Last week saw the inaugural Penny Petroleum Conference and Awards Ceremony, which took place at the North Lakes Hotel in Penrith. The day was packed with several informative presentations and was rounded off with an Awards Dinner. Penny Petroleum were launching their new branding and positional – Penny on the move, and they certainly are!
The opening presentation set the scene with David Penny (owner and founder) outlining the targets for the business into 2025. These included employing over 1000 colleagues, owning 100 filling stations, growing their ‘food 2 go’ offering, two hotels, three individual car wash sites, a bakery, a farm shop and a turnover of over £500 million! Not bad for a family business that started in Hedgeley in Northumberland in 1994 with just one site and is now the fifth largest petrol forecourt retailer in the UK.
The forecourt is changing thanks to the dawning of electric and hydrogen powered vehicles. Diversification is key to this changing business so the day was very much focussed on the journey the business has made and would be making, its ethos (the Penny P’s Partnerships, Passion, Positivism, Pride and Perseverance) and the important role its people play. There were also several presentations from Partners like BP, Londis Booker and EPOS CBE who continue to play their part in this moving landscape.
The day culminated in recognising the achievement of some team members and the stores, said David Penny “This was a fantastic event that will be repeated next year and for many years to come. We are well and truly ‘on the move’ and staff recruitment, retention and reward are integral to our progression. Events like this really cement how closely we work with our colleagues and our suppliers to position Penny Petroleum as the ultimate convenience.”
It sounds like Penny is very definitely going places!
DETAILS OF THE AWARDS:
The Partnership Award went to Tracey Cowens who works at the Penny Petroleum Head Office in Hedgeley. Nominated for being in a support role and going out of their way to get the job done; the person who won needed to display the company ethos and was the person who the store teams felt supported ‘them’ the best overall.
The Passion Awards – There is an undeniable link between site standards, employee satisfaction and business success. Customers appreciate a well-stocked, well merchandised clean petrol filling station and shop.
Recently every single site in the company was visited and marked for the standards they showed. A huge effort was made with remarkable impact and results, however marking was tough and so close that 4 winners, the stores at Bowburn, Redwood, Strensall and Inch, were announced.
The Positivity Award went to Robyn at Auld Brigg who has supported her area team by training new and existing managers all over the country. Robyn loves a challenge and is only too happy to help others all whilst running her own store to a very high standard. Auld Brigg recently won a Spar award for the best independently owned and operated store. Her team are engaged in Robyn’s vision of always being the best and so the Award was well-deserved.
The Pride Award was given to Bill at Thirsk. Bill was nominated by all the HO team who say that his paperwork is received every week without fail, the post is always in order and shift sheets completed properly. Daily sales are completed perfectly and all method of payments and cash are spot on every month, without ever missing any invoices or credit notes. His consistency, accuracy and the pride he takes make it very easy to process all aspects of Bill’s work.
The Perseverance Award was given to recognise an individual who has perhaps initially struggled. A person who has been resilient, has overcome hurdles, broken down barriers and come out of the other side. This colleague has then remained consistent and has driven the business forward to deliver results. The winner of The Perseverance Award was Gary from Stannington
A special recognition award was also given to the individual who was the only manager in the company to achieve all 5 KPI’s for the first half of the year, and who showed a high level of competency, good leadership and pride in their work. The Special Recognition Award went to Christine from the Penny Petroleum Stakeford store.