Together Weekly 28.09.23

CARLISLE SERVICE CENTRE NOW OPEN

A new Rail Gourmet (RG) service centre to support catering on our Anglo-Scottish route, has opened its doors in Carlisle. The centre began operation in July and now allows hosts to get a top-up of products such as drinks, sandwiches and snacks mid-journey. It's the first new service centre to be added to our network since the pandemic and it’ll also allow hosts to join service from Edinburgh and Glasgow, if coverage is needed.

The centre can be found just off of platform 4, if you want to pop in and say hello.

HAPPY 10TH BIRTHDAY LIVERPOOL DEPOT

TPE Colleagues at our Liverpool depot recently celebrated ten years since it’s opening.

Liverpool Lime street is now one of the busiest stations on our network, with more than 100 TPE services travelling through every day. In the past year, nearly two million customer journeys have been made to and from the station, covering over 100 million passenger miles. The number of colleagues has also grown significantly since the depot opened in 2013, with the number of drivers and conductors quadrupling.

Last week’s overall performance was down on the previous week. We have seen an increase in T3 and T15 failures, however these increases are largely down to several major infrastructure and external events.In comparison, delay minutes attributed to TPE have decreased by 21% on the previous week

Short notice cancellations this week were mainly down to short notice driver and conductor sickness and on the day unit faults. North route bore most of the disruption, however Anglo Scottish has remained strong as we head into the Autumn.

(L to R) Ashley Horsfall (Customer Experience Manager), Vane Ristov (Onboard Standards Manager North), Jamie (Customer Service Assistant), Steven Auld (Service Centres Manager North), Morgan (Onboard Host), Leon Grierson (Service Centre Team Leader Carlisle), Justin (Onboard Host)

Rich Holliday, Senior Learning Partner, is a member of the newly formed neurodiversity group, which gives neurodivergent colleagues a chance to connect.

“ For me, inclusion is being able to bring your whole self to work, and recognising that people bring different strengths to the business. Inclusion is about allowing people to share their stories and perspectives.”

It’s National Inclusion week (NIW), which gives us an opportunity to celebrate the diversity of our colleagues but also reflect and identify how we can improve. Though this week gives us an opportunity to focus on diversity & inclusion, it is something we are committed to throughout the year. We’ve asked some colleagues what inclusion means to them. The full profiles can be found in the National Inclusion Week guide here or the Loop.

Louise Jacobs, Hayley Yates, and Nicola Buckley have all been part of the Women in Rail mentoring programme, with Louis and Hayler being partnered with a knowledgeable mentor from outside of TPE and Nicola mentoring someone hoping to grow in the industry.

Louise:

“Personally, for me, inclusion is about accepting and encouraging differences, enabling us to learn from one another.”

Hayley:

“Inclusion is being part of a team and reaching out to others who can support you in any situation. If they don’t know the answer, they will reach out to others so that you get the answer you need.”

Nicola:

Rob Buxton is part of our LGBTQ+ network, which brings together members of the community and allies to talk about their experiences and how TPE can better support the LGBTQ+ community.

“Inclusion for me is a simple thing to say, but not a simple thing to fix. Inclusion needs to be an environment where every individual regardless of their background, identity or abilities are valued, respected, and empowered to fully participate and contribute. Recognising and embracing diversity in all its forms, including race, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability and more.”

TYLER KIE PATRICK

“Inclusion to me is all about feeling comfortable and accepted for who you are. It means aiming for a culture in which difference is valued and encouraged without expectation or stereotyping.”

Tyler Kie-Patrick, Revenue Protection Assistant, took part in Reach Up programme, which builds the skills and confidence of colleagues from ethnic minorities who are aiming to move into a people management role.

“Inclusion to me means everyone can have a fair and equal opportunity and to be treated fairly no matter their background.”

THE EXPRESS INCLUSION TOOLKIT

The theme for NIW is to ‘Take Action, Make Impact’ and to help give you some ideas on how to make a positive impact during NIW and after Harriet Harbidge, Diversity and Inclusion Manager, has developed a series of eLearns.

The short eLearns look at a range of topics including the importance of representation, banter in the workplace and making sure it doesn’t become harmful, and how to diversify the perspectives you hear.

You can find the eLearns here. If you have any issues logging into the eHub please email landd.admin@tpexpress.co.uk

Remember to take a look at our colleague app, the Loop, as every day this week we’re sharing guidance on how to be inclusive and some useful guides, including our breastfeeding friendly guidance.

Don’t forget to take a look at our social media as throughout the week we’ve been sharing some of the amazing things we’ve been up to this year.

Louise Jacobs, HR Administrator

Nicola Buckley, HR Director

Hayley Yates, Collaboration and Improvement Manager

Rob Buxton, OBSM

MEET OUR NEW COMMUNITY HUB COORDINATOR, KIM PEAKE

A Huge welcome to our new Community Hub Coordinator, Kim Peake, who will be assisting the team at Hull station in managing the multi-agency hub. We asked Kim to introduce herself and talk a little bit about her experience, so you can recognise her if you’re ever near the Hub.

“I wanted to volunteer because of my connection to the Hub project in its early development stages. I'm passionate about working with people and supporting access to make coming onto the station and using the network an even safer and more positive experience for everyone.”

“I had my first volunteer experience working in youth clubs in Germany, whilst working in the RAF as a Communication Analyst. I’ve also worked in management roles in Local Authorities and as a Children’s Social Worker. Then finally I worked with Railway Children as a Community Engagement Worker, helping to develop safeguarding action groups.”

“I’m really excited about bringing networks of support together and highlighting the positive work and support out there and building new responses that make communities feel seen, included, and safe.”

JOIN OUR UNIFORM WORKING GROUP

As part of our drive to improve our uniform we’re on the lookout for frontline colleagues to join our newly formed uniform working group. The group will work with the team to discuss ideas and provide detailed feedback in relation to uniform and any proposed changes.

If you wear a uniform and are interested in joining our wearer group, simply visit bit.ly/TPEUniformWearerGroup or scan the QR code right to register your interest.

WELLBEING WEDNESDAY -OCTOBER

Wellbeing Wednesday is back for October and this month offers a teaser of what’s to come during Rail Wellbeing Live (RWL)

October’s livestream will bring you two of the speakers for RWL, who will be hosting the Get Active session. Nina Finlay, Wim Hof instructor, and Mark Peters, Tai Chi and Qigong master, will be talking about the benefits of cold therapy and the importance of breath and moving your body. They’ll also be demonstrating some relaxing breathing exercises. The livestream is free to access at http:// www.railwellbeinglive.co.uk/live-stream at 11:00 on Wednesday 4 October.

Rail Wellbeing Live will be taking place on 7 to 9 November and you still have time to register at https://www.rwl2023.co.uk and join over 40 amazing wellbeing sessions.

MYREWARDS SPOTLIGHT: MONEY

As part of our continued spotlight on the MyRewards Wellbeing Centre, we are looking at the section called ‘Money.’

It’s a tough time at the moment, and money is something a lot of people are thinking about more than ever before. There are more than 150 articles in this section covering a wide range of topics including paying off credit cards to how to cover an unexpected expense. There are also a range of money tools from a personal budget planner to a calculator that helps you plan for a baby.

If you have found a particular part of MyRewards helpful, or even want to share an amazing deal you took advantage of please drop our Engagement and Reward Manager, Vic Snell, an email at: Victoria.snell@tpexpress.co.uk

GOING THE EXTRA MILE! (25 WORDS)

We’re always receiving some amazing comments about our colleagues. Here’s a few of the messages we received last week:

Ben Courtney, Hull Station Manager, Kim Peake, Steve O’Callaghan, BTP Liaison Officer