Station Staff of the Year
Name: Richard Millbank
Company: East Coast Main Line
Location: York Station
Reason: In all my 28 years on the railway I have had the opportunity to work with so many fantastic people, and in all these years I have never come across someone as endearing, caring, extremely helpful and dedicated and approachable as Richard.
Just to highlight one of the very many reasons why I feel Richard is worthy to be nominated for this prestigious award is as follows:
On Sunday the 12th June 2011, Richard was working back shift when York Station was affected by major signalling problems affecting north and southbound services. Richard in his role as an Information controller was busy as always dealing with passengers and also sorting out the stations operational movements.
Suddenly a request was made over the radio for a first aider to go to the north end subway as an elderly gent had collapsed. Without a second thought Richard raced to the subway and attended to the gentleman and his family in such a comforting and efficient manner that he quickly took control by administering CPR, and arranging for the emergency services to attend. All this whilst consistently showing great empathy and understanding towards the gentleman’s relatives who were located nearby and too frightened to speak. Richard never once during this very difficult time put his own feelings first, his priority was to ensure the gentleman had every chance of pulling through. Unfortunately his tremendous efforts were in vain as the gentleman did not survive.
The above completely epitomises everything that Richard both stands for and holds dear.
The family who were present in the subway at the time visited the station some weeks after to personally thank Richard for all he had done and given, in trying to save the life of their grandfather.
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Newcomer / Graduate of the Year
Name: Shauni O'Neill
Company: London Underground
Location: Underground Network
Reason: “Shauni has been an ambassador for LU's Apprentice Scheme from her very first day. She is one the brightest, friendly and enthusiastic people you could meet. Shauni's contact with colleagues and customers is always helpful, cheerful and positive. She has had numerous written confirmations of this from both internal and external sources.
Shauni has recived written praise for everything from rolling up her sleeves and mopping a booking hall for hours to keep a station open during a flood, to delivering a key project studying the statistics of sidings usage in order that a decision be taken on whether or not they by decommissioned - She actually completed this task in half the time allotted to her!
She makes the most of every opportunity to learn and develop herself during each placement she spend time in as she progresses towards entering the business and she is able to inspire others. No job is to big or small for her, and her thirst for knowledge combined with a willingness to get on with it has led to many others observing this and being prompted to go above and beyond themselves in sharing their skills far beyond what was required.
Alongside qualifying in every operational role and scoring very highly in all assessments as she did so, Shauni has also opted to undertake many extra-curricular courses in Railway Operations and passed these too! She also chose to study on-line business relevant courses in her own personal time. To date she has completed over 100 of them - Most with a 100% pass mark! These course take on average 4 hours each to complete and that equates to over 400 hours of extra own time learning.
Her enthusiasm and passion for learning alongside a real love for the role led to her being chosen as the 'face' of LU's 2011 Recruitment Campaign. Shauni was awarded LU's 'Apprentice of the Year Award 2011' Shortly after this she was also awarded the title of 'London's Apprentice of the Year 2011' by the National Apprentice Service in a separate competition and judging process. At the time of writing this Shauni is one of only eight finalists in the 'UK Apprentice of the Year 2011' competition with the results to be announced in June.
Shauni is a true team player and ambassador for the attitudes and behaviours the business aspire to. Shauni is engaging and well liked by all who meet her, and this is due in large part to her efficiency, friendliness, dedication and a sheer determination to do well wherever she goes. Shauni joined LU at aged 16 and was a consummate professional from the outset.
Her initiative and drive to develop herself has afforded her a great knowledge of the business and a collaborative network of colleagues who want her to do well after working alongside her and seeing how hard she tries in every situation.Going above and beyond what is required is the norm for Shauni. Most recently she was asked to deliver presentations to younger apprentices in order to promote LU's core values to those following her into the business. Shauni is often asked for personally by senior managers for various tasks as they know she will get the job done quickly and effectively.
Shauni was recently asked to help support the Jubilee Line as a seconded Line Information Specialist delivering Real Time Information to the Network. She has excelled at this task as she has with all others set for her.
If I had to provide specific example of why Shauni deserves this award it would have to be her being named 'London's Apprentice of the Year 2011' This award encapsulates everything she has worked so consistently hard to achieve over nearly two years. It was independently judged and she was compared to hundreds candidates ranged across a huge spectrum of businesses and skill-sets. Her efforts were looked at as a whole and the judging panel found her to exemplify the best possible balance of positive attitude and measured attainment”.
Shauni won the title of National Apprentice of the Year 2011. This recognised her consistent high performance and dedication to London Underground since starting her career.
She is now an ambassador for the National Apprenticeship Service; this involves in many activities such as media interviews and filming of promotional materials that both positively display and promote apprenticeships.
Shauni has also been asked to be a City and Guilds ambassador, required to represent apprenticeships within City and Guilds as she actively displays how effective you can be as an apprentice.
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Depot Staff of the Year
Name: Heather Neely
Company: Southern
Location: Brighton Depot
Reason: "Heather Neely is a Train Care Charge Hand at Southern’s Brighton Train Care Depot. She joined Southern in 2001 as a cleaner and was promoted to Train Care Charge Hand four years ago.
Heather and her colleagues may not work directly with Southern’s customers, but their work behind the scenes contributes significantly towards the passenger journey experience.
As a charge hand, Heather manages a team of fourteen cleaners, who work tirelessly to ensure that Southern’s trains are clean and tidy for passengers. Working a mixture of early, late and 12 hour shifts, Heather and her team complete several tasks from light cleans to deep cleans, which include the washing down and flushing out of train toilets, which according to Heather, who was recently featured in Rail Magazine’s ‘Day in the Life’ column, ‘isn’t as bad as it sounds’. Heather also co-ordinates graffiti removal ensuring that tags are accurately recorded so to assist the British Transport Police in their investigations, organises lost property and helps to monitor and measure the cleanliness standard of trains, promoting continuous improvement. But its Heather’s astonishing act of dedication to her job and her team one snowy December morning that really shows why she’s deserving of the Outstanding Personal Contribution Award.
December 2010 was the coldest December in Britain for 100 years with significant snowfall and sustained low temperatures. The severe weather conditions had a significant impact on air, road and rail transport with many services being delayed or suspended. Many UK workers decided to stay at home as footpaths, roads and rails became impassable.
The snow however, proved no obstacle for Heather. Due to start a shift of 0600, Heather rose early to ensure she made her shift on time. With no taxis able to run and train services suspended, Heather set off from home at 0400. She trekked through shin-deep snow for over two hours, finally making it to the Brighton Train Care Depot two hours and twenty minutes later.
Heather’s commitment and dedication to delivering excellent customer service to Southern’s passengers and her consideration for her colleagues is outstanding. Against the odds, on a day when many others opted to stay at home, she honoured her shift pattern by walking in treacherous conditions for over two hours so that she wouldn’t let the night shift down; she is a shining example and role model for all who work with her.
This significant act did not only impress Heather’s colleagues, who were astounded by her achievement, but Heather’s long trek through the snow was also hailed nationally as an example of how rail staff performed magnificently during the late 2010 snow period. On Tuesday 15 February, Chris Burchell, Managing Director of Southern, represented the UK rail industry at the Transport Select Committees’ review of the ‘Impact on Transport of Recent Adverse Weather Conditions’. Chris addressed the committee citing Heather as an excellent example of railway staff who had, against the odds, attended work despite the weather conditions. Chris Burchell said: ‘… by and large, our staff performed magnificently. I know of anecdotal stories of one of my members of staff, a cleaner, who walked for three hours in order to get into work.’
As Chris’ comments suggest, Southern, and the rail industry, was extremely proud of Heather’s determination to meet her passengers’ and colleagues’ expectations on that freezing day. During what was a very difficult time for Southern, Heather came to the fore ensuring that she supported her colleagues and proved herself to be a role model for all. When speaking to Rail Magazine, Heather remarkably said ‘I don’t see that I’d done anything all that exceptional ... I was just doing my job.’ This almost throw-away comment typifies Heather’s approach to her job and was a selfless act in the face of adversity.
As a train cleaner’s work mostly happens behind the scenes, their achievements are often unsung, yet they are invaluable to Southern and play a key role in its performance as a service provider. Heather leads a team of committed individuals whose labours ensure that our passengers travel comfortably, and when looking for an exemplary team leader and employee, Southern looks no further than Heather Neely".
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