On the 25th of September, 2020, the West Oxfordshire Business Awards (WOBA) went virtual, marking the 10th year of the awards with a COVID spin, conducted entirely online.
Founded back in 2010 to fly the flag for business and entrepreneurship in West Oxfordshire, WOBA has become one of the biggest network gatherings, bringing together businesses across West Oxfordshire to celebrate success and promote cooperation.
As a proud main sponsor of the event, specifically sponsoring the ‘Employer of the Year’ award, we wanted to have a chat, five weeks on, with WOBA 2020 ‘Employer of the Year’, The Rooflight Co, to discuss what the award has meant to them and how it helps them beyond recognition.
MD Steve Webber of The Rooflight Company
What it Means to Win a WOBA
This ‘Employer of the Year’ award is actually the second that has been won by The Rooflight Co. So strong is their business culture that the team won the same award back in 2016, and they hold these close to their heart as recognition for the hard work they put toward fostering a great work environment. As Managing Director, Steve Webber, explains:
“When our founders, Peter and Val King, stepped down in 2019, they chose to entrust the company, its culture and its legacy, to its team. Since that moment, we have worked incredibly hard to build on the fantastic foundations of innovation, culture and sustainability that they put in place. Our whole employee team worked together to define the values, guiding principles and behaviour statements that act as the cornerstones of the organisation, and which have been reflected in this award win.”
When reflecting on what the award means to The Rooflight Co, Steve offered “I can’t say how proud we are to be recognised as one of the best places to work in the county. We take great pride in the breadth of different employees we have working here and constantly strive to be and deliver the best. We take nothing for granted and always seek to improve, be it through knowledge transfer partnerships or working with Innovate UK, all of which makes it a stimulating and engaging place to work. I’ve been here for 27 years, so I’ve always known The Rooflight Company is a great place to work – it’s fantastic to have this view officially validated!”
As for how the award will be displayed, The Rooflight Co have assured us that “The award will take pride of place in our reception area for all our visitors to see.”
While these awards are fantastic for acknowledgement, the goal of the WOBAs is also to give award winners a platform from which they can prove their strengths. As such, the promotion of the award adds significant value to those who receive them. To leverage this, The Rooflight Co tells us they will be promoting the award on their website, company email signatures, company marketing literature, social media channels, across local online and print media publications, as well as national press and publications, and Witney Radio Commercial.
MD Steve Webber (left) and co-owners of The Rooflight Company – winners of the Employer of the Year award at the 2020 WOBAs
Why We Support the WOBAs
As Oxfordshire accountants, we are proud to be part of the business community in the county, and we recognise the excellence that is prevalent around us. As a municipality, West Oxfordshire brings so much to the area and boasts a rich commercial dynamic that, to us, is worthy of celebration. The WOBAs allow us to come together as a business community to gain inspiration, valuable connections and a sense of pride in what we are achieving in this region. We want to say well done to the other two finalists STL Communications and Little Dots Daycare and commend them for fostering a work environment truly worthy of recognition.