great effort. We would definitely win the Best Dressed Team Award – had there been one! Then in a stroke of genius, the organizers showed the England vs Ukraine football game on the big screen as we tucked into our pre-awards dinner.

The first few awards were announced, with the audience showing their appreciation. Suddenly, it was time for our award…

A hush descended as the video submissions for the three finalists were shown. Our competitors produced strong entries. But, I have to modestly say, ours was head and shoulders above them: huge thanks to Caroline Grainger for masterminding. See the video for yourself here:

And the winners are…?

The judges paused. Then in time honoured fashion we heard those magic words “And the winners are……………. IDBS”.

We all applauded, whooped and made our way on stage to collect the trophy. The judges agreed that we followed a strong process and had great leadership with a high focus on Customer Satisfaction. They believed we were truly innovative with our support offering and were always striving to make improvements wherever we can.

Knowing that we are viewed positively both inside and outside IDBS is great. And to receive the ultimate external recognition is the icing on the cake. The Team are delighted and I am immensely proud of what they have achieved.

There then followed a few hours of dancing, drinking (in not necessarily equal measures) and then a wave of congratulations for various people at the Awards.

Where to now, I hear you ask? Well we’re not going to stand still. All we can do is to continue to improve, and definitely never rest on our laurels.

Now, where are the paracetamol?

The IDBS Racy Ladies survive the Race for Life

We would like to say a HUGE, ENORMOUS and MASSIVE thank you to everyone who made a donation. Your generosity really means a lot to us and to Cancer Research UK.

There were all sorts of women joining in – from toddlers to the elderly, which was heartbreaking. Louise was particularly moved:

“We were behind a group of young teens, who all had signs on their T-Shirts saying ‘I’m racing for Life for my friend Zoe who is recovering’. But then I spotted a girl in the middle whose T-Shirt read ‘I’m racing for Life for ME’. It really made us realise how important the event was.”

Janet agrees: “I was really humbled by the stories I read as we made our way round the course. My daughter was also very proud of mummy. She has kept my medal to take to show and tell at school!”

As for me, apart from forgetting my race number and my MP3 not working, it was a fab day with an amazing atmosphere and some truly inspiring stories. Claire and Kaye both completed the race in 25 minutes, followed by myself and Charlotte at 29 minutes. It was a great (but good) surprise for us to get in under that 30-minute mark.

Even better, the sun was shining, which made the race a lot easier… and that ‘quick drink’ afterwards far more enjoyable.

Thank you, thank you, thank you

We’d like to thank everyone at IDBS’ Guildford office who joined in with the ‘Guess the Number of Sweets’ competition and our ‘Bake for Life’ day – these two alone raised £140.

Altogether, friends, family, colleagues and IDBS helped us to raise a grand total of just over £2,012, which is fantastic – and rather appropriate in this Olympic year!

Your support is truly appreciated by all of us. And it really does help to fund Cancer Research UK’s life-saving work.

Thank you again and well done everyone. Same time next year, ladies!

The Racy Ladies: Janet, Charlotte H, Claire C, Lauren, Louise, Charlotte S, Nadjia, Claire H, Alex and Kaye

If you would like to help boost the IDBS Racy Ladies total, there is still time to donate. Please visit: www.idbs.com/go/raceforlifesponsorme

The ladies of IDBS prepare for The Race for Life

Working at IDBS, we often have an insight into ongoing research that covers a vast range of serious illnesses. But few have quite the same impact as Cancer. It is an illness that seems to touch the lives of so many we know. That’s why we, the ladies at IDBS, have decided to team up to take part in this year’s Race for Life in aid of Cancer Research.

Racy Ladies: Teaming up for a great cause

For many of us it will be a very personal day. My fellow (or should I say sister?) runner Charlotte Smith has very special reasons for running:

“I’m joining in because I lost my Grandpa to cancer 18 months ago. He was just 75 but his brain tumour was vicious and there was nothing they could do. The more money we can help contribute towards research, the closer we get to help prevent other families from suffering in the future. And if we can have fun at the same time then all the better!”

For me it’s a similar story. I’ve seen friends affected and watched far too many lose their parents and close relations to the disease. I think everyone is affected at some point and it’s nice we can turn a negative into a positive. I’m doing the odd spinning/circuits session here and there to improve my fitness and, of course, some jogging on the treadmill and around Stoke park.

Of course we haven’t been averse to a little ‘pressganging’ either! Woe betide any lone lady walking through reception recently, as Nadjia Drici knows only too well:

“I was strongly pushed by the other team members to join the race, especially the two anonymous ladies by the reception counter! In terms of training, I am always very motivated on Monday morning … until Monday 10am.”

And some just fall into it, like Kaye Elphick:

“For me it was one of those random conversations that just went too far. Again the reception girls were involved and by the end of the conversation we were all going to go training regularly… but as the temperatures have gone up my speed has gone down. Now I’m running at below walking speed and being overtaken by people 20 to 30 years older than me! Looking forward to a fun day in good company and an ice cream to finish.”

The Race for Life will take place on Saturday June 16, at 14:00 at Stoke Park, Guildford. It’s not too late for any other IDBS girls reading this to join us. If you’d like our team reference, please let us know. There’s also a loose change jar in the finance office. All coins (or notes) greatly received!

So that’s about it for the moment. Wish us luck. And watch this space – we’ll keep you up to date with all the news.

Lauren Kisiel

If you would like to sponsor us (no matter how small) please click this link:
www.idbs.com/go/raceforlifesponsorme