- Written by Nikki Laker - Marketing Director
- Connect with Nikki on LinkedIn
The entire Opus team came together on 14th June 2024 for our annual event; Vivid Vision – One Year On. A time for us all to reflect on our progress towards the three year vision we launched last year. This time around, our strategic partners were also present.
The Vivid Vision – One Year On event
This year, the entire Opus team gathered at a new venue, the Old Reigatian’s Rugby Club, for our annual event. Our strategic Vivid Vision, crafted a year ago, was designed to inform, motivate, and inspire our team, ensuring everyone is aligned on the path ahead. This year’s event featured a few new surprises, including the introduction of our elite sales awards and a discussion panel. Additionally, we welcomed our strategic partners, who generously sponsored various elements of the event.
A warm welcome
Stephen Brown our Service Delivery Director warmed up the crowd with one of his famous sudden death quizzes, this time it was heads or tails. Congratulations to Josh Jones for winning the quiz and grabbing the overnight stay voucher for the Brooklands Spa Hotel.
“These events are so important for us as a business. Informing our team of significant developments, explaining why they are so important and motivating them to work together to achieve more for both themselves and us as a business. It’s really quite something to see the engagement it creates.
Stephen Brown – Service Delivery Director
Understanding our Secret Sauce Recipe
CEO Michael O’Donnell shared what the ingredients are for the Opus secret sauce recipe, as well as reflecting over the years we spent building our foundations for growth. He also gave an update on where we are with our BHAG since we launched it last year as well as his predictions for the coming years with the economic changes.
Financial Performance
Our Finance Director, Charlie Roche took to the stage to share an update on our financial performance and explained our 26% growth rate last year. Shedding some light into our peers performance compared to ours as well as outlining our significant investments over the past financial year as well as the results they delivered.
“When you compare the impressive 26% Opus growth rate to the industry and our peers, it’s not a given that all companies in our space experience organic growth.
Charlie Roche – Finance Director
A spotlight on our People
Chief Operations Officer, Chris Terry, expanded on how our people are the most important ingredient in our secret sauce recipe and why we strive to attract and retain ‘A Players’. He reflected on some of the key milestones achieved such as the launch of our culture book, our consistent Net Promoter Score, our Feefo reviews and our collaborative commitment to self-development.
Chris expanded on our continual improvement methodology, team development pathways and the skills matrices that have been implemented for all departments to help every employee grow to their full potential.
Lastly, he reflected on the Best Companies ‘World Class’ status that we were awarded last month and what changes we implemented internally to elevate our one star rating to a three star in less than six months.
Our development pathway initiative has been designed to show every employee in the business how they can progress through the company and how the departments link together in terms of transferable skills. If we are going to be able to keep our amazing team together, everyone needs to feel like there is a future pathway to match their ambitions here at Opus.
Chris Terry – Chief Operations Officer
The Opus Values Awards
As part of our annual tradition, we presented a series of values awards to our team members, which are always eagerly anticipated. There were five awards in total, each featuring a winner and a highly commended placement, both of whom received a beautiful trophy and a financial reward. Additionally, there was a special mention for the ‘ones to watch’ for next year, who also gained several votes. These individuals included Sam Faulkner, Caroline Parker, Dave Callman, James Beynon, Dan Potts, Lucy Bailey, Josh Jones, Lizzie Cooper, and Adam Sankey.
The Ultimate Team Player Award
The Ultimate Team Player Award represented our Work Together, Win Together value. This award was reflective of the team player, who is always looking to achieve the best outcomes for everyone.
Winner: Suba Malwatta – Project Engineer
Highly Commended: Rosie English – Marketing Manager
The Trailblazer Award
The Trailblazer Award represents our Be Brave and Think Differently value. This award was reflective of employees that are ambitious and like to challenge how things are.
Winner: Hannah O’Donnell – Sustainability & Community Impact Manager
Highly Commended: Dan How – Engineering Team Leader – IT Support
The Above & Beyond Award
The Above & Beyond Award embodies our values of “Own It” and “Never Give Up.” This award is given to an employee who demonstrates responsibility and a strong determination to succeed.
Winner – Tory Davison – Talent Acquisition Specialist
Highly Commended – Rob Lowe – Solution Design Consultant
The Platinum Performance Award
The Platinum Performance Award represents our “Strive To Be The Best” value. It is given to an employee who consistently sets higher standards and excels in all their endeavours.
Winner – Georgina McKenna – Head of Service Delivery
Highly Commended – Simon Inglis – IT Project Engineer
The Outstanding Progression Award
The Outstanding Progression Award represents our “Stay Curious and Keep Learning” value. It is given to an employee who shows a strong commitment to learning, embodying a growth mindset and demonstrating excellence in both personal and professional development.
Winner: Emily Musker – Mobile Provisioning Team Leader
Highly Commended: Chris Wells – Senior Project Engineer
Discussion Panel
A new addition this year was a discussion panel hosted by Marketing Director Nikki Laker. Four department leaders were invited to the stage to share their firsthand insights. It was fascinating to hear why certain significant developments had been reprioritised and what each department has planned for the coming year. They concluded by offering personal advice on how our team members can excel this year at Opus.
Sales Focus
Chief Commercial Officer, Michael O’Donnell, took the stage to explain our core sales focus areas for the coming year. Announcing an impressive 28% sales growth over the past FY. He also presented our Elite Sales Awards – new for 2024.
Elite Sales Awards
The winners of these were those who’ve exceeded a New Logo and Growth revenue goal in line with our Striving to be the Best value.
Well done to our 2024 Elite Sales winners:
- Adam Sankey
- Ben Murphy
- Dave Callman
- Drew Woodger
- Kris Graham
- Matt Dudleston
- Michael O’Donnell
- Stuart Green
” Our sales team consistently faces significant pressure to deliver exceptional results, with targets increasing by over 25% each year. Last year was no exception, yet we broke new records, achieving the highest Sales Revenue and Gross Profit totals in Opus history.“
Michael O’Donnell – Chief Commercial Officer
Updated Dreamball initiative
At last year’s Vivid Vision launch event, we introduced our Dreamball employee benefit, allowing employees to submit their dreams, valued up to £2,500, for a quarterly draw. This initiative has been a huge success, so this year we’ve made it even bigger! Dreams can now be valued up to £3,000. To add to the excitement, we held a surprise live draw on stage. Rob Lowe won a once-in-a-lifetime campervan trip to the north coast of Scotland with his entire family and their dog!
Concluding thoughts
Before the event concluded, one final award was announced: the most prestigious title, our Players’ Player “All That is Opus Award.” The nominees included Suba Malwatta, Nick Ruthen, Oliver King, Ben Murphy, and Jess Waller. This year, our Project Provisioning Coordinator, Stephanie Russell, took home the 2024 trophy (pictured above right). Saying she was over the moon would be an understatement!
Our CEO closed the presentation by recapping the Opus “secret sauce” recipe and outlining our focus for the year ahead. Team Opus was then surprised with a real-life Mario Kart team-building event, which was a hit, as evidenced by the photos.
After followed a fantastic live band, Murdoch’s Crazy Eyes and then a DJ taking us into the night.
Here’s to this year as we activate the second year of our Vivid Vision. Watch this space…
Team Opus Teambuilding
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The party then started...
