South Western Rail: Louisa Conde on Leadership, Building an Empowered and Diverse On-Train Service

Louisa Conde, Head of On Train Service at South Western Railway offers insight into what it’s like working as a Guard on SWR trains.

From a leadership perspective, what are South Western Railways key objectives and strategies for fostering an inclusive and diverse workforce within the on-train service team?

The Guards are a key customer facing role, we ensure that through transparent interview and selection process we recruit the right people, no matter what their background is.  We have also completed several recruitment fayres at Twickenham so that people can get to meet our Guards and learn more about the role.  We have ensured the interview allows people to draw on the experiences and doesn’t restrict selection to those with an ‘operational’ background.  Finally, we have produced a video which shows what the role is about so that those applying can learn more.

How does South Western Railway measure the impact of its diversity and inclusion initiatives on employee satisfaction, retention, and overall service quality for passengers?

We have our own internal measures (Your Voice) and we are able to assess how our customers feel about our Guards through customer feedback, SQE and VOC.

In what ways does South Western Railway ensure that the training and development opportunities for on-train staff cater to a diverse range of learning styles and career aspirations?

Colleagues are able to learn and develop in various ways and are not restricted to traditional learning methods.

What is South Western Railway’s vision for the future of on-train service, particularly in terms of creating an environment where all employees feel valued and empowered to provide exceptional service?

Having a managerial team that is diverse with a range of experience is important so that we stay connected to employees, understanding their issues and work to resolve them in order to make SWR an even better place to work.  Happy colleagues equal better service.

For some first hand insight into what its like to be a Guard, hear directly from Suzanne and Daniel, two SWR Guards based in London. 

Are you interested in becoming a SWR Guard - Apply Here! 

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