Nicky is crowned Slimming World’s Employee of the Year

A restaurant worker with decades of experience in the hospitality industry has won an award for her outstanding customer service and will be putting on The Ritz to celebrate . 

Nicky Allen, 51, has been named Slimming World Head Office Employee of the Year 2022 at its annual in-house awards ceremony, beating nine colleagues to bag the accolade.

Nicky, originally from Royal Tunbridge Wells, began her career in the hospitality industry after leaving school at age 16. Over the years, Nicky has run pubs, bars and guesthouses across the UK, and owned her own bar while living in Thailand between 2001 and 2011.

In 2018 she began a housekeeping role at Hair & Beauty at Slimming World, which is located on the same site as the headquarters of the UK’s leading weight loss organisation, Slimming World. A year later, Nicky was offered a permanent role in the company’s catering team as a general assistant in its in-house restaurant, where she is responsible for meeting and greeting head office staff as well as Slimming World visitors and Consultants who come to the head office for training.

Earlier this year, after being nominated by her colleagues, Nicky found out she was in the running for Head Office Employee of the Year. She says: “I was incredibly nervous and I certainly didn’t imagine I’d make it to the final three, let alone win – it still feels very surreal. When I first started working at Slimming World, I was amazed at how lovely and welcoming everybody was. I knew straight away that I was somewhere special, so when the opportunity came up for a permanent role in the catering team, I knew I had to go for it. I’m so glad I did.”

Each year, Slimming World’s Head Office Employee of the Year award is given to a member of staff who embodies the company culture, and inspires others with their commitment, teamwork and dedication to deliver outstanding service, while inspiring others to be their very best too. All head office employees voted for colleagues who they felt displayed those qualities. They were then shortlisted, and the overall winner was selected by staff members, managers and directors, and announced on stage at Slimming World’s annual awards ceremony, which was held at the Birmingham International Convention Centre.

Nicky will be invited to join the company’s founder Margaret Miles-Bramwell OBE, directors and other high achievers from across the company at a dinner at The Ritz, London later this year to celebrate their success. She says: “I’ve always been a very outgoing person, so I love the buzz of Slimming World head office – there’s truly never a dull day. I’ve created such wonderful friendships with my team and because we love what we do, it never feels like work. We really are like one big family.”

Ruth Butler, Catering Manager at Slimming World and Nicky’s manager, says: “We couldn’t be prouder of Nicky. Not only does Nicky have a very natural way of making everyone who visits our restaurant feel welcome, she does such a wonderful job at putting them at ease and will always go above and beyond to provide them with the best possible service – she’s known as the face of the restaurant in our team as she’s truly the happiest when she’s surrounded by people.

“The whole room erupted when Nicky was announced as this year’s Head Office Employee of the Year, and it just shows how much everyone who works with Nicky loves her. It couldn’t have been awarded to a more deserving person.”

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