The RailStaff Awards 2024

Phil Tobin

Southern Railway

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Nominations for Rail Manager of the Year

David Mitchell

Said the following about Phil Tobin:

“Phil's dedication to our staff's constant learning and evolving is a credit to him and his dedication in wanting others to succeed.

According our last internal survey results 23% of the staff were not happy with the training opportunities available to them. This is something that concerned Phil at his depot as it directly links into another of our lowest scoring categories (personal growth 35% did not agree). Before Phil set out to rectify the situation, he wanted to understand why. The root cause for this feedback was not the lack of training opportunities, but was the way in which they were promoted or encouraged at a local level.

Phil began with the brilliantly put together One Step Ahead modules. The first task was to ensure that the team had the facilities to connect to them. Phil sourced an additional Desktop PC's and ensure that were situated in quiet areas so staff could complete the training in comfort. Once the new mobiles became available, there was a big push to provide support, training and promote the improved functionality. Phil noticed a huge increase in the completion of the courses in a very short space of time. Once the team had mostly caught up with the outstanding courses, he encouraged them to complete the new modules as and when they became available. I'm very pleased to say that we achieved 100% completion only a few weeks after the last module was made available. We received some good feedback about the content and staff were pleased about the ease in which they could access them via the phones.

Phil then really capitalised on the customer service NVQ which became available to staff who have completed the OSA modules. Liaising with the training team and the NVQ modulators, he arranged 4 drop in sessions where staff were signed up to be assessed. I’m proud to say that we have over 40 staff members who are in the process of or have completed the NVQ training.

A big part of our 'Time with you Manager' meetings are talking about training and development. Phil focused on what aspects of the business the staff member is interested in and what part it plays in achieving their career goals. We have had numerous courses and opportunities booked, from First Aid, interviews skills, mentoring and even languages. We have one OBS who is a fully qualified Princes Trust mentor, which is something we are really proud of. Some staff haven't been involved in further education since they left school, since being involved in them, they now have the bug to learn new things, which is an achievement in itself.

We have 40 members of the team who are involved in training of some form that they have volunteered for, an achievement of which we are pleased to say has come directly from Phil's hard work.

Whether the purpose is for the betterment of the business or the individual. Phil has made a promise to the team to facilitate any and all requests for development in whatever capacity he is able to. Phil's saying is 'A team who is learning, is a team who are engaged and evolving. '

I am proud to have worked with Phil and believe he deserves to be recognised for all his hard work and commitment to his team.“