Bumper year for staff engagement allows train company to make significant donation to charity.
In a ceremony held at Birmingham New Street station, London Midland’s managing director, Patrick Verwer, handed the charity a cheque for £15,000. The Prince’s Trust runs training programmes, provides mentoring support and offers financial grants to build the confidence and motivation of disadvantaged young people.
Every year train operating company London Midland undertakes the Connect Survey, which invites all employees to share their views on working at the business. Engagement levels with this survey are directly linked to a funding pot for the Prince’s Trust. In 2017, 75 per cent of staff members took part, an unusually high level of engagement, particularly for a business in the transport sector. This high participation allowed London Midland to make the largest donation in the history of the survey.
The train operating company’s partnership with the Prince’s Trust has been in place for four years and forms a central part of the yearly Connect Survey.
Patrick Verwer, London Midland’s managing director, said: “This donation to the Prince’s Trust is really the icing on the cake for an excellent year at London Midland. We’ve worked incredibly hard to engage with our colleagues within the business and their enthusiasm towards the Connect Survey has allowed us to make this donation to a truly worthy cause.
“The Prince’s Trust undertakes admirable work across the country, helping and supporting young people. Their efforts align perfectly with our central aim of supporting and getting closer to the communities we serve.”
London Midland works closely with many charitable causes and giving back to the community is a particular focus for the business.
Lynsey Rice, head of HR at London Midland, added: “For a business of our size, which employs over 2,200 people, reaching these levels of engagement is a real achievement. It’s really encouraging to see our colleagues feeding back to senior management teams on how they feel about their day-to-day work. Everyone who participated should feel proud that they helped towards this donation to the Prince’s Trust.”
Linda Norville, senior head of programmes – Education, Training and Development at the Prince’s Trust, commented: “We are delighted that London Midland, again this year choose to support The Prince’s Trust as a beneficiary of their employee Connect Survey. Our partnership has and will continue to inspire young people through our programme and to achieve their aspirations. Thank you to all London Midland employees for their support of The Trust.”
