Virgin Trains Praised for High Levels of Employee & Customer Engagement
United Kingdom - "Passion For Success" and employee engagement recognized by Investors In People
Virgin Trains’ ‘Passion for success and providing a great
customer experience’ is shared by all its employees says a
report by Investors In People just published.
The IIP review report praised Virgin Trains’ high levels of
employee engagement, saying that ‘virtually everyone feels they
can make a difference to the success of the company’.
More than a hundred Virgin Trains employees were interviewed
at 8 locations by IIP West Midlands in a full review which
confirmed that Virgin Trains continues to meet and exceed the
IIP standard.
The report also singled out excellent internal communications,
including the company’s intranet and staff magazine, the
organisational learning culture and the ‘open and accessible
behaviour of the management team’, effectively reflecting the
company’s vision. The ‘seamless integration’ of organisational
development within the business planning process was also
singled out for praise.
Virgin Trains operates services from London to Birmingham and Wolverhampton, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow and Holyhead and in the last year has created regional executive teams to make tactical and strategic management decisions according informed by regional requirements.
The IIP report says that early experience of this regional devolution has been positive, with individuals bringing ideas to the regional teams and receiving support and resources to implement them. The report also highlights enhanced understanding between front line employees and corporate teams such as marketing and finance.
Virgin Trains first achieved IIP accreditation in 2007 and
currently employs 3,100 staff running 330 train services daily
and carrying more than 25 million passengers a year.
Virgin Trains Chief Executive, Tony Collins, expressed delight
that the company had retained its IIP accreditation:
“It’s vital for the business that we invest time, effort and
resources to develop and support our employees. They provide
great feedback and ideas for improving the business and it is
crucial that we listen and that we help them to take those ideas
forward,’ he said.
“It’s great to see the report confirm that this process is
working throughout the company. I have no doubt that the passion
for success and providing great customer experience is one of
the major reasons Virgin Trains continues to grow and succeed
and why we’re bringing more and more customers onto our trains.”
Info:
www.virgintrains.co.uk.
