The RailStaff Awards 2024

Nominations for Train Driver of the Year

Bea Asprey

Said the following about Kirsty Sando:

“Kirsty became a fully qualified driver at the age of 24. She progressed to Driver Manager by 27, one of the youngest in the industry at the time.

Of her own volition, she is now working on a programme within Heathrow Express that will involve integrating the role of train drivers in to the commercial and customer service aspects of the business, not just working in isolation at the front of the train.

Kirsty has worked hard across various departments within the business to make sure the role of a driver is more integrated. She has created training modules to explain to drivers how they are personally accountable for the business success including their impact on commercial success, sales and service.

She is singlehandedly putting drivers at the heart of the business and not just in a compartment at the front of the train.

A key benchmark of this influence has been the significant increase in drivers’ ‘engagement’ in the recently published annual Pulse (employee satisfaction) survey.

As a direct result of this initiative driver ‘engagement’ has increased 22% year-on-year a huge achievement for a role within the business which is traditionally disenfranchised.

In addition, Kirsty went out of her way to rearrange rosters and responsibilities so that one of our 'Lead Drivers,' Caroline Davies, could be at the forefront of our summer PR campaign. Caroline starred in a speed challenge video. See https://www.heathrowexpress.com/victoria-pendleton-speed-challenge

Secondly, she has implemented a mentor mapping initiative for trainee drivers and their line managers helping both grade of personnel develop their personal skills.

The volunteer programme among drivers allows them to mentor trainee drivers during in their induction programmes.

The programme identifies individual strengths and weaknesses and identifies line managers to partner with the recruits to help improve performance. The line managers are chosen because of their personal effectiveness and because they have matching skills and work schedules to allow them to develop the trainee drivers.

The programme not only gives focus to the trainees and their potential line manages but also gives the trainees a point of contact during their training helping to integrate them quicker with the team.

Being a young female in a team of older managers has changed the dynamic amongst the team. Kirsty brings a new outlook and fresh energy that has allowed her and her bosses to make changes to the way the driver team interact with the rest of the business and with customers.“