BtL_NovDec

The magazine for everyone at London Midland

customer

service 08 I t’s a state of mind

inside this issue...

05 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 06 TAKING WINTER, BY STORM 10 INBOX 11 FAST TRACK AND MUCH MORE...

ISSUE 3 | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011

www.londonmidland.com

465

hello!

more than

2

Welcome to this festive issue of Between the Lines magazine. I’m Paul, a driver at Coventry and I’m your guest editor.

I

was proud to be asked to talk about this issue of the magazine; it’s the best rail company magazine I’ve read – and I’ve just celebrated 40 years in the industry.

In this issue, there’s news about me and other people who are celebrating a lot of years in the rail industry (p2). So much has changed in the past 40 years – most of it’s down to how technology has advanced. I’m even amazed at the changes in the past ten years!

There’s our usual performance update (p4), but this time we’ve compared how many trains we run every day with our competitors, which is interesting.

Check out our profile on Train Care Operative Trupti Rana (p5).

Discover how we’re preparing for winter. We’re hoping it’s better than last year but making sure we’re prepared just in case (p6-7), and meet our Customer Relations team (p8-9).

Don’t miss our new letters section (p10) and Simon and Emma’s guide to beating the festive bulge (p12). Plus, turn to page 16 and enter our competition to be in with a chance of winning a digital camera worth almost £200.

Paul

Between es the Lin lable to

Paul Rylance Guest editor

is now avai read online at ine.co.uk www.btlmagaz

it’s all about you...

This is your magazine. So if you’d like something including, please get in touch. We’re looking to hear from individuals or teams with a story to tell. Are you working on something new, different or interesting?

What do you do in your spare time? What matters to you at work?

What do you want to know more or less about?

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All the latest news

long servers We’ve recognised more than 465 years’ rail industry service at our annual London Midland Long Service and Retirement Awards ceremony.

Driver Paul Rylance from Coventry celebrates 40 years. He started work as a diesel engine cleaner when he was 15, later becoming a fireman, drivers’ assistant and qualifying as a driver himself in 1981. “I love working on the railways, like my father, grandfather, uncles and cousins all have, it’s in the blood,” says Paul. “I think the biggest change I’ve noticed over the years is that the job is much more technically advanced nowadays. You used to be able to repair an engine with a spanner, hammer and a screwdriver.

Now it’s all electronic and computer-driven. I have great friends here and being a driver is a good career.”

25 years’ service Mark Wych Gerard Burgess Ian Virco Robert Harris Adrian Dulson Julie Drinkwater Jonathan Strawbridge Pippa Page Ross Salt Andrew Gearey Sean Emens Sean Reilly Michael Winfindale Peter Walstrom Matthew Clarke Simon Wright Paul Smith Paul Roberts

Contact Between the Lines at btl@londonmidland.com or call 01904 731185 If you are emailing from home, do leave your name so we know who to get back in touch with.

...is your quick stop for the latest news from across London Midland – follow it along the bottom of Between the Lines.

years’ service

� well done

Retirees John Hill Patricia Olver (nee Wiggett) Paul Goodwin Clive Goulding William Worrall Eddie McQuade Andrew Fleming Roger Thomas Salim Chikhliwala Sylvia Longden David Beech Patricia Cummings Colin Stanley Douglas Smith John Davis Stephen Mayall John Ward Leslie Yewer Alan Fendick Alan Willett Edward Harrison Christopher Beale Harry Rowe Dave Fletcher Martin Jones Kevin Braithwaite Anna Barrett Donald Jayne Mike Still Robert Hissey Andrew Fleming

covaersr st

Our Customer Relations team

Between the Lines magazine is managed by Richard Baker and designed and produced by scarlettabbott – 01904 633399 | scarlettabbott.co.uk

to Soho Engineering Technician Garry Matthews who, with his reggae and ska band ICON, has helped to raise £1,665 for Macmillan Cancer Support.

24 a fond farewell

Our Managing Director Mike Hodson is retiring at the end of the year, after more than 35 years in MIKE HODSON the industry.

He’s had an extraordinary career, with highlights including developing and introducing the high-speed commuter services on HS1 and delivering a range of investments and improvements across London Midland.

Mike says: “I’ve had the pleasure of working with lots of excellent, inspiring people along the way but I am especially proud of the way London Midland people, in just four years as a company, have built a strong reputation for award-winning customer service. I would like to say thank you to everyone and I look forward to following London Midland’s continuing progress in the future.”

ing breaekws n

Patrick Verwer will join us soon as our new Managing Director. Patrick is currently the Go-Ahead Group’s Managing Director for Rail Development. More on Patrick in our next issue.

we did it!

Well done to Brenda Lawrence, Mark Lawton, Heather Patrick and Rebecca Freeman from 102 New Street, for completing the Great Birmingham Run (half marathon).

Mark came in with the fastest time at two hours and one minute, Heather completed the run in two hours and 58 minutes and Brenda and Rebecca in three hours and seven minutes. Together they’ve raised £527.80 for the Dojo Community Project in Handsworth, Birmingham, a social enterprise that helps to improve the lives of disadvantaged people in the area. Facilities Coordinator Heather says: “It was very tiring, but completely worth it to raise money for such a good cause.”

station makeovers

Telford and Tamworth stations are the latest in line for much-needed makeovers. At Telford Central, our busiest station in Shropshire, we’re refurbishing the booking hall, waiting areas, toilets and installing a new disabled toilet. Flooring is being replaced and the outside walls glazed. Platform 2 will get a new waiting room and shelter and the platform canopy is being extended on Platform 1.

At Tamworth, the Platform 1 station building is being revamped, we’re creating new waiting and cycle storage facilities, refurbishing toilets and installing a new disabled toilet. Waiting rooms on Platforms 3 and 4 and the booking hall are also being refurbished.

Work to improve customer facilities has already started and will be completed early next year.

hour CCTV

customer feedback

we’re

watching!

We’ve installed a new CCTV system at Small Heath station, following a vandalism attack there, which caused thousands of pounds worth of damage.

Four cameras will monitor key public areas 24 hours a day, which we hope will prevent any more incidents at the station.

If something does happen, then the cameras should provide us with crucial evidence for court.

National Customer Service Week was a big hit with our colleagues and customers.

Balloons, bunting and posters adorned stations from Worcester to Stratford and Snow Hill to Watford as we celebrated all that is good and great about customer service at London Midland. Our Network Rail partners also promoted the week at Liverpool Lime Street, Birmingham New Street and London Euston stations.

During the week, back in October, we asked customers to complete feedback forms.

We got some great feedback on our people and services and some suggestions for the future. Colleague feedback is being shared with customer-facing colleagues via line managers in the next few weeks.

To find out more about our National Customer Service Week activity contact Head of Service Quality Rob Barber at rob.barber@londonmidland.com or call him on 07764 177331.

It feels good

Thank you for nominating your colleagues for an Ambassador Award in 2011.

It feels good when colleagues and customers recognise our people for going that extra mile at work. So, as we head into 2012, we want to say well done to all of our Ambassador Award nominees and winners.

Congratulations also to those shortlisted for the RailStaff Awards 2011 and to our Head of Marketing David Whitley (a finalist in the Rail Manager of the Year 2011 category), and Nuneaton Retail Supervisor Steve Parker (finalist in the Outstanding Customer Service Award 2011 category).

ambassadorawards

� starry-eyed!

3

To nominate colleagues for an Ambassador Award in 2012, go to ‘Working here’ at mylondonmidland.com

Customer Service Assistant Fay Hylton was just starting work at Watford Junction when she spotted actor Hugh Grant catching a train to Crewe.

4

how we’re doing

th3

num63r5 How we’re performing

Following several months of strong performance and record-breaking PPM results, our performance fell sharply in Period 7. The period result of 88.6% means our Public Performance Measure Moving Annual Average (PPM MAA) has dropped 0.2% to 89.3%, which puts us 0.1% ahead of the Joint Performance Improvement Plan (JPIP) target.

13,624

108 102

132 223

Period 6

4.8

%

Period 7

6.4

%

92.4

89.4

88.6

London Midland PPM

PERIOD 6

PERIOD 7

PERIOD 6

PERIOD 7

85.6

89.5

89.3

86.0

Regional PPM London and (Non-London Services) South Eastern PPM

Period 6 – 3,637 complaints – that’s 12.5% down on the last period.

This is lower than expected, despite several performance issues on the network, which is great.

Period 7 – 3,618 complaints, down 0.5% on the previous period, and in line with what we’d expect at this time of year.

Period 6

PERIOD 7

90.9

PERIOD 6

%

minutes

PERIOD 6

minutes

Period 7

PERIOD 7

7,318 96 94 92 90 88 86 84 82 80 78 76

Period 6

Period 7

PART FULL

Period 6

customer journey growth

cancellations PART FULL

delay minutes

customer complaints

London Midland MAA

(all of the above industry periods)

3,637 down Period 7

3,618 down

Daily trains – by TOC We can sometimes feel like the ‘poor performance relation’ to other TOCs, but our services are more complex and we set ourselves tougher targets than other TOCs. We’re actually much better than we think. Here’s a comparison of the trains we run everyday.

1,866

1,311

National Express East Anglia

London Midland

2,284

2,059

418

329

SOUTHERN

Southeastern

Chiltern

Virgin Trains

Source: Daily TOC figures report 10 October 2011

how we

compare Find out how our PPM compares with the rest.

92.6%

CHILTERN INDUSTRY AVERAGE

90.4%

NATIONAL EXPRESS EAST ANGLIA

90.1% 89.6%

SOUTHEASTERN

89.3% SOUTHERN VIRGIN TRAINS

88.9% 84.4%

(PPM latest MAA (Moving Annual Average) Period 7)

Performance Process Manager Nathan Thompson explains: “Period 7 was dominated by the poor performance of the fleet and the early onset of autumn (two weeks earlier than the previous three years). The total delay attributed to adhesion is in line with expectations, but occurred before we’d introduced leaf-fall timetables.

Faults and failures on the Class 172 caused delays and cancellations.

As with all new fleets, we expected issues with 172s as they’re tested in service. Short-term sickness and traincrew shortages impacted traincrew delay and a station overshoot at Bournville also caused a significant delay. Network Rail had a poor period and again the delivery on West Coast South was compromised. In particular, a cable theft at Lichfield on 7 October caused over 1,500 minutes delay to London Midland. We’re working with Network Rail and the cable theft steering group to discuss resources and support to get back to acceptable levels of performance.”

5

quickfire Trupti Rana

our…

Grunge or glam r Glamou erry… iPhone or Blackb iPhone oes…

Handbags or sh Handbags

count!

s n o i s s e r p m i first Trupti Rana takes pride in creating a great first impression of our business.

Did you k now…

Trupti was

a teacher in India. S he taught pupils age d 7-12 su bjects including history, m aths, science an d language s.

I moved to London with my husband about a year ago, from our home in Gujarat in India. I’m a Train Care Operative at London Euston station now. This is where I clean trains, helping to make sure that our customers travel in a pleasant environment.

Today I’m on an early shift, starting at 5am. So I have breakfast at home before catching the Night Bus into work. I change into my uniform, pick up my equipment and check my work for the day.

I have 30 minutes to clean the first train, so I clean the seats, tables and floor and stock the toilet paper and hand towels in the bathroom.

Once that’s done it’s off the train and onto the next. I’ve never counted how many trains I actually clean in each shift, but I think it’s between 20 and 25 four-car trains. I enjoy cleaning every one.

Halfway through my shift, it’s time for my break, a drink and a snack.

Cats or dogs…

Dogs ncing Strictly Come Da … or ct Fa X or X Factor

Then I’m onto my next train, which I’m working on with a colleague. It’s a big train with 12 cars and we have about 16 minutes to clean it. It’s always important to know how long you have to clean each train or you risk getting stuck on it! So, she starts at one end and I’m at the other and we meet in the middle, cleaning all of seats, tables, the floor and toilets.

It’s non-stop and then we move onto the next train.

It’s now 1pm and my shift is over, so I get on the tube back to Upton Park to go home and have lunch.

It will be another early night for me tonight as I’m back at Euston at 5am tomorrow. I really take pride in what I do because my job is important.

We want our customers’ first impression of London Midland to be great because we won’t get a second chance to make a good impression.

6

winter preparation

taking

“This winter our Twitter team can base themselves in the control room in Birmingham, providing ‘real time’ customer information and updates.”

winter, by st rm

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Photos by Worcester Technician Steve Widdowson

� our new iPhone App

is now available in the Apple App Store (search for ‘London Midland’).

about

As this issue of Between the Lines went to print, winter was upon us, but the weather wasn’t severe enough to be causing problems on our network.

However, we know that it can quickly change and that you could be reading this magazine whilst knee-deep in snow!

400

7

trains a day during an emergency timetable

J

So, we introduced a temporary timetable oking aside, last when the situation was at its worst. winter was one of the “We were one of the better performing coldest in a century.

TOCs during this time. Our main strengths Prolonged sub-zero were our people, who pulled together temperatures, heavy and went ‘above and beyond’ to snow, ice and gale force deliver as many services as possible. winds caused major Colleagues made extraordinary efforts disruption to UK to get to their place of work, enabling transport networks. us to run the maximum service possible.

Control Manager We were also able to get timely Rob Hornsey recalls the impact on information to customers via Twitter, the railway: “It was pretty grim. The bad which many customers found very useful.” weather hit us unexpectedly on Saturday How disruption is dealt with is a key 18 December. I remember the date well, issue for customers. Last winter we led because it was the start of the most the way with customer information with challenging week of my, and I’m sure our pioneering use of Twitter and we’ve others’, rail careers. Our services were so badly affected that our Public Performance won awards for it. Head of Marketing David Whitley explains: “Twitter provides Measure (PPM) for December was 77.5 our customers with regular updates on per cent – a record low for that month.” trains, travel advice and information.

Mid to late December and early January But more than that – we can have were particularly difficult. As soon as we conversations with them so the whole cleared snow from platforms, fresh thing is two-way, which is invaluable. snow fell. When we tried to melt ice We can build relationships with our from couplers and train doors, they customers in much the same way we froze again. Our diesel fleet became ÁÁ When conditions require it, do offline, which helps when the going unreliable as fuel froze and some we’ll introduce an emergency gets tough. As a result, our National trains failed, blocking commuter timetable, likely to involve Passenger Survey scores are up and lines for hours. around 400 trains a day we’re proud to be leading the Customer Service Supervisor (around one third of our industry in this area.”

Darren Parsons from Sutton regular service) This winter our Twitter team Coldfield station says: “If it can base themselves in the wasn’t frozen train parts or ÁÁ Keep colleagues informed and control room in Birmingham, diesel, the overheads were up-to-date via our Winter Plan, providing ‘real time’ customer down. It felt like the bad intranet, briefings, Tyrellcheck2 information and updates. weather was never going to and Tyrell checkmobile This is just one part of the end. But, we all pitched in ÁÁ Honour tickets from other improvements we’re making to help and kept our sense TOCs on our trains and as part of our new Winter of humour and each others’ vice versa Plan. It was created by our spirits up.” ÁÁ Bring temporary cover into Seasonal Preparedness Group, Following feedback from the Customer Relations made up of colleagues from people across our business team to deal with enquiries traincrew, station, fleet, control, and our customers, we learned and strengthen Control performance and planning, that our standard response ÁÁ Share our plans with Rob Hornsey, operational standards, customer to this size and scale of Control Manager Network Rail, other relations, marketing and human disruption was reactive ter in W r u o TOCs and vice Find resources. The plan is the result and at times inconsistent. learn versa so we have Plan and hat it of months of work between our We tried to run our usual w t u o b a a cross-functional more on so u o group, Network Rail, stakeholders 1,300 trains a day service, y to means view of the donmid n and other TOCs to help us plan for but realised it simply lo y m t a whole network. winter disruption, mitigate risks couldn’t be done land.com and set contingencies. under such conditions.

This winter we’ll:

� we’ve also launched

a mobile-friendly website for use with BlackBerry/Android phones at www.londonmidland.com/mobile

Got any comments about this story?

Call or email them and you could win £30 in high street vouchers.

8

customer service

Giving our customers a first class experience is our number one priority. Why? Because we want them to be happy, so they keep coming back to us and recommend us to their family and friends.

customer first E

There are…

15 of us: that’s a supervisor, a team leader, two administrators, eight customer relations advisors, two part-time detailed letter writers and a customer relations manager We work… shifts from 7am-3pm or 11am to 7pm We are… here to respond to customer enquiries, delay repay claims, comments and complaints We don’t… automatically take the customer’s side on complaints.

We’re neutral, gathering all of the facts and evidence, and reporting back to the customer on our findings.

xcellent customer service, the stuff that keeps people returning to London Midland, is the lifeblood of our business.

We’re all responsible for delighting our customers, whether we’re in direct contact with them or not.

But, getting it right isn’t always easy… so help is at hand.

Our Customer Relations team champion ‘super’ customer service, helping our customers by dealing with their enquiries, complaints and comments. They handle more than 60,000 customer ‘contacts’ a year: that’s around 100 enquiries and 200 complaints a day about journey experiences, lost property, delay repay claims and timetable queries.

Every customer call, email or letter is recorded and reviewed.

The team then responds to, or resolves them.

As part of ‘fact finding’, the team will sometimes come to you for information, advice or answers.

“Our customers typically want to know about times and prices for their journeys, the services we offer, facilities available or lost property,” says Customer Relations Manager Emma Donnelly. “When it comes to complaints, their main ‘bugbears’ are delays, train crowding, broken toilets and the way we handle disruption. So, our advisors provide information, advice and resolve customer issues, ensuring that they’re happy with our response.

Usually they are. But if we can’t satisfy them, which occasionally happens, then they can ‘escalate’ issues to rail watchdogs Passenger Focus or London TravelWatch.”

here to help “We also share customer service best practice ideas and techniques with customer-facing colleagues,” says Emma. “Our colleagues out on the network are often our customers’ first point of contact,

and we know that face-to-face customer service is an altogether different experience.”

face-to-face During the summer, the Customer Relations team took part in ‘knowledge days’, work shadowing their customer-facing colleagues.

“This face-to-face experience helped forge some great relationships between our team and those in stations, depots and on trains,” says Emma.

“We were able to help our customer-facing colleagues as well as better understand the issues they deal with every day.

Additionally, the experience and knowledge we have gained is improving the quality of our responses to customers.”

In fact, our customer complaint appeals to Passenger Focus and London TravelWatch dropped by 34 per cent (from July to September):

60,000

99

customer ‘contacts’ a year

All seeing eye

Trend spotting

Did you know …

That an impo rtant part of the Customer Re lations team’s job is to identify pa tterns and tren ds in enquiries an d complaints, reporting back to the relevant department, to help make improvements and reduce compl aints.

a great result of the Customer Relations team working proactively with colleagues.

“London Midland people are generally good at customer service, thinking like a passenger and putting themselves in the customers’ shoes,” says Emma. “Every one of us has a part to play. I think that the difference between good and bad customer service is often down to attitude and a belief that it’s someone else’s job.

“But, companies that are good at customer service don’t tend to work in silos and they go ‘above and beyond’ what their customers expect. After all, our customers are people like us, who just want to receive good service.

“We should all remember that customer service isn’t a department, it’s a state of mind.”

“It’s always good to receive great feedback about our service and our people, and we make sure that we pass it on.”

Customer Relations Supervisor James Foxall took colleagues Carl Knight and Fiona Ryan to Milton Keynes and Euston during team ‘knowledge days’ to help them understand the impact our station colleagues have on customer service, especially during morning and evening peaks. “Dealing with customer enquiries face-to-face is completely different to over the phone or email,” says Fiona.

“I really respect how our colleagues handle customers when the stations are so incredibly busy. The experience taught me to put myself in customer-facing colleagues’ shoes as well as the customers’.”

ON A Knowledge day

Customer Relations Advisor Annette Smith spent time in the ticket office at University station.

“It refreshed my knowledge and I enjoyed sharing customer enquiry and complaint best practice with colleagues,” she says.

Customer Relations Administrator Denise Hall admits: “I didn’t realise just how much work conductors actually do.

I was with Senior Conductor Mark Donnelly on a train from Litchfield City to Longbridge.

It’s a cliché, but some people think conductors open doors and read papers all day. Far from it, Mark was constantly on the go, I learned a lot about his job and vice versa. It’s a good experience because we both got to learn things about another area of the business that we wouldn’t normally get to see.”

10

Subject: Thank you

my hero Julie I was travelling from Birmingham to London when a thief tried to steal my bag. I didn’t know what to do and it really unnerved me. Then Conductor Julie Knight came through to check tickets and I blurted out “another customer has tried to steal my bag!”. She reassured me and arranged for the train to be met by security at Northampton where the would-be thief was handed over. Looking back, Julie was professional, calm and continued to provide an excellent level of service throughout.

It must be tough working on the railways. I imagine it can be a pretty thankless task. So I just wanted to say thank you Julie.

From: Doug Shaw, Customer Subject: Certificate of Commendation

nice one Steven!

Subject: Station review

disappointed I want to express my disappointment at how the very delicate situation of the station review was dealt with in Between the Lines (Issue 2). Whilst I have no issue with management stating the issues in the main piece, I have an issue with London Midland publishing a letter from one station staff member who agrees with these proposals, when there is no mention from the angry, upset and disappointed colleagues, many of whom have faced months of uncertainty (while still offering an excellent service to passengers).

We received this email from a member of our stations team.

We’ve responded to the email and our response is opposite:

On behalf of the Area Commander Mark Smith, I am delighted to inform you [Steven Conroy] that you have been recommended to receive an Area Commander’s Commendation Award from the British Transport Police for ‘Playing a key role in delivering excellent results and a fully functioning hub team that is seeing sustained falls in recorded crime on the area.’

From: Shelly Tomlinson, Personal Assistant to Superintendent Gareth Williams.

Since receiving this letter, Lead Delivery Manager Steven Conroy from London Euston (pictured left with BTP Sergeant Pat Robinson), has received his Certificate of Commendation.

Thanks for your email. We’re sorry you’re disappointed.

The editorial team, based on feedback from our colleagues, is passionate about developing a magazine that talks about the real issues we face. The original stations review article didn’t have a comment from a stations colleague, but we felt it important to include one. We asked for specific comments on the magazine article via managers, and one person agreed to anonymously share their thoughts. This person does stand to be affected by the review but they can understand why the review is happening. We didn’t take this as an endorsement.

We’ve been talking with stations colleagues and listening to their feedback for many months, via email, 121s and our telephone-based ‘talkback’ and it’s helped shape our approach. It’s important to us that we do talk about the real issues, and the publication of your email is a demonstration of that commitment. Thanks again for taking the time to get in touch.

Reply from: Richard Baker, Engagement Manager.

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Between the Lines reserves the right to edit letters for publication.

� talk to us...

and you could win high street vouchers. Send your questions/letters to ‘inbox’ btl@londonmindland.com

110

11

mph trains will be a first for us!

on the

fast track! heart Exciting times are ahead! As part of our plans to grow our business, we’re on track to enter the ‘high-speed rail club’ next year.

W

e’re working with train manufacturer Siemens, to test raising the maximum speed of our Class 350/1 trains from 100mph to 110mph, which would significantly enhance services on the West Coast main line.

This month we began testing our trains overnight, in four car formations, between Preston and Lancaster, where we can get the railway to ourselves for electrical interference testing, followed by 12 car formation tests south of Rugby to assess the physical interaction between multiple pantographs and the overhead line.

In the meantime, we’ve applied to the Office of Rail Regulation for

extra track access rights to run more and faster trains. If successful, we’ll start running trains at the new high speed from December 2012.

Programme Director Mike Haigh says: “This is a really exciting development for us. We’ll be entering a whole new operating league by going high-speed. It will raise our profile, increase value for money and build a strong case for winning the next franchise.

“Our customers will benefit from faster journey times as well as more seats, inevitably improving our customer satisfaction ratings.”

If the testing is successful and the rail regulator approves the track access rights, our Siemens colleagues at King’s Heath depot will convert the 30-strong 350/1 fleet between April and September 2012, changing traction motor components, updating software and potentially replacing pantographs.

Want to know more?

Contact Mike, Andy Bell or Richard Clarke.

� bye

the of the matter I’m…

Simon Barker, an RPI at Watford Junction

I voted…

for this magazine to be called Between the Lines

And I…

was picked at random as the competition winner, which was great

I got…

I’m okay…

N BARKER

SIMO but heart problems run in my family; my dad had a heart attack and my mum has angina

So I… like to look after

my health as much as I can

I’m…

£30 in vouchers and donated them to the British Heart Foundation (BHF) in Hemel Hempstead

very active, swimming, golfing, running and going to the gym

I have… heart problems, you

a charity skydive to raise more money for the BHF

see, so forgive the pun, but the BHF is a charity that’s ‘close to my heart’

Six years ago I… had a heart attack and now two of my arteries are blocked

And soon… I’m doing Because I…

believe in helping others and raising money for cardiac research.

Want to know more about the British Heart Foundation or get involved with them yourself? Call 020 7554 0000 or go to www.bhf.org.uk

to our Class 150 trains after 26 years’ service in the West Midlands.

eat small every

work/life

We’re talking... beating the festive bulge

beat the

3

hours

12

The festive season’s almost here and, let’s admit it, most of us will be entering overindulgence city in the next few weeks.

Luckily for you, Emma and Simon are here to help you enjoy the festivities and avoid the festive bulge.

bulge

“Just because it’s Christmas, it doesn’t mean you have to eat and drink everything in sight (even though it sometimes feels a bit rude not to dip into the leftovers)!

We’ve all been there and can picture the scene: a lovely three-course meal with massive portions, plenty of leftovers and then the drinks start to flow – it’s a calorific overload. But, you can help to make this feel virtually guilt free by following it with a long walk, jog or run, or hitting the gym on Boxing Day. If you’re drinking alcohol try to avoid drinks that are laden with calories, such as Baileys, whisky, mulled wine and beer and swap them for wine, champagne (small glass) and spirits such as vodka. If you do over indulge don’t worry about it too much: Christmas is a time to treat yourself and January’s for getting back into your fitness regime.”

top tips your � Remove the skin from n cke chi or turkey ce ake your own bread sau � M k mil ed with skimm e ake your own low calori � M g ffin stu or ce cranberry sau fat se Greek yoghurt or low � U ble dou of d crème fraiche instea t ser cream with des k � E at dark instead of mil ter chocolate – it’s bet for you � Drink plenty of water to prevent dehydration, especially if you’ve been drinking alcohol with olive oil � Cook roast potatoes instead of fat you ile your plate as high as � P s– gie veg en gre sh fre like with levels, rgy they’re good for your ene full. you p kee immune system and

“As Emma says, just because it’s Christmas it doesn’t mean that you have to eat massive meals and stuff yourself silly! It’s much easier to stay healthier if you eat the food you like, but try and manage your portion sizes.

A trick that works well is to serve your meals on a smaller plate, giving you the illusion that you’re eating more than you actually are.

This should help you to avoid feeling bloated. What will also help is eating small portions every three hours rather than snacking throughout the day or having one massive meal.

If you want to avoid looking like a Sumo wrestler for New Year, eat until you are full then stop. Have fun!”

“Don’t start your celebrations too early… eat, drink and be merry for when the New Year comes, and we start dieting…” Emma

13

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90

� got a big issue?

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Email btl@londonmidland.com

viewpoint

Organisation Development Manager Ruth Noake talks about our new Leadership Development Programme.

leading the way for doing things well, feedback “We all want to be part of on where you can improve, and a successful business, one a clear sense of direction. So, the that performs well, is rated by our programme will help managers to customers and is a great place improve in these areas. The purpose to work. We’re good, but we know of all of this is to build strong that we need to improve, and so teams where we get satisfaction it’s critical that we develop strong from our work and take pride in leadership across the business. our achievements.

But, you know, Each manager there is a distinct “The purpose of all in the group will difference between managing tasks of this is to build strong take part in the six-day programme and leading people. teams where we get between now That’s why we’ve satisfaction from our and next June. just launched our Leadership work and take pride in They’ll hear feedback from Development our achievements.” people who Programme. It will work with them, do exactly what it reflect on their says, strengthening leadership style and learn new the leadership capability of behaviours and approaches. people across the company and Our Values are central to the promoting teamwork, to benefit programme, so managers will be the company. exploring how to demonstrate As managers, we know that them and encourage their teams we work very hard, but are to live them every day. Most of the sometimes focused on our own programme will involve working in areas, which isn’t always best for small cross-functional groups to the wider business. discover more about how to plan, So this programme, which will develop and lead change, engage involve 90 managers from every teams and deliver better results. part of the business, will help us What’s great about this to work together better so we can programme (and I’m going improve the way we lead. through it myself) is that there You’ve also told us that you want are opportunities to learn in to know how you’re doing at work. different ways: through working This includes more recognition

managers are taking part

together in groups or getting involved in a project, for example.

As part of the group on the programme, as well as someone who helped to create it, it’s great to have this opportunity to begin a journey of self-development that will directly benefit people from teams across our company.”

Ruth Noake, Organisation Development Manager, 102 New Street.

“We all look to leaders – whether they’re a director, manager, team leader or colleague – to guide and inspire us to be better. Which is why strong and effective leadership is vitally important for our success.

Colleagues within my teams work hard and do a very good job. I recognise and value this every day. But I also know that to help develop their own potential, I need to grow as a leader so that I can support them.

For me, this programme is a fantastic opportunity to do this and learn new skills so that I can help to develop my teams and collaborate with others.

I’ve already had the programme induction, where I met other managers.

During two days of training in November we worked together in small groups to share information, ideas, good practice and leadership experiences. So, as well as learning from our trainers, we’re learning from each other.

I honestly believe that when people choose to be managers they really want to inspire and lead their teams to the best of their abilities. This training will help us to achieve this and the impact should be felt by everyone.”

Annamaria Izzard, Customer Service Manager, Milton Keynes area

Colin Marsh

8

take

15

hour shift

Ivy Woode

Operation Team Member (Shunter) Tyseley depot

Retail Travel Advisor Bletchley station

Two colleagues, ten questions – let’s see how their answers compare...

I direct and move our mainline trains into the depot and then back into service.

WHAT DO YOU DO?

I work in the booking office, answering customer enquiries and carrying out ticket transactions. I also handle traincrew revenue – issuing change and completing their paperwork.

I direct and move the trains into the fuel pit and couple or uncouple them. The trains come here for refueling, repairs, cleaning and safety checks, before we direct them back out.

What does your role involve?

Making sure our customers have everything they need, and helping to resolve any queries.

I also keep posters and leaflets up to date and conduct security checks.

We move trains in very confined spaces, so safety is critical.

We’ve nicknamed this place ‘the farm’ because we ‘herd’.

What’s your top priority?

Good customer service.

What helps you to do your job well?

We have to talk to each other and work together as a team.

They’d say I’m flexible and help out where I can.

How would your colleagues describe you?

Yes, I’ll be on the nightshift Christmas Eve, Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve. Quiet. (laughs). On Christmas and New Year’s Eve I’ll work an eight-hour shift, starting at 8 or 10pm. There’ll be me and three drivers working to make sure that the trains are safely ‘put to bed’.

It’s quieter, because there are fewer trains and we close Christmas Day.

I use computer systems including Realtime, P2 and Trust and speak with colleagues in Control so that I have reliable and up-to-date information for customers.

Are you working this Christmas and New Year?

What’s that like?

Do you celebrate Christmas or New Year with colleagues?

Go home to see my family. My granddaughter’s expecting a baby just before Christmas so I may be a great-grandfather.

What will you do after your Christmas shift?

Yes, day shifts on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day.

Christmas Eve morning is busy with people dashing around doing last minute shopping or travelling home.

Boxing Day is really busy as the sales start and that’s when lots of customers ask for advice on the best places to go shopping.

How is it different to any other time of year?

Some colleagues celebrate Christmas and some, other festivals, so it depends. One year a colleague brought in a homemade curry for everyone – it was lovely.

Happy – I’m always smiling, laughing and helpful.

New Year’s Eve is different, everyone is happy, smiling and in the mood to party. The rest of the year it’s very businesslike.

Yes, we go out for a meal together and exchange Secret Santa gifts on Christmas Eve, which is fun.

Go home and relax with my daughter and our family who are visiting from London.

16

marathon

man h e i y g h t s z z i d

S

enior Conductor John McCormick from Crewe will fulfil a lifelong ambition when he runs the London Marathon next year.

“I’ve always wanted to do the London Marathon,” says John. “What better year to do it in than the Olympic one.” John is already training for the marathon, working on his core fitness, flexibility and running time. He’d like to be able to complete the run in less than four and a half hours and raise £1,600 for learning disability charity Mencap.

john Mccormick mark’S FLYING HIGH

If you’d like to sponsor John, please visit

T

he sky’s the limit for Birmingham New Street Driver Mark Payne. He’ll be doing a charity skydive for Cancer Research UK next year. “I’ve always wanted to skydive, and so I thought why not do it for a good cause,” says Mark.

“Cancer is a widespread disease and I’m sad to say I’ve lost family members to it.” Mark hopes to raise £500 in sponsorship.

If you’d like to sponsor the skydive, at Langar Airfield in Nottingham on 12 February, please visit

https://mydonate.bt.com/ fundraisers/ johnmccormick2012

https://charity ukskydiving. co.uk/FundraiserPage. aspx?eId=124

Get closer to the action with this Nikon Coolpix L120 digital compact camera.

This camera captures great photos and superb high definition movies. It has a 21x wide-angle optical zoom with 25-525mm wide angle capability, 14-megapixel CCD sensor twinned with a 25mm lens. Plus, ISO speeds of up to 6400 mean you can record fast-moving objects, a three-inch screen makes it easy to line up shots, and the L120 even has several automatic modes, including a ‘smile timer’, ‘blink warning’ and ‘face priority’. Technician Steve Widdowson from Worcester, who’s also an amateur photographer, says: “I like it. It’s a quick auto use camera, ideal for holidays and can be used in bad light to full sun. It goes from wide angle to telephoto, covering just about anything.

Plus, it has movie mode in HDMI.”

A Niko n compadigital camer ct a

For your chance to win this fab little gadget, simply answer the following question…

Q: Where can you find our Winter Plan?

Email your answer, with your name, job title, location and contact details to btl@londonmidland.com or text your answer and details to 07530 973042.

w his tle

st op

The closing date for entries is Friday 16 December – so if you’re the lucky winner you’ll have it in time for Christmas! The winner will be selected at random.

Please note there is only one camera prize.

� congratulations

@

to Birmingham New Street Senior Conductor Sharon Easterlow. She won the Champagne Afternoon Tea for Two at The Ritz London and said: “Ooh what a nice surprise – I rarely win anything. I’ll take my husband Andy.”