Serco Middle East Celebrates Outstanding Talent At Pulse Awards

International public services company, Serco Middle East last night celebrated the people behind its business at the annual Serco Middle East Pulse Awards, which recognise the exceptional work being carried out by staff in the region.

The gala dinner event saw 200 Serco employees gather as individuals and teams were honoured for their roles in shaping the business’ future, with recognition in the categories of Care, Innovation, Pride and Trust, the four key values that define the company’s culture.

The 2019 Serco Middle East Pulse Awards, which was attended by Serco Group CEO, Rupert Soames, shone a light on those who have delivered an exceptional service to the business; whether it is developing new ways of meeting customer expectations, sharing best practice or streamlining the services offered for the benefit of customers, or thinking outside the normal way of the day-to-day job and implementing new ideas.

Amongst the winners on the night was HR advisor, Jinna Magbitang. She was recognised in the Care category for her contribution in supporting Serco’s wellbeing campaign, which included organising a number of health-led initiatives for employees, such as health screenings, free GP consultations, delivering a blood donation campaign and providing support with stress management.

Another accolade that was given out during the evening was the Pride Award, which recognises those who have inspired others to make a difference. Bushra Alhosani was praised for her efforts, passion and pride to the Serco Middle East Emiratisation programme. An alumni of Zayed University, Bushra saw an opportunity to support the Emiratisation initiative, and developed a number of initiatives such as directing a video to promote Serco, securing candidates for the ‘Serco ZU intern camp’ and creating the programme they worked through during the summer.

Commenting on the Awards, Phil Malem, Serco Middle East CEO, said: “I’m always inspired by the people that work for our business. I joined the company in 2019 and it’s been both humbling and a privilege to hear the stories of people who live and breathe our values being recognised on the stage.

“From the staff I meet on contract visits, to those supporting behind the scenes, it’s the people we have that make me proud to lead this company. Their actions have helped make what we do better than anyone else, and this is such a proud evening for me.”

Innovation was also top of the bill at the Awards. Jeremy Picones, Infrastructure Team Leader, at Serco Middle East won the accolade after spotting an opportunity for innovation at the Palm Jumeirah Monorail. He put forward an idea to replace divers – used to take photos of the piers on the Palm Island, which involves significant risk and low level photography – with a drone that provides both a safer option and better quality reporting.

Jeremy Picones commented: “It is a great honour to receive this award and I’m so proud of my colleagues whose achievements have also been recognised. It’s a privilege to work for a company that truly puts its people at the heart of what it does, and I’m looking forward to helping drive more initiatives in the future.”

The evening concluded with global recognition for four of the category winners. Sithum Christopher Katukurunda, Bushra Al Hosani, Jeremy Picones and the Learning and Development team from one of Serco’s key transport contracts were each handed a Global Award following their outstanding work for the business.