LEADING THE WAY

We have to look beyond the status quo. We need to be leaders – in performance, quality and fresh ideas. To lead the way in public transport, we are learning to think and act differently. We called our new leadership development strategy DNA because it reflects the individuality of our businesses and our leaders. It also recognises the unique leadership skills that we share across the National Express Group and that we’re developing to continuously improve and grow the business.

Unlike many businesses, we see all our managers as leaders, from the front line to the board room because we believe that leaders at every level in the business have a role to play in delighting our customers. DNA isn’t just about attending training programmes. It’s about creating ways of working that deliver continued success for the business whilst enabling people to achieve their potential.

In consultation across the business, we asked: what are the leadership skills that we need to become one of the world’s leading transport businesses? The response: leaders who inspire people, think customer, look ahead, generate value, collaborate for success, drive improvement, and who “get it right” day-in day-out. DNA is focused on developing these skills by taking an integrated approach to how we recruit, develop, support and motivate both existing and new leaders.

Some of the best service innovations come from seeing things from the customer’s point of view. At Gatwick Express, we have applied the same principle to customer service training. Our Leading Lights training programme helps our people to tailor their service to the customer they’re dealing with. It is a process of discovery, rather than teaching. The purpose-built classroom has a replica platform, ticket window and train interior. Working with an interactive CDROM and live actors on a variety of journey scenarios, participants debate the needs of individual customers and play out different responses to improve each customer’s journey.

To get the knowledge and skills we need, it often makes sense to work with expert partners. For example, we teamed-up with NCP, the leading car parking provider, to see how we can enhance station car parks. As a result, we are the first train business to offer customers the opportunity to pay for their parking – or extend it – by text message, from wherever they happen to be.

In Spain we worked in partnership with VDO Siemens to develop Ociobus, an automated video information and entertainment system that needs minimal intervention from the driver. As Ociobus equipped vehicles pass through depots, or coach stations, they automatically use Wi-Fi to pick up tailored programmes including route information, films, news broadcasts and information about destination towns. Ociobus will be installed in 300 Alsa coaches this year.

When we wanted a better way to get wheelchair users on and off coaches, we worked in partnership with coachmaker Plaxton to develop a new easy access vehicle. At the 2006 UK Coach Rally it scooped two awards including “best access for disabled people”. The large door and shallow entrance steps are particularly welcoming to elderly customers and people with impaired mobility. And the floor lift gives wheelchair users real freedom to travel independently by coach. Last year we introduced 44 easy access coaches, and we plan to invest some £100 million in making our whole network fully accessible in time for the 2012 Olympics.

As part of our drive to make our buses cleaner and more presentable, we formed a partnership with Matthew Boulton College in Birmingham to launch customised training courses for our cleaners.

And in North America we worked closely with the country’s leading bus manufacturer, Thomas Built Bus, to share ideas and experience during the development of its brand new model – a radical rethink of the traditional yellow school bus. As the company’s largest direct customer, we have a common goal of providing the safest student transportation in North America.

A basic concern all travellers share is personal safety. We took a lead on this in 1999, when we launched the Safer Travel programme on our West Midlands bus services. This has grown into an award winning package of initiatives to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour. We have rolled this out across the country in partnership with the British Transport Police and local police forces, councils, transport authorities and schools.

Intelligence about criminal activity on bus services from the public is increasingly valuable to us, and new developments in 2006 included the launch of the Safer Travel SMS Textline, which enables passengers to report details of incidents or intelligence by text. Safer Travel has attracted nationwide interest from other transport operators and police forces. In 2006 we extended it to our Surrey Bus operation, and we are currently considering introducing it into our Trains division.