5 great reasons why we nominated our MD for an award

I believe that we have a strong culture of recognition at Zicam. We operate with a ‘credit where credit’s due’ philosophy and make sure we let employees know when they’ve done a great job by publicly acknowledging their achievements (and saying a simple thank you!). In my experience, as well as making that person feel good it also has the additional benefits of:

• Encouraging positive communication in the workplace
• Showing people how they contribute to the overall success of the business and creating a sense of belonging
• Increasing employee retention by rewarding excellence

But a focus on recognising first-rate work by employees shouldn’t mean that the leadership team is neglected! A great leader successfully guides a business towards a shared vision; they boost morale and motivate employees, and lead improvements and innovation throughout the organisation. That’s a lot of responsibility and one that should be credited, and that’s why we decided to nominate Zicam’s managing director, Dave Salisbury for an award!

The award we nominated him for is ‘Outstanding In-House Security Manager/Director’ at the 2022 UK Outstanding Security Performance Awards (OSPAs). We’re delighted and proud to announce that he’s a finalist!

And the reasons why we nominated him…

1.      Embraced change

Zicam has been through a six-month period of significant change (not to mention operating through a pandemic!) following the retirement of our long-term operations director who led the company for more than 20 years. Since then, Dave has stepped up to managing director and took on the responsibility of primary contact for our blue chip clients. He has also overseen several management promotions from within the company, helped with the integration of new employees, and led the introduction of our apprenticeship scheme. Not to mention he also has overall responsibility for financial and business decisions!

2.      Started a revolution

Dave quickly revolutionised some of our long-standing business processes to increase efficiencies. We now outsource our IT and networking requirements and payroll to third party companies who are better placed to support Zicam as it grows.

Perhaps one of the most significant initiatives Dave introduced was the creation of our in-house perimeter protection team. This puts Zicam in a unique position in that we have talented gate engineers who work directly for us (other firms use sub-contractors) meaning our customers benefit from improved costs, and they get a  reliable and efficient service.

3.      Applied essential experience

Dave comes from a technical background having previously worked as an engineer for Zicam for many years. This has stood him in great stead for dealing with the technical aspects of the business which, we think, many other managers would need to take advice about. It means that customers benefit from Zicam’s deep understanding of integrated security systems at all levels of the business – they don’t have to wait until a technician becomes available to talk to them.

4.      Used knowledge to transform the business

The knowledge Dave has from years of technical experience has allowed him to understand the implications of advancement in technologies and introduction innovation accordingly. As new systems and technologies are released he is in the best position to understand and explore them and apply them to our customers’ security system designs so they get the best possible system and equipment.

5.      Showed leadership

Great leaders understand how to grow a business and Dave has shown this across all of our disciplines, including our most recent offering: electric vehicle (EV) chargers. He introduced the installation and maintenance of EV chargers just this year and already we’ve seen a lot of interest in the service. The uptake of EVs has been hindered by the lack of infrastructure across the UK to support them – Dave saw an opportunity for Zicam to address the problem, contribute to the solution and grow the business. Job done!

The awards

The winner of the award will be revealed at the OSPAs on Thursday 24th February 2022 at a gala dinner at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, London – we’ll keep you posted.

Regardless of the outcome, we think you’re doing an outstanding job, Dave!

Donna Doughty, Office Manager & Director, Zicam Integrated Security Limited.

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