FÁS Services, Ireland’s Training and Employment Authority, runs the Excellence Through People (ETP) standard and provides an extensive range of training and company development programmes for businesses in Ireland. The standard provides a national framework for improving business performance and competitiveness, through a planned approach to setting and communicating business objectives and developing people to match these objectives.

A FÁS Services assessor spent a day at the Office Depot Rosemount site in Dublin, reviewing documentation; organisation plans and training records and spoke directly to staff. Based on the assessment a report was prepared for the independent approvals board. Office Depot scored well in each area and managed to obtain an overall higher score than last year.

As with the Investor in People award, held by Office Depot in the UK, the employee driven element of the ETP accreditation ensures that staff at the company are able to directly influence the result, making the accreditation all the more meaningful.

Paul Dennehy, Human Resources Director, Office Depot UK and Ireland said, "We are committed to developing employees to their full potential. Maintaining the Excellence Through People standard is a great credit to the hard work and dedication of the team in Ireland and an endorsement of the core company aim of making Office Depot a compelling place to work."

About Office Depot
With annual sales of more than $12 billion, no one sells more office supplies to more customers in more countries than Office Depot. Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Delray Beach, FL, the company conducts business in 23 countries and employs nearly 50,000 people worldwide.

Office Depot is a leader in every distribution channel – from retail stores and contract delivery to catalogs and e-commerce. The company is the world’s number two online retailer – generating $2.6B in sales for FY’03. In North America, Office Depot has 900 retail stores in addition to a national business-to-business delivery network supported by 22 delivery centers, more than 60 local sales offices and 13 regional call centers. 

The company’s common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ODP and is included in the S&P 500 Index. Additional press information can be found at: http://mediarelations.officedepot.com.