Shooting Stars
Building on the success of the inaugural Stellar Awards held last year, the 2010 Stellar Awards boasted three times the number of nominations, as well as a glittering awards gala which truly celebrated 1time airline’s most dazzling rising stars.
The Stellar Awards aim to recognise the company’s best team players, those employees who consistently go above and beyond their job descriptions to be helpful and pleasant to both members of the public as well as their own colleagues. “The Stellar Awards is about delivering service, not only to our passengers through the good times and the bad times, but also about delivering our services to our fellow employees. It is about treating your fellow employees as 1time team members, because if we are going to run this company as successful individuals, we need to participate as one team,” Rodney James, 1time CEO, reiterated in his opening speech.
A positive attitude amongst one’s co-workers is a crucial factor in the Stellar Awards, primarily as the nominees in all of the categories (bar “The Board of Directors’ Manager of the Year” award) are nominated by and voted for entirely by 1time employees. For many of the night’s winners – such as Mlingo Thangelane who won the award for “Admin Employee of the Year” – it was in fact the recognition by their co-workers that ended up meaning more to them than the accolade itself. “It means so much because you work with these people every day and you don’t expect them to take the time to put in a nomination,” commented Mlingo, who works as an IT Technician.
Mlingo had some tough competition in this category from PA Mumtaj Mohamed, who was described as “extremely caring”, and from Nomsa Manyeki, the tea lady in the Johannesburg offices who was described as having a “magic personality”. But it was Mlingo, who was described as “an exceptional 1timer who adds great value to our company and who is not scared to put in long hours at the workplace,” who walked away with the fabulous first prize of a trip to Maputo worth R10,000.
All of the first place winners were given holiday prizes which include hotel accommodation, flights, transfers and spending money as well as a hamper of luxury goodies. The second prize winners also won holiday packages, while the third place winners were rewarded with food and beverage hampers. All of the nominees in each category were given a Stellar Awards Star lapel pin to wear on their uniforms.
It was this lapel pin, which he was given as a nominee last year, that encouraged Trevor Ndzobe, Catering Manager in Johannesburg, to step up his game this year. “Last year I got a little star pin and I would wear it whenever I wore my uniform. People would say to me: ‘But the Stellar Awards have passed already.’ And I would say: ‘It doesn’t matter, I am still proud.’ I was thinking of the awards all year,” Trevor explains. It was clearly this focus that saw him nominated for both the “Operations Employee of the Year” award (along with flight ops controller Brandon Winnan and roster clerk Ilezna Koen) and for the prestigious “1timer of the Year” award. Trevor eventually went on to win the “Operations Employee of the Year” award. Little wonder too, considering his work ethic. “When I work, I put 100% effort and sweat and energy into it, and this will just make me work harder for this company.”
Just being a finalist was a shock to “Customer Care Agent of the Year” nominee, Pragashinee Valaydham, a senior customer service agent at King Shaka International. She was nominated alongside call centre agent Bongani Methulu and Johannesburg based senior customer service agent Lwazi Hoga. But Pragashinee eventually walked away with the grand prize for being “considerate, dedicated and organised.”
Brian Watts, 1time Manager: Product Standards, is the driving force behind the Stellar Awards and officiated over the prize-giving portion of the evening. He described the “Nominator of the Year” award as being one of the most important, as it recognises those employees who take the time to nominate their peers while knowing full well that they may never be nominated themselves. This year’s three finalists were Charmaine Swart (“her nominations cross departmental borders with consummate ease and sincerity”), Tauriq Achmat (“a caring young man who nominates his colleagues with a sense of maturity beyond his years”) and Lynette Naude, who was awarded first prize for being “masterful in motivating her nominations”.
Competition for the “Operating Crew Member of the Year” award was tough, with all three nominees – Nikita Rocha, Mark Peake and Zastra Brickles – very worthy of the first prize. Flight Attendant Mark Peake won the showdown, however, which will see him enjoying a three-night stay for two at the five-star Shamwari Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape. “This makes me so proud to be part of this company,” he commented.
The award for “Airport of the Year” was also hotly contested, but Cape Town International narrowly edged out OR. Tambo International and King Shaka International to win a luncheon at the Two Oceans Aquarium for its staff.
The “Board of Directors’ Manager of the Year” award is unique due to the fact that it is the only award voted for by the airline’s top management. This year’s nominees showed great dedication to their jobs and an overall level of excellence. Mandy Immelman, training manager, was described as being “fully committed to training our cabin crew to the highest possible standard”. Cape Town International station manager, Lynette Naude, was in turn described as “a station manager that always offers 100% commitment”. But it was his ability to “lead from the front when the going got tough in the Ops office” that secured Cornelis Schoonderwoerd, Johannesburg manager of the flight operations office, the first prize. “It’s been hard work, but I appreciate what everyone has done for me. I couldn’t have done it without my team and it’s been an amazing year,” he commented.
Finally, Station Manager Lynette Naude rounded off her three nominations this year by taking home the evening’s top honour of the “1timer of the Year” award. This included not one, but two overseas trips – one to Zanzibar and another to Maputo.
Desmond O’ Connor, 1time Commercial Director, ended the proceedings by saying that the continued excellence of 1time airline’s staff – and in particular the Stellar Awards nominees – has enabled the airline’s directors to effectively hand over the day-to-day running of the company to the staff themselves, knowing full well that it will be run in an excellent manner. He also commented that the awards were a fantastic opportunity to recognise those people who work tirelessly behind the scenes – many of whom the passengers never see – for their work in upholding the company’s excellent standards.
Based on the nominees and winners at this year’s Stellar Awards event, 1time’s future as a company of excellence and an airline of choice looks very much assured.
Prize Sponsors
1time airline would like to extend a huge thank you to all of the sponsors who so generously donated prizes for the 2010 Stellar Awards. This year the value of the prizes given away (excluding flight costs) was an impressive R130,500.
• Two Oceans Aquarium (http://www.aquarium.co.za/)
• Southern Sun Maputo (http://www.southernsun.com/)
• Ciro (http://www.ciro.co.za/)
• Distell (http://www.distell.co.za/)
• SAB Limited (http://www.sablimited.co.za/)
• Zorgvliet (http://www.zorgvliet.co.za/)
• Europa Foods (http://www.europa.co.za/)
• Nestle (http://www.nestle.co.za/)
• Fairview (http://www.fairview.co.za/)
• Servopak/Solrite (http://www.servopak.co.za/)
A special thank you to Life Hotel Aviator for hosting the awards ceremony.
Story by Nicky Furniss
