The Bi-Annual Planning Day is a valuable opportunity for IWA employees from across the country to meet in person and online. This year’s theme, “Supporting You and Your Teams”, brought a keen focus on practical and informative presentations aimed at giving front-line teams back more time to focus on supporting IWA Members.
Opening remarks from Chris Hoey, Chief Operations Officer, set the tone for the day by asking the room. “What has led IWA to be voted the second-best employer in the Sunday Independent’s list of the top 150 employers in Ireland this year? It is you, and our colleagues all over the country, whose personal values align with IWA’s values of courage, equality, integrity, excellence, openness, visionary and fun. It is you who goes above and beyond for our members and colleagues.”
Some other key areas covered were:
- A reflection on the previous six months
- An open discussion on areas for improvement
- Looking forward to our next Strategic Plan cycle
Fergus Maher, Mental Health Promotion Officer with Spectrum Health, kicked off the first presentation, speaking about the importance of looking after your mental health and the benefits available to IWA Employees and their families should they need additional support at stressful times in their lives.
CEO Ann Marie O’Grady shared her own past experiences with the employee assistance service in a previous role and urged, “Don’t wait until you have reached the tipping point. Acknowledging when you need help is a sign of strength and looking after yourself means that you can be the best version of yourself for others in your life. At this time of year, people have children doing exams, or you may be caring for someone at home on top of a busy career. The service is anonymous and free to employees and their dependents.” You can find a link to the Employee Assistance Service (EAS) provided by Spectrum Health on HR’s SharePoint page
A highlight of the day was an impactful presentation from IWA Member, Peter Gasparo and the IWA Holiday Service team. Peter shared his personal experience of four IWA holidays, three in Ireland and one to Disneyland Paris, which was his first experience flying.
Peter shared that: “Without IWA’s Holiday Service, my options are limited to getting out in Dublin with my personal assistant for a few hours, when the weather is good. I would have never got on a plane, I was fearful of that but I had the support of the IWA staff and it was a fantastic experience. Disneyland was so much fun.”
A letter from Peter’s mum, was also read out on the day. Share shared that;” As a family we also benefit greatly from IWA holidays. It gives me an opportunity to spend quality time with my daughter. We can go out without having to be back at a specific time to accommodate my sons care needs. I can relax knowing that he is having fun and is being well cared for.”
Mildred Carroll, National Director for CSD with overall responsibility for the holiday service, commented: “The holiday service is a bespoke and person-centred service. It’s unique and is a true asset to IWA, giving people with disabilities the opportunity to enjoy the freedom of holidays. It’s an amazing service and I complement my team leading it, they go above and beyond to ensure members have a memorable holiday.”
In such a fast-paced, diverse organisation like IWA, it is not often that we get the opportunity to meet in person and online. To make the most of the day, the agenda was packed, with presentations on our climate commitments, advancements in ICT and Human Resources.
We would like to sincerely thank for National Development Team for their hard work in organising the day as well as thanking all the speakers and presenters.
Lastly, we’d like to thank our colleagues across the whole organisation for attending either online or in-person, the day would not have been possible without your engagement and input.
