Ashley Bray

Said the following about Sophia Galligan:

“Sophia is a colleague in GWR to be recognised, a colleague that has passion for delivering for colleagues, customers, and our business. Sophia approaches every challenge with positivity and resilience, which enables her to succeed in every situation.

Recently Sophia was on board a train where a customer was taken ill. Using her first aid skills Sophia took charge of the situation, looked after the customer, and communicated with control and the on-board crew. Sophia’s actions meant the crew on board were able to continue carrying out their duties, the train was not delayed (being mindful of the 100’s of other customers on board the train), and administered first aid and support the customer until emergency services could meet the train. Sophia did this with a calm sense of professionalism.

Sophia will always go the extra mile to do the right thing by others. On the way to work Sophia was following a customer who was running to toward the station to catch a train when he tripped and landed badly. Sophia helped the customer, worked with the station team by keeping them in the loop and advising them of her actions, reported it and ensured the customer was well cared for. Sophia used her scarf to bandage to make a sling, took the customer to the hospital in her own car and sat with him until the initial tests were done. The customer had broken their elbow and needed to go for surgery. Sophia took care of his car at the station, arranging for the parking to be extend the parked. Sophia continued to respond to questions and concerns 24/7 until the customer was safely home. The customer was very angry at GWR initially, however Sophia’s caring can-do attitude changed the customer’s perception.

Sophia has shown that she recognises the need to engage with Network Rail and Stakeholders to lever changes in her area of responsibility, incorporating their views and ideas to make the changes work for all. Sophia has quickly become a ‘go to’ person within my team for help.

There has not been a day where Sophia has not shown a positive and inspirational approach to her work and with others. This is infectious and has had a positive effect on other team members. Sophia has raised morale within the team through her forward-thinking and creative mindset, focusing on the solution rather than the problem, listening and coaching others to help them succeed. It is clear that Sophia measures her success on the success of others.

As a trainer Sophia is passionate about delivering for others and meeting / exceeding standards. Sophia has shown this in her approach to delegates, tailoring her style to individual needs, offering additional time to support their development, and being available out of hours to answer questions and resolve any problems our colleagues face.

Sophia constantly goes above and beyond, investing personal time to deliver for the team and her delegates.

Sophia is very people focused, however Sophia is not shy in challenging others on their performance, recognising when someone needs to step up to deliver. Sophia does this by being clear, honest, and supportive. Her approach is not to tell someone off, rather it is an adult approach where she uses coaching and clearly explains the reasons behind her challenge. This is something that Sophia does not find easy, however she does not shy away from helping raise the performance bar.

Sophia has recently become a lead trainer with people management responsibilities. Sophia is developing her people management style, one that is supportive and engaging. Sophia is giving her people her time to help and guide them, talk through their challenges and clearly setting the vision for the way ahead. Recently a new member of the team has joined the team, it was clear that Sophia had the desire to support the development of a new colleague and has taken them under her wing, using personal time to provide additional help and being responsive to their needs in a timely manner.

Sophia has shown that she is well organised and can deliver. Sophia’s pride in her work ensures she is accountable for the success. Sophia owns a project and delivers to the stretching targets she sets herself. This has, at times, meant that Sophia has had to invest personal time to get the work completed and has always done so to a high standard.

Sophia started in her new role less than 12-months ago, has been awarded two gold awards, received many emails of praise from delegates, and constantly receives high delegate satisfaction scores.

Sophia has influenced other members of the L&D team through her boundless energy, positively, and drive to get things done!

Whenever Sophia is out on the network she delivers for our colleagues and customers, the gold awards and feedback received to date are testament to that.“