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Employees

Approach

Our Approach addresses three key responsibilities:

Training and development: Go-Ahead continues to invest in our staff, delivering a range of training programmes including those focused on customer service, skills training and coaching.

• Across the Group, 83,000 training days took place.
• In our rail division, a new customer service training programme was launched for customer-facing staff and in our bus division we completed the roll out of our safe and fuel-efficient driving course.
• Employees can improve their skills through lifelong learning courses. This year saw Go North East open its first lifelong learning centre at its Stanley depot; giving staff the opportunity to learn new skills such as a foreign language right in the heart of the workplace more of our businesses achieved Investors in People (IiP) status this year.

Involving our employees: We aim to involve out staff in the way we run our business.

• Each of our companies has in place a comprehensive internal communications structure enabling timely communication to staff about key issues and decisions.
• The Ask the Executive sessions and staff forums allow staff to provide feedback and raise questions with Directors and senior managers.
• One-to-one feedback sessions and employee opinion surveys help measure staff engagement. This year saw Southern carry out its first survey during the new franchise, which commenced in September 2009. 37% of staff (1,500 people) took part. The survey will be carried out every year for the next five years.
• Staff is represented on our companies’ Stakeholder Advisory Boards and have the opportunity to provide input into the decision-making process. Staff on Oxford Bus Company’s board has provided input into discussions around the reliability of the online booking system, and driver announcements regarding seatbelts on express coach services operated by Oxford Bus.
• Many of our employees are represented by trade unions. Membership is around 66%.We work closely with the unions on a range of issues, including the development of learning centres.

Staff safety: The safety of our staff is the key to our approach to running our businesses. We work continually to reduce injury and accidents at work.

• The Group Health and Safety Forum regularly review performance trends to drive safety improvements.
• Staff receives regular safety briefings and our companies encourage managers to carry out site safety tours. These provide them with an opportunity to spend time out on the network, meet staff and discuss safety-related issues.
• Businesses report on RIDDOR accidents per 100 employees (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulation). This is a statutory requirement for all companies and relates to a workplace incident which results in loss of work for over three days or an incident which is legally reportable to the Health and Safety Executive.
• Zero tolerance approach to staff assaults in the workplace and offer our customer-facing staff conflict avoidance training. We work closely with the police to improve the prosecution of offenders and encourage our staff to report antisocial behaviour. Each of our companies has a strategy in place aimed at reducing staff assaults including improving CCTV coverage on buses and trains, improving levels of security on stations and car parking areas and improving the levels of reporting of assaults.