Merseyrail spurs on digitisation of business with home technology benefits
The train operating company, based in Merseyside, employs around 1,200 staff and says keeping them happy and engaged is vital. Andrew Parry, head of engagement and reward at Merseyrail, said: “We don't own our trains, we don't own our stations or infrastructure - our employees are our number one asset.”
Most (83%) staff are male, the average age is 46, and the average length of service is 19 years. “They weren't brought up with the new tech we have now, the tech their children use. Merseyrail is a great company. It is the employer of choice in the local area, and we need to work at developing our employees to get the maximum benefit from them whilst supporting them to develop new skills.”
In October 2014 Merseyrail signed up with Lets Connect, and created a scheme which allowed its staff to access the very latest technology without the high cost often associated with such devices. The first four-week window allowed staff to select from a range of home technology including laptop computers, desktops and tablets.
The company had anticipated around 12% of staff would participate in the first window, but were overwhelmed with a 27% joining rate in two weeks - which meant they had to cloes the scheme window early. “This was a massive financial commitment from the business, but by liaising with our senior director team, the justification was there again that this was something that was going to benefit all our employees and help drive us towards a workforce that was a lot more IT literate than it was. So it was the right thing to do,” said Parry.
“What also gave me massive confidence was the professionalism of Let’s Connect. They were comfortable with adjusting timelines, adjusting presentations, and so on. It was unprecedented what we were going through.”
By using more technology at home Merseyrail expects staff to become more proficient at using digital equipment in the workplace. “We want to improve their ability to communicate with one another. The best way to do that is via new technology, social media and smart phone technology,” he said.
Within Merseyrail’s 40 mile radius staff work at about 70 locations. Since the launch of Let’s Connect, Merseyrail is rolling out further new technology throughout the business, including smartphones to all frontline members of staff.
“We are starting that process now which will improve our communication and engagement. We are in the process of launching a frontline employee-to-employee Facebook group where employees can share messages, say what it is like working at Merseyrail and ask any questions of peer-to-peer employees,” said Parry.
“What it does is widen the scope for communication for of an employee who works in a location with the same two or three people every day and it opens them up to the wider business.”
Although Merseyrail could have taken the employer NIC saving into the business it opted instead to give all savings to the company’s chosen charity. “We are not doing this as a financial incentive for the business, we are doing this because it is the right thing for our employees,” he explained.
Merseyrail reopened the home technology scheme at the beginning of November 2015 for staff who did not participate in the 2014 launch. Merseyrail suggests that a good result from the 2015 window would be 10% of new employees taking part, taking overall participation to nearly 40% of staff.
This case study was provided by Personal Group.
In partnership with Personal Group
Personal Group provides the latest employee benefits and wellbeing products.
