The Business Exchange Swindon & Wiltshire Edition 49: June/July 2020 | Page 10

7 NAMES FOR 7 WEEKS
SEVEN WEEKS OF LOCKDOWN
A recognition of those offering e
In every crisis that has ever happened, heroes will emerge
and Covid-19 is no different. Some will capture the
imagination like that of 100-year-old Colonel Tom Moore who
raised over £33m for NHS charities.
Then there are the countless stories of keyworkers – both
in the NHS, social care, retail, trade sectors who are out
there trying to keep us safe in various different ways. We
started honouring them by clapping every Thursday night.
Lee Sheppard
While it may seem it’s bad ne
and information and updates on
was also about those who provi
darkest of days.
In almost every street or com
Wiltshire there are heroes who
shopping, such as the local taxi
shopping for free for self-isolat
Lee Sheppard is Director of Corporate
Affairs and Policy for Trowbridge-based
company Apetito and its consumer arm
Wiltshire Farm Foods. Lee represents
the 2,500 direct and indirect staff of this
large company which is the leading food
producer in the health and social care
sector in the UK. This company has been
nominated for its support of the most
vulnerable in our society.
Lee said, “When this started we knew this
was going to be challenging and our team
have put in an amazing effort. We often
serve the elderly and the most vulnerable
in society, they are at risk during Covid19
and we knew they would face challenges
when it came to food during this crisis.
“Unlike many other businesses, we
have seen our business increase in some
areas of the country by up to 60 per cent.
We’ve closed our offices and some of our
staff have become frontline . They have
gone into care homes, they have packed
food and some have even volunteered and
stayed away from their homes at this time
to really show that we want to make a
difference.”
The company has implemented social
distancing throughout its operation by
staggering shifts, providing partitioning,
creating one-way access and cashless
system in their restaurant, dropping some
menu choices for their customers where
social distancing cannot happen during
the production process – all on top of
already strict hygiene control measures.
Staff absence is now lower than five per
cent.
“Our motto is to ‘make a difference’
and all of the staff have lived up to that.
Take Marius, who was on holiday in Poland
and they said they were going to shut the
border due to Covid19. He walked into
Germany, took buses and trains through
Germany, Holland, Belgium, France and
the UK to get back to Trowbridge because
he knew he was needed as part of the
hygiene team – that’s the calibre of staff
we are lucky to have on our team.
“Also team members like Jenny
Waterfield, one of our marketing
executives and former graduate
programme participant. She has been
redeployed to a variety of roles including;
customer service advisor, delivery driver
and packer within our distribution centre.
“As a business we’ve also made
the decision not to seek access to any
government support. We really believe
that support is truly needed by other
businesses, particularly SMEs, and that is
where any money should be directed.”
Apetito has gone above and beyond by:
• Establishing a hotline for the most
vulnerable so that they can order food
and be heard – these are aimed at
customers who are among the 1.5
million who were told by the NHS to
self isolate. To date they’ve received
2,000 calls.
• Created a portal for staff who have
moved from back office positions to
the frontline for them to share ideas,
thoughts, feelings for the good of the
company and its future.
• Worked with DEFRA to come up with
a pilot programme to help the 600,000
who are also vulnerable, yet not so
vulnerable that they got the letter. It’s
estimated half of these are over 70
years old. The aim here is to effectively
signpost these people to help them
access food and services.
6 www.tbeswindonandwilts.co.uk