Great British Railways will be a vast organisation that will shape the future of our railways. It’s vital that we get the culture right
If Andrew Haines heads GBR it will be in fantastic hands
‘Career crossroads’ is how I’d describe the perspective of many rail industry professionals right now. A number of folk have taken me aside as an independent ‘outsider’ and in my headhunting capacity, sought advice or merely poured out their feelings. Of course, at any point in their career navigating a junction will be required, but the current uncertainty in the sector and the most likely future structure going forward has brought this to the fore.
It’s always tricky giving career advice – there’s a danger in imparting your own personal inclinations and experiences to others, thinking that what works for you will be the panacea for others. A wise HR bod once told me to always go with gut instinct. If I’ve ever made wrong career choices it has been when I’ve fought my gut instinct. Nonetheless, when evaluating what decision to take, I still also do a point scoring exercise for each component.
It’s difficult to go on gut instinct or point score when there is the unknown around how things might pan out in the world of Great British Railways (GBR). We can only go on experiences of large, monolith organisations of contemporary and previous eras.
I oscillate between positivity and caution about the future in a GBR environment
I oscillate between positivity and caution about the future in a GBR environment. Many senior managers and rising stars froth out the usual banal grovelling platitudes on social media and in meetings about how excited they are about the future, but privately, they’ll admit to not being joyous. Some confess to realising their time, after all these years in the rail industry, is coming to an end and their skills and creative juices will be fulfilled and appreciated elsewhere. From a customer perspective, I buy into the prospect of GBR – it makes sense and well, let’s be blunt, anything is better than the unwieldy, costly current set-up and the inconsistency of customer service delivery.
If I were weighing up the opportunity to join GBR, I would be gleeful at having the chance to re-shape the industry at a pivotal time, to be part of something that intends on a major scale to correct the wrongs of the past and set a structure in place that, once and for all, will create a legacy that will not need tampering with for generations. That would be the ‘pull’. But I always advise folk to think beyond the thrill of the wider strategic picture or the glow of being approached and maybe chased to take on a role or the pleasure of telling your current employer (who you may well feel has neglected or ‘wronged’ you), that you are clearing off. Think of that wet February afternoon at 16:00 as the dark winter night draws in and the honeymoon period of the job has long since dissipated. It’s an unnerving prospect.
My fear for GBR initially is how do they manage the energy and expectations of everyone who is joining, thinking they have been the chosen one, handpicked to be in the camp of the organisation that is seen to represent the ‘future? They may believe they are the golden generation, leaving behind those who are at the so called franchises or other bodies that represent the ‘past’ and are synonymous (wrongly so, in many cases) with failure and denigrated as such – the errant, greedy and incompetent TOCs, bureaucratic Rail Delivery Group, moaning watchdogs/consumer bodies and meddling Department for Transport. When these bright-eyed folk all start their roles at GBR around the same time, they will share feelings of self-worth and an expectation of making a difference, rather than being one of many and without the seniority and freedom to create a change. Excitement and anticipation will turn to competitiveness within peer groups, everyone will vie for attention and recognition, trying to get off the blocks fastest. Quite possibly negative behaviours will emerge, fairly quickly.
Of course, it may be that GBR will be a fluid organisation, where everyone feels like they are adding value and their career aspirations are being fulfilled and experiences enriched. My worry, based admittedly on long ago experiences of the Strategic Rail Authority (a not dissimilar but smaller equivalent of GBR) and in large organisations with their roots in the public service, such as British Airways and Royal Mail, is that their gargantuan size prevents anyone feeling they are making a difference.
At Royal Mail, fortunately, the businesses that I ran were stand alone P and Ls, left largely outside the corporate machinery and we were often the company’s entrepreneurial laboratory. However, my time spent in the mainstream made me conclude that nothing happened quickly, many folk prided themselves on being obstacles to progress and customer centricity was a concept little understood. There were so many people doing the same or similar jobs that they could make it look on their CV or LinkedIn that they were the ‘commercial director’ or ‘operations director’ for the whole of Royal Mail, when really they were one of many and knowing this enabled many to coast. Keith Williams, the architect of the planned new structure for the rail industry has had a stellar career, including at British Airways and at Royal Mail, where, however, ultimately, as deputy chairman and then chairman, he presided over this culture.
If I were appointed to a commercial role at GBR, I’d be cock-a-hoop initially, but within a few days of starting it would be clear that I would be one of many in a commercial department and my life might consist of shuffling proposals and business cases around among fellow commercial folk, each irritatingly sticking their oar in, such that I’d never really make an impact. Our commercial function would be so sizeable that we’d be splendour time annoying equivalents in external organisations with comparably threadbare set-ups. Could you imagine, for instance, being the lonely, overworked and under-supported head of concession management at any new Passenger Service Contract operator? Your entire day would be filled with demands for information from a multitude of folk at GBR, each with the same or similar job title.
It’s also possible that the really exciting big jobs are going to be a shoo-in for those already on the ‘inside’, such as those in Network Rail. Many suggest that the only really exciting roles are the five regional MDs and these are the only posts in terms of clout and scope that probably compare with those currently undertaken by TOC MDs. However, the bookies have probably long ceased to take odds on who might fill these roles. I make this comment not because I’m suggesting it is a stitch-up, but because there are household names already in similar roles at Network Rail.
The risk of having the wrong leader in charge of a huge organisation is frightening. We’ve seen how quickly big companies and indeed nations become toxic when the person at the very top exhibits the wrong leadership values and behaviours – be it in business or in government!
Culture will be key. If Sir Peter Hendy and Andrew Haines are the duo leading GBR, then I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever, that the organisation is in fantastic hands, culturally and from a capability perspective. However, no one should take for granted they would wish to be in situ forever. The risk of having the wrong leader in charge of a huge organisation is frightening. We’ve seen how quickly big companies and indeed nations become toxic when the person at the very top exhibits the wrong leadership values and behaviours – be it in business or in government! Railtrack and Network Rail in their infancies, are classic examples.
In terms of leadership, I shudder at the influence that one person can have in terms of bringing down a company through making it behave poorly (generally with arrogance) or grinding down the rest of the industry because of the impact of its behaviours. The problem is, of course, the subservience we have as employees to our leader. It always alarms me in organisations and I see it in places across transport – where in every conversation, the CEO’s first name is mentioned so frequently, that it is clear that she or he alone is theguiding mind who matters in terms of decision making. I wince in meetings when the top dog cracks a rubbish joke and the whole room of fawning executives erupts with side-splitting guffaws. These mugs will let their leader lead them to do anything and be shorn of any self-respect in the process.
GBR must learn from the mistakes of comparable organisations, not least because the industry has no dosh. It must not create bloated central ‘support’ functions that overly engineer processes and sap any creativity or will to live from those tasked with serving customers. Just because other organisations do it this way, it doesn’t mean GBR needs to – it has a blank sheet of paper after all. It’s vital that GBR doesn’t lazily lapse into mirroring the template for other large companies just because that’s the way it’s always done. This includes everything from the way it engages its employees and stakeholders, through to the way in which support functions, such as procurement, HR and finance among others, interact with those in delivery roles as well as externally. There’s an unprecedented opportunity at the outset to get buy-in from everyone internally and across the industry around its intended values and behaviours.
Rail reviews have sought a state of perfection whereby national and local have equal prominence and reside in harmonious bliss, but it’s never really been achieved and the White Paper doesn’t properly outline the mechanics to do so. It just assumes it will miraculously happen itself.
It’s also really important that there is clarity sooner rather than later around the dynamics between ‘central’ and ‘local’. The Williams/Shapps Review and subsequent consultation paper issued in May is still light on this. There are statements – dare I say ‘platitudes’ – around the importance of a localised approach but this seems token in the mass of words around a centralised, consistent and unified set-up. Rail reviews have sought a state of perfection whereby national and local have equal prominence and reside in harmonious bliss, but it’s never really been achieved and the White Paper doesn’t properly outline the mechanics to do so. It just assumes it will miraculously happen itself.
With the question still unanswered, it’s impossible for GBR to know how to establish itself and behave externally and internally, including how it will interface with train operators? Will those running trains be reduced to a state of total subservience and automation that they won’t be bothered to capture customer and employee insights from the coal-face of the railway and feed them upwards? Who will want to work for an operator? Where will the inspirational, leaders and entrepreneurs be?
There’s a danger that the operators will, at best, attract second-rate managers, and GBR may appeal only to a certain type of person. Its ability to pay the kind of salaries that the heavy-hitting TOC senior leaders have enjoyed has also been shown to be not unreasonably stymied. With all this in mind, the only depot left for the crème de la crème in the TOC community may be within the supply chain.
For GBR to attract, excite and retain folk it needs to clearly define its values and behaviours and ensure that its structure and approach shines a light on local regions. It may claim it has the intention to do so by creating five regions, but within these there should be a further layer of divisions and sub-brands – just as sectorisation managed to achieve in the autumn of British Rail. That will not only appeal to the rightly animated local stakeholders and their markets but it will also shine a light on and give an outlet to those self-obsessed senior managers that need their egos massaged and believe they are indispensably at the centre of the railway. If we curb their sense of self-importance and influence, we will also lose their experience and more positive attributes. It’s a delicate path ahead and like that trite job interview presentation – people need to be at the heart of the agenda.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Alex Warner has over 29 years’ experience in the transport sector, having held senior roles on a multi-modal basis across the sector
This article appears in the latest issue of Passenger Transport.
People need to be at heart of the agenda
by Passenger Transport on Jul 28, 2022 • 3:52 pm No CommentsGreat British Railways will be a vast organisation that will shape the future of our railways. It’s vital that we get the culture right
‘Career crossroads’ is how I’d describe the perspective of many rail industry professionals right now. A number of folk have taken me aside as an independent ‘outsider’ and in my headhunting capacity, sought advice or merely poured out their feelings. Of course, at any point in their career navigating a junction will be required, but the current uncertainty in the sector and the most likely future structure going forward has brought this to the fore.
It’s always tricky giving career advice – there’s a danger in imparting your own personal inclinations and experiences to others, thinking that what works for you will be the panacea for others. A wise HR bod once told me to always go with gut instinct. If I’ve ever made wrong career choices it has been when I’ve fought my gut instinct. Nonetheless, when evaluating what decision to take, I still also do a point scoring exercise for each component.
It’s difficult to go on gut instinct or point score when there is the unknown around how things might pan out in the world of Great British Railways (GBR). We can only go on experiences of large, monolith organisations of contemporary and previous eras.
I oscillate between positivity and caution about the future in a GBR environment. Many senior managers and rising stars froth out the usual banal grovelling platitudes on social media and in meetings about how excited they are about the future, but privately, they’ll admit to not being joyous. Some confess to realising their time, after all these years in the rail industry, is coming to an end and their skills and creative juices will be fulfilled and appreciated elsewhere. From a customer perspective, I buy into the prospect of GBR – it makes sense and well, let’s be blunt, anything is better than the unwieldy, costly current set-up and the inconsistency of customer service delivery.
If I were weighing up the opportunity to join GBR, I would be gleeful at having the chance to re-shape the industry at a pivotal time, to be part of something that intends on a major scale to correct the wrongs of the past and set a structure in place that, once and for all, will create a legacy that will not need tampering with for generations. That would be the ‘pull’. But I always advise folk to think beyond the thrill of the wider strategic picture or the glow of being approached and maybe chased to take on a role or the pleasure of telling your current employer (who you may well feel has neglected or ‘wronged’ you), that you are clearing off. Think of that wet February afternoon at 16:00 as the dark winter night draws in and the honeymoon period of the job has long since dissipated. It’s an unnerving prospect.
My fear for GBR initially is how do they manage the energy and expectations of everyone who is joining, thinking they have been the chosen one, handpicked to be in the camp of the organisation that is seen to represent the ‘future? They may believe they are the golden generation, leaving behind those who are at the so called franchises or other bodies that represent the ‘past’ and are synonymous (wrongly so, in many cases) with failure and denigrated as such – the errant, greedy and incompetent TOCs, bureaucratic Rail Delivery Group, moaning watchdogs/consumer bodies and meddling Department for Transport. When these bright-eyed folk all start their roles at GBR around the same time, they will share feelings of self-worth and an expectation of making a difference, rather than being one of many and without the seniority and freedom to create a change. Excitement and anticipation will turn to competitiveness within peer groups, everyone will vie for attention and recognition, trying to get off the blocks fastest. Quite possibly negative behaviours will emerge, fairly quickly.
Of course, it may be that GBR will be a fluid organisation, where everyone feels like they are adding value and their career aspirations are being fulfilled and experiences enriched. My worry, based admittedly on long ago experiences of the Strategic Rail Authority (a not dissimilar but smaller equivalent of GBR) and in large organisations with their roots in the public service, such as British Airways and Royal Mail, is that their gargantuan size prevents anyone feeling they are making a difference.
At Royal Mail, fortunately, the businesses that I ran were stand alone P and Ls, left largely outside the corporate machinery and we were often the company’s entrepreneurial laboratory. However, my time spent in the mainstream made me conclude that nothing happened quickly, many folk prided themselves on being obstacles to progress and customer centricity was a concept little understood. There were so many people doing the same or similar jobs that they could make it look on their CV or LinkedIn that they were the ‘commercial director’ or ‘operations director’ for the whole of Royal Mail, when really they were one of many and knowing this enabled many to coast. Keith Williams, the architect of the planned new structure for the rail industry has had a stellar career, including at British Airways and at Royal Mail, where, however, ultimately, as deputy chairman and then chairman, he presided over this culture.
If I were appointed to a commercial role at GBR, I’d be cock-a-hoop initially, but within a few days of starting it would be clear that I would be one of many in a commercial department and my life might consist of shuffling proposals and business cases around among fellow commercial folk, each irritatingly sticking their oar in, such that I’d never really make an impact. Our commercial function would be so sizeable that we’d be splendour time annoying equivalents in external organisations with comparably threadbare set-ups. Could you imagine, for instance, being the lonely, overworked and under-supported head of concession management at any new Passenger Service Contract operator? Your entire day would be filled with demands for information from a multitude of folk at GBR, each with the same or similar job title.
It’s also possible that the really exciting big jobs are going to be a shoo-in for those already on the ‘inside’, such as those in Network Rail. Many suggest that the only really exciting roles are the five regional MDs and these are the only posts in terms of clout and scope that probably compare with those currently undertaken by TOC MDs. However, the bookies have probably long ceased to take odds on who might fill these roles. I make this comment not because I’m suggesting it is a stitch-up, but because there are household names already in similar roles at Network Rail.
Culture will be key. If Sir Peter Hendy and Andrew Haines are the duo leading GBR, then I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever, that the organisation is in fantastic hands, culturally and from a capability perspective. However, no one should take for granted they would wish to be in situ forever. The risk of having the wrong leader in charge of a huge organisation is frightening. We’ve seen how quickly big companies and indeed nations become toxic when the person at the very top exhibits the wrong leadership values and behaviours – be it in business or in government! Railtrack and Network Rail in their infancies, are classic examples.
In terms of leadership, I shudder at the influence that one person can have in terms of bringing down a company through making it behave poorly (generally with arrogance) or grinding down the rest of the industry because of the impact of its behaviours. The problem is, of course, the subservience we have as employees to our leader. It always alarms me in organisations and I see it in places across transport – where in every conversation, the CEO’s first name is mentioned so frequently, that it is clear that she or he alone is theguiding mind who matters in terms of decision making. I wince in meetings when the top dog cracks a rubbish joke and the whole room of fawning executives erupts with side-splitting guffaws. These mugs will let their leader lead them to do anything and be shorn of any self-respect in the process.
GBR must learn from the mistakes of comparable organisations, not least because the industry has no dosh. It must not create bloated central ‘support’ functions that overly engineer processes and sap any creativity or will to live from those tasked with serving customers. Just because other organisations do it this way, it doesn’t mean GBR needs to – it has a blank sheet of paper after all. It’s vital that GBR doesn’t lazily lapse into mirroring the template for other large companies just because that’s the way it’s always done. This includes everything from the way it engages its employees and stakeholders, through to the way in which support functions, such as procurement, HR and finance among others, interact with those in delivery roles as well as externally. There’s an unprecedented opportunity at the outset to get buy-in from everyone internally and across the industry around its intended values and behaviours.
It’s also really important that there is clarity sooner rather than later around the dynamics between ‘central’ and ‘local’. The Williams/Shapps Review and subsequent consultation paper issued in May is still light on this. There are statements – dare I say ‘platitudes’ – around the importance of a localised approach but this seems token in the mass of words around a centralised, consistent and unified set-up. Rail reviews have sought a state of perfection whereby national and local have equal prominence and reside in harmonious bliss, but it’s never really been achieved and the White Paper doesn’t properly outline the mechanics to do so. It just assumes it will miraculously happen itself.
With the question still unanswered, it’s impossible for GBR to know how to establish itself and behave externally and internally, including how it will interface with train operators? Will those running trains be reduced to a state of total subservience and automation that they won’t be bothered to capture customer and employee insights from the coal-face of the railway and feed them upwards? Who will want to work for an operator? Where will the inspirational, leaders and entrepreneurs be?
There’s a danger that the operators will, at best, attract second-rate managers, and GBR may appeal only to a certain type of person. Its ability to pay the kind of salaries that the heavy-hitting TOC senior leaders have enjoyed has also been shown to be not unreasonably stymied. With all this in mind, the only depot left for the crème de la crème in the TOC community may be within the supply chain.
For GBR to attract, excite and retain folk it needs to clearly define its values and behaviours and ensure that its structure and approach shines a light on local regions. It may claim it has the intention to do so by creating five regions, but within these there should be a further layer of divisions and sub-brands – just as sectorisation managed to achieve in the autumn of British Rail. That will not only appeal to the rightly animated local stakeholders and their markets but it will also shine a light on and give an outlet to those self-obsessed senior managers that need their egos massaged and believe they are indispensably at the centre of the railway. If we curb their sense of self-importance and influence, we will also lose their experience and more positive attributes. It’s a delicate path ahead and like that trite job interview presentation – people need to be at the heart of the agenda.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Alex Warner has over 29 years’ experience in the transport sector, having held senior roles on a multi-modal basis across the sector
This article appears in the latest issue of Passenger Transport.
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