The issue
After winning the strategically important West Coast and Cross Country rail franchises, Virgin Trains was determined to bring the Virgin Values and Customer Experience to mass-market long distance rail travel. Following the restructuring of its on-board teams, and to coincide with the introduction of state of the art Pendolino and Voyager trains, the company instigated a brand-driven management development initiative that was to play a key role in helping it to achieve its ambitious goal.
What we did
Power Train began its long-running partnership with Virgin Trains by designing and delivering ‘For The Very First Time’, a ground-breaking leadership and coaching programme for newly appointed Train Managers. Since then, we have rolled out a series of highly innovative leadership programmes and events for not only Train Managers but also Station Managers, Customer Service Managers and Head Office management. These programmes have played a key role in the development and effectiveness of a fully on-brand management function within the franchise.
How we did it
Through the application of Total Reality, ‘For The Very First Time’ featured fully authentic on-board settings and carefully researched scenarios. Having showcased the new Customer Experience, it equipped each Train Manager to spearhead its delivery through the demonstration of the Virgin Values in the way they led and coached their team. By employing ActNatural, they were able to tailor their newly developed competencies to meet the specific requirements of each individual member of staff. This cascaded into the way those staff delivered an individual Virgin Trains Customer Experience in all situations and sometimes in the most challenging of circumstances.
Following the success of ‘For The Very First Time’, other specialised leadership and coaching events and initiatives we have developed and delivered for Virgin Trains include ‘Think Leadership!’ and ‘Think Coaching!’, fully interactive case study based events for on-board managers and ‘Love Every Second’, train-the-trainer workshops to equip Virgin Trains personnel to deliver Power Train designed induction modules and leadership events in partnership with our Actor Consultants. These events make use of licensed Power Train resources and the Actor Consultants have since assisted Virgin Trains in the delivery of its management assessment centres.
Return on investment
As a result of the continued partnership with Power Train, the HR Director of Virgin Trains has reported, “The results are tangible – front line confidence and communication skills have greatly improved and overall, standards have risen dramatically.”
