Karen Mccann

Said the following about Denis Beacher:

“Denis is one of the stand out stars in Control. Whether it’s dealing with disruption, training up new Controllers, taking part in workshops or out and about visiting front line colleagues, he does it with a smile on his face and an approach and attitude that is always looking to improve and always looking to learn. Denis ensures that his experience from his time as a station supervisor at Colchester, a member of the social media team, a customer info controller and an assistant train service manager informs his decision making and how he communicates out those decisions, ensuring at all times that he is putting himself in the shoes of those who his decisions are impacting on – whether that is our colleagues on the frontline who have to deal with those decisions or those customers whose train may now be cancelled or altered at short notice. Denis knows he’s not perfect, and that’s why he is always keen for feedback from those involved in incidents so that his plans can be refined and improved on for the future.

Denis also takes a keen interest in supporting the development of his colleagues, recently volunteering to train a newly appointed Train Service Manager for the GE Inner desk, as well as looking to share his experiences with other experienced TSMs who have been undergoing second desk training on the GE Inner. Denis has also taken time out to share his knowledge and experience with other new members of the ATSM team who have been struggling in certain areas, something that he has done under his own initiative and without any bidding from the Control management team. Following on from major disruption, Denis is always the first to provide feedback on the team members he has worked with, on both the Operations and Information side, and to praise them accordingly where praise is due, whilst being incredibly modest about his own achievements.

Denis also takes an active lead in the social side of activities in the office, organising Christmas nights out, charity golf days and taking part in the recent 10k obstacle fun run at Chelmsford race course. He knows the importance of building relationships with Network Rail, but also challenging them when required to ensure we’re delivering the best possible service to our customers. To quote an Assistant Area Customer Service Manager, ‘when disruption happens, as soon as I know Denis is in the chair I can relax because I know everything will be fine, and that the decisions he takes will be with the best interests of our customers at heart and he will be ensuring they get communicated out to the stations’. Denis is a great example of our company values, ensuring that he is genuine when dealing with colleagues in and out of the AICC by ensuring he listens to their point of view; being professional in that there is nothing that he doesn’t know about the GE Inner that isn’t worth knowing; being inclusive by ensuring everyone in the AICC team is treated equally irrespective of the role and that they are made to feel part of that team; and by continually looking feedback he is definitely proactive.“