“We will treat all our employees with fairness and consideration, embracing diversity and promoting equality.”
To be more than mere words, a commitment to CSR must start with the board and then permeate down through every single member of staff. Hence it is vital that as an employer we are true to our values in the way we treat our people.
It makes good business sense to be a good employer. You not only have a happier workforce, but you retain more staff, attract good quality newcomers and create ambassadors for your corporate reputation. Our research shows us that happy staff equal happy passengers, so at South West Trains we have developed a “people-centred strategy”. In September 2005 South West Trains, which employs around 5,000 people, achieved Investor in People status in recognition of its huge investment in ensuring its employees have the right skills, knowledge, experience and behaviour to provide a first-class service to passengers.
This CSR commitment is reflected in our business plan with specific human resources objectives providing a valuable measure of success.
People-centred strategy
Equal opportunities – we are committed to equal opportunities in employment for all employees. Our equal opportunities policy ensures that all employees are treated fairly and valued equally irrespective of disability, race, gender, health, social class, sexual orientation, marital status, nationality, religion or belief, employment status or age.
Diversity – we are currently carrying out diversity workshops across the company to explore the issues we have about ethnic, cultural and gender diversity. With such a wide geographic spread of employees it is important that our workforce reflects the local community demographic.
The percentage of men employed by South West Trains in full-time jobs was 88.05% in 2000, compared to 11.95% women. The part-time percentage in the same year was 61.86% men compared to 38.14% women. In spring 2007 the figures were 86.82% men in full-time jobs compared to 13.18% women; and in part-time jobs there were 59.15% men versus 40.85% women.
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Our people
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Disability policies – for employees this is covered in the Equal Opportunities Policy, making sure that no one is discriminated against on the grounds of any disability. We also train our frontline staff in disability awareness, helping them to help our passengers.
Personal development and training – South West Trains, in partnership with the rail unions, supports its employees and their families in personal development – and it does not have to be anything to do with the day job. Subjects including languages and management courses can be studied at the three 24-hour Open Learning sites. There are also partnerships with local colleges, universities and Learndirect, for more educational opportunities.
As well as our Open Learning Centres where employees can study outside of work time, there is a structured personal development plan system. Following a recent employee survey, it became clear that some employees, especially managers, felt that they were not being developed sufficiently. From that an in-depth pack was produced covering many areas of personal development and ways of learning new skills and gaining more knowledge.
As an organisation we spend an average of 1,608 days per month training our people in addition to the facilities we provide through our Open Learning centres.
Occupational health – the company realises the importance of looking after the well-being of its employees. The railway has particular needs for those who work unsociable hours and on shifts, so advice on health and fitness with this in mind is key. It runs regular health fairs across the network giving people the opportunity to have a cholesterol check, free flu vaccination or general check up. It not only makes employees feel valued, it reduces time off work.
South West Trains engaged a stress management consultant to carry out a small voluntary sample survey. The results showed that people were overall fairly satisfied, however areas that needed improvement were support from managers and being informed about changes. We now have a stress management policy, including HSE risk assessments, and are rebriefing managers and their teams on sources of advice and support.
Performance management – South West Trains’ employees decided on their own key values and behaviours, and these are measured through regular time with your manager sessions. Meanwhile managers are monitored through a six-monthly appraisals system. This makes sure that everyone is clear about what is expected of them so that values such as teamwork, honesty and professionalism become part of everyday life.
Recognition – Recognising our employees is at the heart of making people feel valued and respected. We have a “You’re a star!” scheme with a monthly dinner attended by a director and all the nominees, who each receive a cheque as a thank you for all their hard work. This runs alongside other recognition schemes including long service and retirement events, Station Pride awards which reward our top stations, Thank you cards and Teamworks which focus on our best teams.
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Employee benefits
We offer market rates for the range of roles within the company, salaries often include London weighting and generous travel and pension benefits. Employees’ dependents also benefit from the reduced rate and free leisure travel benefits offered by South West Trains.
Flexible working – the company has an improving work life programme which covers everything from the more usual maternity and paternity leave, to career breaks and time off if adopting a child.
Helplines – the company offers its employees the use of Care First, an independent and confidential counselling and legal advice helpline, plus ad hoc telephone advice on subjects as diverse as pensions, the franchise and industrial action. It is a vital way of communicating with employees in real time, and to reassure them about issues that worry them.
Staff recruitment and retention – South West Trains has a policy of recruiting for attitude and then training for skills. We believe that this has helped us create a workforce who share our company vision and values and has played a large part in our improved passenger satisfaction scores.
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