Southeastern has been awarded the prestigious Investors in People (IiP) Silver Award.
Southeastern is now one of only 16 companies in Kent to have achieved the Silver award and is recognition of the company’s continued investment in training and development of staff.
Southeastern now becomes one of 1.47% businesses (approx 30,000 companies in the UK) with an IiP accreditation with Silver.
Charles Horton, managing director Southeastern said:
“To join such an exclusive group of companies with this accreditation is a great achievement and testament to the hard work of our people.
“We are committed to giving our staff the tools and training to do their jobs well so they can provide a good service for our customers.
“We have invested over £10 million in training in the last five years and I am proud that we have over 50% of our staff with National Vocational Qualifications, the majority in customer services.
“As a large employer in the region, we will continue to invest in training and development as we are keen to play a role in making sure Kent, East Sussex and South East London are great places to live, work and visit.
“Over the last three years we have gained standard IiP accreditation, Bronze and now Silver awards and we will now work towards achieving Gold.”
In awarding the Silver accreditation, Investors in People assessed Southeastern had:
- Continued to make improvements in our people management
- Increased levels of employee engagement
- Created more opportunities for collaboration and joined-up working
- Increased employee morale
The assessors were particularly impressed with the evident pride that Southeastern staff have in their jobs and the many examples of employees going the extra mile for colleagues and customers.
They also found strong evidence that as a company Southeastern has a strong sense of social responsibility, having made environmental improvements to reduce energy consumption and recycle more waste.
John Telfer, Managing Director of Inspiring Business Performance Ltd (IBP), which is responsible for delivering the Investors in People Standard in the South, said:
“Southeastern is really committed to using the Investors in People framework as a vehicle for culture change. There has been a massive improvement in the quality of management, the engagement of people and the communication at all levels.
“The organisation’s silver recognition is well deserved and should be celebrated. Particular strengths identified in the course of the review included strong leadership and a high level of social responsibility with many environmental and community projects on the go.
“There is also an strong level of support for work-life balance at a time when nationally, levels of workplace stress and the long hours culture appear to be growing.
“They also have revised their Reward and Recognition scheme that has been a collaborative project involving employees and union representatives.”
