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Executive Report: Exceptional commitment EHN meets the thoroughly worthy winner of the HAE Employee of the Year Award. It is a well-used corporate cliché that a successful company is only as good as the people who work for it. If true, HSS has a lot to thank Mo Uddin for. The company went some way to thanking him by nominating the 31-year-old for the HAE Employee of the Year 2006 award, which he duly won at the awards ceremony in Amsterdam (see EHN June). As Manager of one of HSS’ busiest branches at King’s Cross in London, Mo is regarded as exemplifying commitment to customer service, with a ‘can do’ attitude, a willingness to offer help and advice, and working long hours. Having joined HSS in 1999 as a Trainee Assistant Branch Manager (ABM) in Hackney, his abilities soon propelled him rapidly to Senior ABM at Kings Cross, back to Hackney as Branch Manager for a short spell and finally to his current position. “King’s Cross is an exceptionally busy branch, but we never forget that we are part of a community,” he contends. “We are always happy to support local schools and voluntary organisations. It means everybody knows and respects you, trusts you and is happy to sing the praises of HSS.” He emphasises the importance of teamwork in the success of the King’s Cross outlet and in him winning the HAE Award. But what is less well known is his role following the series of terrorist bomb explosions on London’s transport network on the morning of 7 July 2005. Within minutes of the three devastating attacks on the London Underground, and the other on a double-decker bus in Tavistock Square, Mo was helping to co-ordinate the delivery of HSS emergency rescue equipment from all over the UK. As the explosions struck, claiming 52 lives, he immediately instructed staff to ring their families to say they were all right, and then took the decision to keep the branch open as long as necessary, ready to assist with the provision of safety equipment. Just half a mile from the explosion at King’s Cross Station, branch staff organised breathing apparatus, safe access equipment, cleaning machinery and lifting gear to assist the emergency services. “The team finally left the branch at gone midnight, but were back at 7am the following day to continue offering support as the massive clean-up operation got underway,” states Darron Cavanagh, HSS Regional Manager. “In these exceptional circumstances, Mo stayed calm and strong for those around him, as well as showing commitment to everyone involved on that horrific day and in the days that followed.” “Doing whatever we could to help” “We heard about the explosions on the radio, but I’ll always remember the fear on the faces of people walking past the branch as they tried to get away from the area,” states Mo. “I managed to speak to my Area Manager before the telephone networks went down. I was therefore able to inform him of my decision to stay open and to do whatever we could to help. It was absolute chaos for hours but we were able to get a lot of safety and rescue equipment ready on stand by.” Married, with a baby on the way, Mo Uddin was genuinely surprised when HSS Chief Executive Paul Nolan telephoned the branch to tell him that he had been shortlisted for the HAE Award. “Mo has taken ownership of managing the King’s Cross branch and is delivering great results, while his professional attitude is a real credit to the company,” he says. “I thoroughly enjoy what I do and the challenges that it provides, but I couldn’t do it well without a good team supporting me,” adds Mo. “It is good to know that you can be recognised for hard work and effort, and for that I thank HSS.” • Executive Hire News › Archives › August 2006 › Executive Report › Exceptional commitment
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