Facilities management firm OCS has appointed Sarah Williams as its new chief people officer for the UK and Ireland.
Her role will focus on delivering people-led initiatives that enable every OCS employee to thrive, regardless of their role or location, and embedding the firm’s values into everyday practices. By aligning leadership and development frameworks with its values, Williams will embed a culture in which wellbeing, belonging and a sense of purpose are central to the employee experience.
With experience across services, construction, distribution and retail sectors, she has a passion for people-led initiatives and is committed to creating a culture where frontline employees feel valued and empowered to perform at their best.
Williams has held roles at Tarmac, where she worked with weighbridge operators and frontline logistics teams and emphasised the importance of listening to and learning from them, and at Culligan, where she brought together diverse teams following acquisitions. By focusing on inclusion, wellbeing and cultural alignment, she helped create a cohesive organisation with a shared purpose.
Williams said: “To lead effectively, I need to experience the reality of our employees’ roles. That means spending time on the frontline, shadowing shifts, and engaging directly with teams to understand their challenges and how we can better support them. Our values are not just words; they are already being lived across OCS.
“It is the most inclusive organisation I’ve seen. The values are truly lived here, demonstrated in the way people work and the support they give to one another. I aim to further embed them into appraisals, one-to-one conversations and daily interactions, so they become even more integral to how we support and empower our people. I want every employee to feel proud of their work and enjoy their time at OCS, while I create a culture of trust, respect and belonging benefits individuals, teams and the organisation.”
