empowered to do the right thing will therefore require clear standards and a major programme of culture change and staff training. This should be specified and delivered by GBR’ s Network function and rolled out across all IRs. This training needs to help staff understand something more about the consequences of their decisions beyond their immediate environment.
This training must go beyond simple operational theory. It must instil behaviours which support GBR’ s culture and build confidence in decision-making, with a focus on local empowerment and creating a sense of belonging to both local teams and GBR as a whole. Ultimately, this training needs to focus on giving staff the confidence to make decisions in the interest of the railway’ s customers – both GBR and non-GBR.
Rolling out this programme across all GBR staff will be a major undertaking and will likely take several years. The Network function should identify key locations and job roles where multiple operators come together and which are of critical importance for running the railway. CIRO’ s view is that priority should be given to control rooms, train planning, major interchange stations and multi-operator routes. These locations should be prioritised for training and development.
Why this matters
Structural reform will only deliver better outcomes if it changes behaviour. If staff remain constrained by old incentives, uncertain authority or a fear of blame, GBR will struggle to deliver the reliability, customer focus and operational agility expected of it.
CIRO’ s Perspective
CIRO believes GBR must develop a workforce culture that combines local empowerment with whole-railway accountability. This requires more than organisational design. It requires leadership and shared standards. It relies on a workforce who understand how their role fits into the operation of the network. It requires a high degree of trust between teams that run the railway so that frontline teams have confidence to do the right thing for customers.
CIRO’ s Recommendation
GBR should establish a national programme of operational leadership and staff training. Priority should be given to those teams that work in a whole network environment, for example control rooms, train planning, major interchange stations and multi-operator routes. The aim should be to embed whole-system decision-making, customer focus and empowered local action. www. ciro. org
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