#Embrace Equity
#Embrace Equity
Tirlán is abuzz this week with events to recognise International Women’s Day
International Women’s Day (IWD) took place yesterday, with this year’s theme being #EmbraceEquity. The words equity and equality are often used interchangeably. Despite their similarities, equity and equality are very different concepts – but what is the difference between ‘equity’ and ‘equality’?
You can watch this 4-minute video to learn more about this important difference.
In Tirlán this week we used the global IWD celebration as an opportunity to heighten awareness of what it means to be a woman in our workplace. In an effort to generate greater understanding of how we can become a more inclusive workplace for all, a number of events took place online and in-person – which you can catch up on below.
Introduction to Menopause
On Monday 6th, Menopause Consultant Catherine O’Keeffe hosted a webinar about the menopause and how it can impact women. She also provided some great advice on treatment options.
The topic of menopause has long been a taboo subject and yet it’s something every woman will experience in their lifetime. Thankfully things are changing and by introducing the topic of menopause to the conversation, we can make steps towards an increased understanding and better support for our female colleagues, friends and families.
Catherine O’Keeffe has a deep understanding of the challenges in the workplace when it comes to menopause. If you’d like to view the webinar, please click here and use passcode O1n$.QbT
Catherine has also provided us with a Menopause Support Pack which you are welcome to use or share with the women in your lives. Click here to access
IWD panel discussion with Sonya Lennon: Creating a more inclusive workplace for all
On Tuesday 7th, Sonya Lennon, who is a well-known advocate for workplace equity and also a fashion designer and stylist, hosted a discussion about creating a more inclusive workplace for all. Four of the Tirlán team (Robert Shortall, Nikki Wallace, Rory Hannon and Lisa Koep) were tasked with interviewing some of their colleagues of another gender and asked to share their insights and learnings in front of a live audience in Abbey Quarter.
ABOVE: Hosted at the Customer Experience Centre in Abbey Quarter, Sonya Lennon (left) discussed Equity, Diversity and Inclusion with Tirlán panelists Robert Shortall, Nikki Wallace, Rory Hannon and Lisa Koep (right).
Playback: You can watch the entire recording of the panel discussion and views on DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) at Tirlán shared by your colleagues by clicking below…
Tirlán – Launching a network for women
On International Women’s Day, Tirlán launched its very own ERG/Network for Women. Women represent more than 50% of the global population, yet only 25% of the Tirlán workforce are women. The intention of the ERG/Network is to represent women and other under-represented groups in our business.
What is an ERG? An ERG (Employee Resource Group) is an affiliated subgroup of employees within an organisation who share distinctive qualities, interests or goals. ERGs are voluntary, employee-led groups whose aim is to foster a diverse, inclusive workplace aligned with the organisations where they operate. ERGs typically have a senior executive sponsor. Membership is voluntary and open to all with group leaders selected by members.
In her role as Chief ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Officer, Lisa Koep will sponsor our ERG/Network for women.
Our ERG/Network will welcome membership from all genders and will give a voice to women and their allies to help advance the agenda for a more inclusive workplace for all and better representation for women.
Celebrating our Tirlán Women in STEM
The United Nations theme for International Women’s Day is “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality”.
To recognise this, some of the inspirational women who work with Tirlán in the STEM areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics were interviewed.
Keep an eye out on social media for this amazing group of women who will feature over the next few Days on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Here is just a taster of what to expect. Thanks to all the women who took time out to share their stories with us.
Truly Irish
ABOVE: Michelle Lei, Social Media Manager with TGF, and Yvonne Perez, TGF Customer Services Manager, visited a farm in Cuffsgrange Co. Kilkenny along with the wider TGF team recently.
Truly Irish
Tirlan’s Truly Grass Fed (TGF) team sets foot on Irish soil
For the first time since before the Covid outbreak, the entire TGF team had the opportunity to visit Ireland recently, with some team members making their first ever trip to the country.
Overherd at Tirlán caught up with two of our Stateside colleagues to get their impressions having spent five days in Kilkenny.
TGF Customer Service Manager Yvonne Perez has been working with Tirlán for nearly three years, while Michelle Lei, Social Media Specialist TGF has been with the company for 10 months. Both are originally from Chicago and this was their first time visiting the home of Truly Grass Fed.
Michelle said: “We spent most of our time in Abbey Quarter doing various presentations and learning more about Tirlán. We also had the chance to visit Eamonn Sheehan’s Farm in Cuffsgrange, as well as the Innovation Centre in Ballyragget where we got to taste a couple of TGF products that are in the works.”
“It was fun to see our butter products being packaged in Ballyragget too,” said Yvonne. “Kilkenny Castle was really cool to visit. On top of that, I really enjoyed socialising with the TGF team in some beautiful restaurants.”
With this being your first visits to Ireland, what are your impressions?
Michelle: I feel like Ireland’s pretty much exactly what I expected, which is not always the case when you travel. For instance, all the photos that I’ve been choosing for social media since I started with TGF are completely accurate in real life. The greenery is very accurate and there are animals grazing literally everywhere, like right when you land the plane, there’s sheep next to the runway!
I didn’t expect how small Kilkenny would be, but it was really cute and there’s so much history everywhere.
Yvonne: Yeah, I agree, Kilkenny was very charming. Michelle and I took a walk one morning before we went to the office, we were kind of amazed with the architecture that was still standing and so well preserved after centuries.
A standout impression for me is how sustainability and naturalness are very much ingrained into the culture. This was very apparent when we went to the farm. Food production or food farming in the US doesn’t compare to what we saw in Ireland. While we were at the farm, we also saw a calf being born, which was amazing. Since visiting, I feel I’m definitely more conscious of what I’m consuming.
With you guys working for TGF, does that reinforce what you’re selling?
Yvonne: We definitely want to promote the naturalness of our product and I think people in the US would be amazed at what we saw; a calf being born, getting his tags and first injection and then going out to live on the land happily, you know, it’s not as industrialised as it here is here in the States.
Michelle: A big part of the trip for me was to pick up some nice pieces for social media, mostly cows grazing and a couple of interviews I did with Eamonn Sheehan on his farm to hopefully hold me over until when we can go back again. The goal is to show more of what’s happening on the farm since sustainability is a really big part of the TGF brand and what sets us apart from competitors.
Is there anything else that surprised you about the trip, either professionally or personally?
Yvonne: I was surprised to see all of the different people that I work with so close together at Abbey Quarter. Because I work with a lot of different people in different functions from planning, finance and logistics and warehousing, I didn’t really realise how close together they actually are. My perception of Tirlán is that it’s such a big company, so that pleasantly surprised me. As we’d heard so much about the new Collaboration Hub, visiting Abbey Quarter was exciting for us, especially as we’ll soon be moving out of the Glanbia Nutritional’s offices and into our new Tirlán offices in Chicago. I think this is a big step for the brand, having our own space and creating our own culture.
Michelle: For me, I think the coolest part was seeing the Innovation Centre and the process of how new products come about. We taste tested two TGF products that are in the works and hopefully launching this year. But I didn’t realise how long it takes from conceptualisation to testing to surveying consumers to launch. Understanding that process and meeting the team in Ballyragget was a great experience.
With St. Patrick’s Day around the corner, do you have any fun plans? Will you go to see the river in Chicago dyed green?
Michelle: I went to see the river last year with some friends and we had a few drinks, but this year I’m going to be at the Expo West Trade Show in California, so I won’t be joining my friends who are very excited! But I’m sure the TGF Sales and Marketing team will make our own fun this St Patrick’s Day.
Yvonne: My little girl is actually in the St. Patrick’s Day parade for the first time this year! Chicago has three Paddy’s Day parades. You have the one downtown, there’s a Northside one and one on the Southside. My little one will be marching in the Northside parade with the Girl Scouts. I’m excited to see her and then I usually make like a big dinner for my family. No drinking green beer for me though!
Members of the TGF team who visited Kilkenny for five days recently.
Employee Spotlight
Chewing the cud with… Ed Elder
Each month, we put the spotlight on a Tirlán employee and for our March newsletter, we’re talking to Ed Elder
Delivering the new corporate identity and the Tirlán rebrand has taken a massive team effort and a huge number of people from right across the business have played key roles in its successful roll-out, Strategic Programme Manager, Ed Elder, says.
“My focus remains on implementing our new corporate identity, Tirlán, within the business under the Destiny programme of activities. I moved into the role of Strategic Programme Manager 12 months ago and my job is to deliver large projects and programmes for the business. My initial task was to work with the existing group developing our new name and then to stand up a cross functional team to launch and implement it within the business.
“Tirlán has been very positively received, with great momentum built from day one. Our new name was seen as respectful of where we have come from and ready for our future. The timing was perfect as we also opened our new Collaboration Hub, Abbey Quarter. Our key focus was on building awareness of the new identity both locally and internationally. We knew this would be a journey – Glanbia was 20+ years in the making after all.
“We activated our employees, shareholders and customers to get the name out there. The launch on August 31 2022 triggered a defined period of time in which we could use the Glanbia name. That period expires on March 31st 2023. By then our new identity will be used across our 52 branches and our 11 plants, our 570+ packaging materials, our operations and our 150+ milk tankers, to name but a few areas. Behind the scenes, there are hundreds if not thousands of instances where we have replaced Glanbia with Tirlán to ensure we can operate as our updated legal entity, Tirlán Limited, from 2nd April 2023.
“They say it takes a village to rear a child. It has taken an incredible village to deliver what we’ve achieved in the past year. The momentum behind this new era has touched every part of our cooperative. We would have struggled to achieve all that we have if we didn’t have the excitement and the energy that the new name and the new identity generated within the business and throughout our communities.”
Ed has worn several hats since he first joined Tirlán seven years ago. Initially joining Glanbia Agribusiness, he worked in operations across both Clonroche and Portlaoise feed mills. Following the formation of Glanbia Ireland, Ed moved into the role of Head of Health & Safety. Within 12 months of moving into health and safety, the Covid-19 pandemic reached Ireland. Whilst the challenge this brought was unprecedented, our people rose to the task and Ed played a role from the start of the pandemic, through to leading our C19 response and the relaxation of our protocols almost two years later. During this period, we reduced our lost time accidents by almost 70% and kept our people safe and well during Covid-19. This experience gave Ed a broad understanding of our organisation and a network of colleagues to lean on. Many of these played a key role in the implementation of Tirlán.
“My Health & Safety role gave me a real understanding of the business and how it works together. Moving into this role was a natural fit as I had an understanding of who did what and how we could all work together to achieve our goal under the new name and our new structure.”
The former rugby player says that while he has hung up his boots, he unwinds by heading off into the mountains with pals on Sundays on trail bikes. At this time of the year, there’s also plenty to do in the garden with his partner, Kelly. They’re avid gardeners and readily admit that while their garden looks great, the walls inside the home they’ve recently made together are still white. The interior, he says, is a work in progress.
What’s the next challenge for Ed? “We’ve a number of elements to deliver yet under the Destiny programme. My future could be on this programme for a while yet – or on another strategic programme. But whatever the future brings, I know I’ll have a loyal, energised and willing team around me. We totally underestimated the momentum and the power generated by a new name. That spirit will endure.”
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Engagement Survey
Helen Kiely, Head of Culture and Engagement, Tirlán
Making great things happen
Helen Kiely, Tirlán’s Head of Culture and Engagement, outlines why it’s so important to participate in this year’s Employee Engagement Survey
At Tirlán, everyone’s opinion is valued. By capturing your opinion, we can identify those things that will help us create a better employee experience for everyone. That’s why we are asking you to participate in this year’s Employee Engagement Survey. The survey will take place from March 20th to April 2nd during which time we are asking all of our 2000+ employees to take 10 minutes out of their working day to participate.
Why participate?
Employee Engagement surveys like this are rolled out routinely, with the last companywide survey taking place in September 2021. In brief, the survey results help us to increase our understanding of our people and what motivates you, how happy you are at work and how we can best support you in your day-to-day life in Tirlán.
This year’s questions will include some old, from previous surveys, and some new. To help us bring our new values to life, our survey questions have been selected to give us specific insights into how we are doing in terms of value-based behaviours and actions. This will help each of our teams, sites and functions establish a baseline against the new values so we can better understand what we need to do to improve but also help us track progress.
Confidentiality
We know how important confidentiality is and like previous surveys, we have engaged the help of a third-party survey management company Glint to host this year’s survey for us. In essence, Glint do all of the survey work for us from distribution to response collection and then give us access to their platform where the results appear in an anonymous format. In addition, we only view individual team results where there are five or more team members. Comments and responses can never be attributed to any employee.
How to participate
There are a number of ways to participate this year in order to make the survey accessible to all Tirlán employees. In operations and retail environments, access will be given via laptops and IT kiosks. For those with email access, you will receive a link directly from Glint to complete it online. For everyone, please feel free to scan the QR codes that you will see on posters, tent cards and on lan screens and take part on your mobile device.
Your opinion matters
At Tirlán, we pride ourselves in being a caring organisation. We want to build a culture in which all of our employees thrive and feel they belong. We know that by listening to diverse views and ideas, great things can happen. Please share your views with us from March 20th – April 2nd and help us make Tirlán the best possible place to work.
Win a unique GAA jersey!
Win a unique GAA jersey!
Three unique GAA jerseys are up for grabs, thanks to Avonmore Protein Milk
Avonmore Protein Milk’s longstanding partnership with the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and the Gaelic Players Association (GPA) is scoring more points with GAA fans and players this March with the launch of a unique jersey competition.
Specially designed by O’Neills sportswear, three jerseys, worn below by Denise Gaule (Kilkenny Camogie), Eoin Cody (Kilkenny Hurling) and Sam Mulroy (Louth Football), have been created and are up for grabs!
Overheard at Tirlán is delighted to give you the opportunity to win one of three jerseys with thanks to the Avonmore Protein Milk Team.
To Win
All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is simply answer the following question:
“How many grams of Oats are there in Avonmore Pro-Oats?”
Please put your answers in the comments section under this story in the Overherd email you just received or send them to (bacassidy@tirlan.ie)
Winners will be picked and contacted on Friday, 31st of March.
Cream of the Crop
Cream of the Crop
Meet the 2022 Tirlán Quality Grain award winners
ABOVE: Thomas Butler and his wife, Annabel, from Bennettsbridge in Kilkenny have claimed the coveted Tirlán Quality Grain Supplier of the Year Award for 2022. Included are Tirlán Chairman, John Murphy, (l) and Aoife Murphy, Director of Ingredients at Tirlán (r)
Kilkenny-based Green Feed Wheat grower Thomas Butler and his wife, Annabel, have claimed the coveted Tirlán Quality Grain Supplier of the Year Award for 2022, amid strong competition from across the country following a record harvest.
From feed beans to food grade oats, the annual Quality Grain Awards programme recognises the excellence of the top-class Irish crops delivered by Tirlán’s 1,100 growers each year.
The grower, from Bennettsbridge in Kilkenny, was amongst 13 top quality suppliers honoured for their dedication and attention to detail in grain production. Thomas and Annabel run the family farm near scenic Bennettsbridge. It comprises of 250 acres of tillage along with grassland and woodland.
Tirlán Chairman, John Murphy, said choosing an overall winner from among the 13 high calibre entrants was extremely difficult in a harvest year that was blessed with great weather, exceptional quality and high yields.
“The excellence of our suppliers is something we in Tirlán never take for granted. Generations of commitment, knowledge and expertise are what set us apart from growers all over the world. We’re passionate about what we do and it shows in the high-quality produce that comes from our family farms.
“Our standard-setting growers are the cream of the crop. We commend them on the exceptionally high standards they have set and for their continued dedication to quality, best practice and sustainability and their commitment to the sector.
“In Harvest 2022, we took in our highest ever volume of premium grains and delivered an additional €3 million in bonus payments to growers of these premium crops. We remain firmly focused on adding value to our premium grains portfolio through our investment in innovation,” said John Murphy.
Aoife Murphy, Director of Ingredients at Tirlán, said: “There has been a significant investment in cutting edge technology in our Innovation Centre, our team of Commercial, R&D, market insights and nutrition specialists, who work with our product management and marketing divisions to continuously develop our plant-based offering.
“Our high-quality Oat-based ingredients can now be found in a wide variety of food applications such as bars and snacks as well as plant-based alternatives including drinks, ice cream and chocolate.
“We’re continuing to expand our portfolio, build our expertise and evolve our offerings for the future in line with growing market trends. Key markets include North America, Europe and Asia.”
John Kealy, Head of Grains at Tirlán, said: “We doubled our grain volumes in 2022 through our high-spec Oats Mill in Portlaoise. We have ambitions to continue to develop our milling capacity and extend our capability to take advantage of emerging market opportunities.”
As the largest buyer and user of premium Irish grains, Tirlán paid out circa €100 million to grain growers for Harvest 2022 with a grain intake of over 300,000 tonnes.
Stand-out winner
There is a strong focus on soil fertility and rotations on the 2022 Quality Grain Award-winning Butler family farm, which is located in Co Kilkenny. Thomas and Annabel run a diversified farming operation near Bennettsbridge which is comprised of tillage, grassland and woodlands. In addition to operating a varied rotation of crops, they also have a keen interest in heritage wheat varieties. It is the wide range of break crops grown on the farm that helped them deliver the perfect conditions for a bumper crop of Green Feed Wheat. The winning crop averaged a specific weight of 80.8 kph and 11.0% protein at a moisture of 14.1% across 310 tonnes.
Step Challenge Winners
Step Challenge Winners
Find out who won Overherd’s Valentine’s and Step Challenge Competitions
In February’s edition of Overherd at Tirlán, you were given the chance to win a €50 JustEat voucher and to choose the best team name entered into the 2023 Tirlán Step Challenge.
Congratulations to our winning Step Challenge team – Sole Sisters from Virginia who were chosen as having the best name. There are €50 vouchers for Lifestyle Sports on the way to you!
The Sole Sisters are from L to R back row Ava Fitzsimons, Martina Sheerin, Louise Reilly, second row Noeleen Brady, Philomena Keating, front row Danielle Morris
Congratulations also to our overall winning teams below and everyone else involved in the competition who helped us reach an incredible 86, 131, 125 steps over the four weeks of the competition.
The Marshmeadow Misfits are from L-R Fintan Bolger, Noel Leacy, Maura Devereux, Sean Doran, Jim Sutton and Shane Neville
The IDW 2023 team from L-R are Anne Chen, Sandy Ge, Eugene Shan, Lesley Zhu, Clyde Chen (non- step challenge member), Claire Hou (non-step challenge member), Raymond Li and Barry Deng
ABOVE LEFT: From L-R Karolina Kurowska, Anna Zuziak-Janoszek, Ann Fealy and Danielle Greenan. ABOVE RIGHT: Ruta Malinauskaite. Also part of this group was Ciaran Sexton (not pictured).
Congratulations to our Valentine’s Day movie-themed competition winners:
Grainne Gilsenan, who told us that her favourite movie to watch with her boyfriend Killian is Home Alone, “a childhood favourite for us both which usually involves us quoting the movie the whole way through.” And Kyeesha Glenn Davi, whose favourite movie is The Wedding Singer, which she enjoys watching with her housemate Ciara.
There are €50 JustEat vouchers on the way to you!