Thrill of anticipation as annual awards ceremony approaches

The summer season is over, and the ever-popular holiday destination, the South-west, has started to recover after the usual influx of visitors - although it will be a couple of weeks yet before everyone has finished holidaying in the English Riviera and the roads return to normal.

It is coming up to the time of year when Sodexho honours its employees in its annual awards ceremony, which the whole company looks forward to. This year I have been asked to be a judge for our divisional nominees in the Housekeeper of the Year category.

Being a judge is a really difficult task and I do feel for all the nominees, who have to prepare and give a presentation to the panel of judges on what they have achieved in their job that has led to their nomination.

Giving a presentation can be unnerving, but my fellow judges and I managed to get the nominees to relax. After that we could hardly stop them telling us about their varied responsibilities and the challenges they face. It was fascinating to hear about all the different services we are providing at our clients' sites around the UK.

This particular category is one close to home for my team here at the Devon & Cornwall Constabulary, because last year one of our cleaning supervisors received the award, and I know from experience the amazing thrill of winning an award from a company as large and diverse as ours.

The winners will be announced at the grand awards ceremony in November and I, along with all the nominees, will be waiting anxiously as the winners are announced. I will be paying particular attention to Housekeeper of the Year but will also have my fingers firmly crossed for one of my managers who has been nominated by our division for the Best Newcomer award, which is for anyone who has been with the company for 18 months or less.

As Sodexho continues to focus its attention on the implementation of new systems and procedures across the business, there has been a lot of training for me and my team, and I hope I have succeeded in passing on all the necessary information. We will know soon enough - the system goes live in a few weeks.

When I first started writing this diary at the beginning of the year, little did I realise what an exciting and challenging year it would be, what with a change at the top at Sodexho, an invitation to the Cateys and the exciting new initiatives being introduced. What next?

Sara Carless is Sodexho's district manager for the Devon & Cornwall Constabulary
Next diary from Sara Carless: 14 November