Shay-Simone B.

Studied Geology whilst part time in ticket office to managing a depot.

Moved from part time ticket office to station management as I felt that I had skills to offer the business that was outside of the traditional pool. Went from station management to work in the franchise team as I wanted a working knowledge of how the wider business operates as a whole. Transitioned from CX to Ops as I felt that I needed to fully appreciate Operations to be able to take on a more senior role in the business.

I manage a train driver depot so we can deliver for our customers

I provide the strategic leadership of a driver depot with 6 driver manager direct reports looking after over 150 train drivers.

Delivering an essential role to the business daily.

Managing a driver depot is more than just managing competency. People managing, problem solving and influencing people are just as important in delivering the day to day. One has to balance the task as well as the pastoral care to deliver a well rounded driver resource to the business. I have to get the driver managers to come along on the journey and deliver the depot strategy through them to the drivers.

Cultivate your network, someone always knows the answer if you don't.

The railway is a multifaceted organism and no-one knows all the answers. To truly succeed in this business you have to know your own area well but also maintain a network across the business that can help you on your journey. Someone knows the answer, wrote the policy or lived the experience. Use them.

I won Accountable for Performance at yearly staff awards

I was in charge of performance for the region. I worked with guards, other station managers and the performance team to identify our problem areas and carried out extensive observations and case studies to get to the root causes. This involved a hearts and mind campaign with front line teams to create a culture shift from a blame game to accurate reporting of facts and taking responsibility. Within a year we had identified all the root causes of delays within the region and implemented improvement plans to take these. The region was the largest stations contributor to delays in the business and we were able to reduce this by 40% within 12 months.