First TransPennine Express (FTPE), which employs 1000 people across the north of England and into Scotland has recently been awarded the Investors in People (IiP) accreditation.
The IiP scheme recognises organisations that have improved their performance and delivery through the investment in and development of employees.
Assessors, who visited FTPE and interviewed drivers, conductors, station teams and management colleagues were impressed with the communication, training and standards of customer service within the business.
Learning and Development within FTPE was marked as a particular strength with the planning, implementation and impact of such being strongly aligned to strategic objectives and customer needs. Over 20,000 training days have been completed since 2004 and more than £5 million has been invested in colleague development, including the provision of NVQ’s in Customer Service and other professional qualifications.
In the 2010 internal staff satisfaction survey, 81 per cent of colleagues said they enjoyed their job, a fact borne out in that three quarters of those who started with the business in 2004 are still with FTPE today.
FTPE aims to deliver great service every day and assessors viewed the business as one where continuous improvement is promoted and success is celebrated.
Since FTPE’s franchise began in 2004, train service performance has risen from 85 to 92 per cent and customer satisfaction has reached an industry leading 87 per cent (Autumn 2010 National Passenger Survey), whilst passenger numbers have increased to over 23 million per year, a 70 per cent increase. In this time levels of praise have increased and customer complaints have fallen by 13 per cent.
Managing Director, Vernon Barker said; “I am absolutely delighted that First TransPennine Express has achieved this national accreditation. We have worked hard to keep our teams motivated and skilled to deliver great service and I believe that, our investment is paying dividends with improved customer satisfaction and train performance. We are committed to making FTPE a great place to work as it benefits customers and colleagues alike.”
In 2010 FTPE won the converted Passenger Operator of the Year, opened up new routes and sold over 2 million great value tickets across its network.
