Elders : One Elders Award Winners – November 2017

Paula Hardingham, farm supplies rep at Elders Kojonup has been recognised with the One Elders Award for Operational Performance for her commitment to customer service and branch operations. Having been with the branch since she was 17, Paula has learnt the skills and received the guidance to excel in her role.

'This award represents how well the Elders team can work, I had the support I needed to be able to continue on with the day to day sales of the store during a challenging time. I was given support by the other team members in the Branch the territory sales managers and the agronomist were always happy to help, there was always someone in other branches on the other end of the phone willing to help resolves problems and issues as they occurred.'

During the time of the branch management changing, Paula said it was a sink or swim scenario and she decided to stay afloat and continue to try her hardest to make sure that clients were given the service and support they needed.

'Passion and a 'can-do' attitude can go a long way,' she said.

Elders Katherine's farm supplies manager, Rodney Atkin-Smith, was awarded the One Elders Safety Award for his swift action after recognising bottles of LPG gas did not meet requirements of the Dangerous Goods legislation. Rodney quickly responded by notifying those clients, produced the required signage and provided the clients with the signage and the information they needed to transport the goods correctly and safely.

Rodney says Elders Katherine has been the Supplier of 45Kg LPG gas bottles to the stations of the top end for decades.

'Recent years have seen regulatory changes making it essential that trucks and station utes carrying more than 2 cylinders at a time display the appropriate Class 2 red flammable diamonds. To make life easier for our customers as well as compliant, we printed off, laminated and hole punched give away red diamonds with cable ties to fix then to vehicles.'

'Clients were contacted in advance of the changes and readily adopted the offer. Even in the remote NT, people are becoming ever more serious when it comes to safety and the law. The Katherine staff embrace and contribute to our monthly safety discussions with a clear recognition that everyone wants to go home safely from work every day.'

Elders Cowra agronomist, Peter Watt, was awarded the One Elders Sales Performance Award for November due to the consistency in which he acts in clients' best interests to deliver great results. During the absence of a number of senior staff within the branch, Peter tenaciously dealt with a huge increase in enquiries from local clients within the area. His hard work has helped to build a strong client base and deliver excellent financial results.

Peter is also known for investing in the future of agriculture - staying on top of the latest industring best practices, and mentoring young agronomists and students to assist them with their careers in agriculture.

Congratulations to all of our monthly winners for November.