A sharing, caring approach
STM Group’s HANNAH BRIDGMAN explains how mutual support is a key factor in the success of the industry as a whole - and the firm’s own rapid growth
STM Group delivers added value in customer service to TfL Rail
STM Group is carving itself an enviable reputation for effective collaboration with a growing number of train operators ( TOCs), in its quest to improve the delivery of customer care.
With a client list including the likes of South West Trains, Northern, London Overground, Southern and London Trams, one of the latest TOCs to call on STM’s expertise and other specialist services was MTR Crossrail, when it took on the running of TfL Rail in May 2015.
STM has made further inroads into the market, following the company’s decision in 2008 to diversify away from its roots in security, and to provide gateline, call centre, cleaning and crowd control staff to its TOC clients.
It was a natural fit for STM. Subsequently, its annual revenue has risen sharply, from £ 2.5 million in 2008 to the £ 27m it registered in its last published accounts - 85% of which now comes from the rail sector.
According to Hannah Bridgman, STM’s customer service director, the key to this rapid growth has been the company’s belief in sharing best practice, continuous improvement and innovation. By working with several TOCs across the country, she says STM is well placed to apply the lessons learned from working in allied environments to new and existing clients, adding value to its commercial relationships at the same time.
Now, over a year into its contract with MTR Crossrail (which operates services on a 20-mile stretch of the Great Eastern Main Line from London Liverpool Street to Shenfield) STM has already introduced a number of initiatives, intended to raise the standard of customer service above and beyond its contractual obligations. And it has pledged to continue with this dedication and commitment. Supporting the client when the TfL Rail route becomes a part of the Elizabeth line in 2018, and then December 2019, when the full EL route opens, it has declared a commitment to continue exceeding those targets.
“In our tender to win the MTR Crossrail contract, we detailed lots of the lessons learned from working with other TOCs,” said Bridgman.
“We talked about the benefits of offering staff guaranteed hours contracts to achieve a high-quality service and utilising our staff in multifunctional roles by cross-training to provide greater business continuity and service delivery to both our client and their customers. We learnt from our other clients, London Overground for example, that this level of multi-functionality allows us to address and support our client from first to last service. Meanwhile, experience has taught us that it was often the same people who were fair dodging at many locations. Therefore, the advantage of cross-training staff and focusing them on being responsible for not only security but ticketless travel, gateline manning, proactive customer service delivery and so on has led to staff reporting fare evaders which could, potentially, lead to antisocial behaviour - especially late at night.
“At some stations, revenue protection and the perception of safety has improved dramatically because these changes were made.
“It is an important challenge for STM to ensure that all passengers using rail infrastructure where our staff are deployed have a positive travelling experience and remain safe and secure.”
As the client-customer relationship continued to develop, STM increased the pace of new initiatives being introduced, based on best practice learned from working with other clients. Bridgman says that the company’s ‘proudest and most effective’ initiative is the
We have supported MTR Crossrail with 37 interventions which may have otherwise resulted in a fatality. HANNAH BRIDGMAN, Customer Service Director, STM Group UK.
partnership with South West Trains, Network Rail and the British Transport Police, under the customer service contract STM has had with SWT since 2010.
Together, the four parties have developed a specialist team, which can be deployed to help identify vulnerable members of the public and provide proactive assistance in a sympathetic but robust way.
The Samaritans deliver training to staff, who wear uniforms with a blue high-vis vest to make them easily recognisable for the role they are carrying out. The team also continually review information on previous fatalities to identify individual and repeat locations. By assessing these statistics, targeted solutions and interventions can then be implemented, such as fixing fences or deploying suitably trained staff to certain stations.
“We have supported MTR Crossrail with 37 interventions which may have otherwise resulted in a fatality,” added Bridgman.
“We’ve worked heavily with TfL Rail and South West Trains on training to see how all staff should engage with vulnerable people and show them how much we care.
“The ultimate target for this initiative is to eliminate fatalities completely on the railway, where possible.”
To mitigate the emotional impact on staff who witness traumatic incidents, such as fatalities, STM has donated £ 3,000 to the Railway Mission this year - a charity that supports railway staff through the difficult aftermath.
STM is also working with its TOC clients on programmes to raise awareness of its frontline staff in other areas, and to spot the characteristics of other vulnerable people, such as children, who have run away from home.
Another crucial part of STM’s partnerships with its clients is the level of its community involvement.
“We work with TfL Rail and adapt its ‘adopt a station’ concept, involving our directors and head office staff to offer new ideas of ways to improve stations and often report specific problems ahead of refurbishment projects.
“Our people, including our most senior staff, also regularly go out on litter picks to improve station environments for our clients and passengers alike.”
Bridgman added: “We have made a commitment to work in partnership with TOCs to meet the needs of both the businesses and their customers.
“The ongoing initiative to improve the perception of safety and security is a collaborative responsibility, and proactive customer service delivery is an integral part of providing that reassurance.”