Published on: Wednesday, 6 March 2013
Last updated: Wednesday, 5 October 2016
Greater Anglia’s catering team has been awarded the prestigious ‘Investor in People’ Silver status in recognition of its progressive approach to business improvement through its people.
Around 62 members of staff work in the train operator’s catering team, preparing products at the catering stores based at Norwich station and providing passengers with refreshments on board Greater Anglia’s Norwich – London train services.
The team achieved a Silver Award, which demonstrates that they have gone beyond the 39 requirements needed to achieve the standard IIP Status, and have taken a forward thinking and expansive approach to cascading best practice through every level of the organisation.
In achieving the Silver Status, the team demonstrated an additional 97 points of evidence to indicate areas where they had gone beyond the standard. Of all the organisations assessed currently in the UK, only three percent achieve the Silver certification. The team hopes to achieve the Gold Accreditation, which demonstrates world class best practice, within 12 - 18 months.
In his report, IIP Assessor, Bruce MacRae commented that he was “particularly impressed with the commitment to communication, engagement and learning & development that is appreciated by employees at all levels.” He continued, “People feel well encouraged to discuss and contribute to the performance of team. Opinions are proactively sought for how to increase sales, reduce wastage and improve customer satisfaction.”
The ‘Investor in People’ Silver award will be presented by Greater Anglia’s Customer Service Director, Andrew Goodrum, to On Board Services Manager - Catering, Charlotte Bindley and her team in a presentation to be held at Norwich station on Thursday 7 March 2013 at 09.45am.
Commenting on the award of ‘Investor in People’ status, Andrew Goodrum said: “The award of ‘Investor in People’ Silver status for our catering team is another key milestone in our approach to offering customers a consistent, professional and high-quality standard of service. I am pleased to offer my warmest congratulations to the catering team, who have all worked extremely hard in achieving this award.”
To improve the onboard catering service, 2012 saw the introduction of a voucher booklet and a reward card for customers. In addition, First Class customers now enjoy complimentary refreshments from the Cafe Bar as well as complimentary newspapers on the peak morning services - since May 2012, the catering team has served 145,000 complimentary hot and cold drinks and over 90,000 snacks. The team has also continued to implement a variety of staff performance incentives and staff focus groups all aimed towards maintaining and improving customer service.