Renfrewshire Council

Stephen Ewing, Susan Allan and Martin Waterson Assistant facilities manager, Susan Allan, has worked for the council for 21 years and in that time has met many different people. But for Susan, no matter who she works with or the challenges she faces, her approach to taking care of her colleagues remains the same:

"I've always believed you can achieve more with kindness and understanding than any other way. To me, it doesn't matter what service, role or location you work in, we're all here to do a job that, in one way or another, contributes to providing a service to the people of Renfrewshire. I don't think there is one of us who doesn't face challenges or struggles from time to time and how I treat my colleagues has a knock-on effect. So, treating people well is better for everyone." 

Facilities manager, Seonaid O'Neil, admires Susan's approach, and nominated her for living our values. Describing her as "an overall good egg", Seonaid said, "Susan has always been an approachable and caring person who is well regarded by her colleagues as someone who will unreservedly support them during difficult times. She goes above and beyond in her role and has become a champion for mental health support. She continues to be positive, even during difficult times and doesn't look for recognition. She is an asset, both to the Soft FM team and to the wider council."

While delighted to be nominated, Susan doesn't feel the recognition should be hers alone. "I have a great team and we all agree that looking out for each other is part of our jobs. They all deserve to be supported and recognised for what they do. In fact, can we change this to a team nomination? I really couldn't do what I do without my colleagues soft facilities management officers, Stephen Ewing and Martin Waterson."

As one of our trained Mental Health First Aiders, Susan has been proactive in nurturing a supportive culture where wellbeing is a priority. She said, "I've learned to take care of myself so that I can always be there for my colleagues. You never know what's going to happen and supporting others through difficult times can impact your mental health as well. You need to be ready for that and know how to handle things. The more people in every service area that are trained, the better. When someone is struggling, they need to speak to someone they are comfortable with and who that might be varies. I want to make it less intimidating for people to open up and get the support they need."

Summing up what it means to live our values, Susan added, "I try to treat people the way they want to be treated. That means always being kind, reminding colleagues of their value and being mindful that you never know what others might be going through."

Nominate a colleague for living our values

Have you noticed a colleague or team who really get what it means to be fair, helpful, collaborative and value learning?  Why not let them know they're doing a great job by nominating them for living our values?

It's a great way to say thank you for making a difference and demonstrating the behaviours we all agreed were important to us when we developed our values together.

To nominate:

Simply complete this short form with some great examples of what they do.

For more information on our values and behaviours, head over to the Living Our Values webpage.

Published on Tuesday 03 February 2023