Author: Glen McCabe

Welcome back! After our final conference for the year, the last big event for 2022 was the Christchurch awards party on 23 November – and it went off!

The southern St. Pierre’s family packed out the South Garden Chinese restaurant for a night of frivolity and recognising all their many achievements. We love friendly competition at St. Pierre’s, and there’s no question that the South Island team was the best at bringing the energy to the awards party! The cheering, singing and support for fellow shop team members – and staff from other shops – as they won prizes was just amazing!

Awards parties are about celebrating all shop staff, and in particular recognising the high achievers over the last year. Importantly, everyone is eligible, not just managers!
We provide individual cash prizes for the runner up and best part time and full-time staff, as well as rising stars, specialty manager of the year and overall manager of the year. Categories also recognise shops with the best promotion, second mile service and food presentation.

A new category recognises the best Servant Leader in each region – the manager who works to put their staff first and help them to grow. Finally, we have a strong tradition of managers sharing the rewards with their staff, whether managers win an individual prize or the shop as a whole wins. In other words, we celebrate everyone’s efforts every day, because great food depends on teamwork!

And not to forget our past winners – many of our Managers of the Year are still with the company, some as managers, some in other roles. Check out the honour roll!

And because our awards parties are not too serious, fancy-dress costumes are encouraged. Our South Island team brought the outfits to match the energy! We had a whole shop team of cavemen, 90s St. Pierre’s staff in genuine retro uniforms (wow!), pirates, rubber ducks (?), plus an Andean cattle herder (?!?) and everything else imaginable. Enjoy the craziness!

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It really was a fun night for everyone. Check out the positive energy on all the tables!

Christchurch was the last of our awards events in 2022. If you missed them, check out the Wellington and Auckland awards party articles. See you all at our next events in 2023!!!

Welcome! After the Auckland awards party on 7 November, the conference the next day, and the Wellington conference and party the following week, our final conference for the year was in Christchurch on 22 November.

Held on Tuesday 7 November at the beautiful Kate Sheppard House, 12 managers from around the South Island and as far away as Napier came together for a St. Pierre’s style manager retreat. Appropriately for a venue next door to the University of Canterbury, the day was all about thinking and sharing ideas.

The morning session featured an introduction of our top-performing managers nationwide and discussion of how they have led their team to success, such as Tal at Auckland Airport and Seak in Papamoa. South Island managers were also very much in the mix, such as Yoshi and new manager Liren in Blenheim Road, Nan in Invercargill and Yasu in Riccarton. Rather than detailed presentations from individual departments as was the case in Auckland, the emphasis was holistic – on the role of the shop manager – and how the company can support managers and their teams to grow.

But the main focus of the day was sharing experiences and opinions as well as reaffirming company principles and values. Managers took the lead in a number of challenges, thinking critically about how to put company values such as being a people-first partnership as well as improving the quality of people’s lives into action in their communities. The discussion created many new ideas about how to lead the business forward, and left the managers refreshed and inspired – but still tired!

A highlight was the tour of Kate Sheppard House and its gardens, taking a moment to reflect on the special place in NZ history of the building’s namesake. While her portrait is famous for appearing on the NZ $10 note, many NZers are unaware of the struggles she and her fellow suffragettes faced. Moreover, St. Pierre’s is a diverse family, with staff and managers from all corners of the world. Many learned about the role of the suffragette and similar movements for the first time, gaining a new appreciation of the richness of NZ’s history.

While intense, the conference was a great forum for shop and head office staff to reconnect with each other, reaffirm their commitment to the business and their teams, and generate new ideas for the future. The peaceful, elegant setting and small group dynamic was quite unlike the Auckland and Wellington conferences, and in itself a reflection of the southern way of life. We wish all our South Island team the best of success – talk to you again soon!

Welcome to 2023! Before we look ahead to exciting developments this year, let’s round out some of the highlights of 2022. One of the definite features was our regional conferences and awards parties in November. After the Auckland conference and party, it was Wellington’s turn!

Ahead of the awards party the following evening, the conference was held on Tuesday 15 November, at the Generator on 30 Waring Taylor Street. In the heart of downtown Wellington – and a stone’s throw from our Lambton Square shop! – this dynamic space blends classic and modern architecture. It was the perfect boutique location to stimulate discussion among our diverse and passionate Wellington managers and HQ staff.

While some HQ staff presented via Zoom from Auckland, the vast majority of the conference was not presentations, but open and frank discussions. All of the Wellington managers were present, and this experienced group was highly engaged, covering a wide range of topics such as marketing, team building and business development. While taking the time to recap the company principles and values away from the hectic shop environment, the team shared and created many new ideas to lead their shops forward.

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Nick’s turn behind the camera!

Everything at St. Pierre’s focuses on the front line, so in the afternoon the group headed across the road to Lambton Square, chatting with regular customers and shop staff about how to make the St. Pierre’s and Bento Bowl customer experience even better!

Wellington area manager Mandy (second from left) with some of her shop managers

After a quick day catching up with shop work, the next evening was a genuine highlight of the year and a feature of St. Pierre’s company culture – the awards night! Held at Wellington’s legendary Grand Century Chinese restaurant and events venue fancy dress costumes are encouraged, and some staff go to great lengths! This year’s theme – Back to the Future – saw all sorts of amazing outfits, from pharaohs to cavemen to Snow White, and everything else imaginable! Check out the photos of the fun!

Lots of awards and fancy dress – fun time all round!

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Thanks to all our amazing Wellington staff for coming – see you all again soon!