Woodies DIY, Home and Garden hosts annual awards ceremony online

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It was a case of rolling out a virtual red carpet this year as Woodie’s DIY, Home and Garden celebrated the efforts of their dedicated colleagues through an online ‘Woscars’ awards ceremony.

Introduced in 2018, the Woscars — Woodie’s Oscars — honour the exceptional team and individual contributions across each of Woodie’s 35 stores and support office every year as part of their Great Place to Work initiative.

A rigorous nominations process takes place to reach the final shortlist in each category and it is considered a true achievement when your name is pulled from the golden envelope at the annual Oscars-style ceremony. Almost 400 attendees traditionally descend on Croke Park in all their finery for a black-tie gala event, where 25 coveted awards are ready to be collected — 10 Headline Woscars and 15 Standard Woscars.

That wasn’t to be this year, so the Woodie’s Leadership Team decided to surprise colleagues by hosting an online event to announce the deserving winners to the wider Woodie’s community on WorkVivo. The Leadership Team even donned their dinner jackets and gowns and set up a Woscars stage in the Woodie’s support office for the virtual ceremony!

Kieran Ryan, who has been working with Woodie’s Naas Road store in Dublin since 2014, has been crowned Shop floor Colleague of the Year for 2020. Kieran is a familiar face in Woodie’s advertising and known across the 35 stores for his paint expertise. Kieran was nominated by his colleagues for his expertise and generally helpful demeanour.

Manager of the Naas Road store Ewelina Witek-Murdek said: “We are all very proud of Kieran, he lives and breathes his role not only as Naas Road paint expert but also as a team player, he cares for his colleagues and always has the company in his mind in every move. He is passionate beyond belief and he lives the brand values every day.”

CEO of Woodie’s Declan Ronayne said: “It has been a unique year for our business. This year more than any other year we needed to recognise our colleagues’ exceptional contributions and ability to adapt in what has been a very tough year for everyone due to the challenge of the pandemic.

“Every single colleague in Woodie’s has pulled together as a team to ensure we have been able to continue to deliver an unbeatable service to our customers. It was important that we still celebrated our achievements this year in some way and I am delighted that we pulled off our annual Woscars event with a little help from technology.

“Well done to all our Woscar-winners and thank you for your outstanding efforts this year. I’d also like to thank our suppliers who help make these awards happen.

“Here’s to 2021!”