HRM Assessment

Contents

1. Introduction to First Group and First TransPennine Express
2. Recruitment and selection
3. Training and Development
4. Equal Opportunities and Managing Diversity

1. Introduction to First Group and First TransPennine Express
FirstGroup plc is the leading transport operator in the UK and North America with revenues of over £6 billion a year. FirstGroup employ more than 130,000 staff and transport some 2.5 billion passengers a year. The Group is the biggest bus and rail operator in the United Kingdom, running more than one in five of all local bus services and operates one quarter of the UK passenger rail network.
FirstGroup operates four passenger franchises (First Capital Connect, First Great Western, First ScotRail and First TransPennine Express) and one open access operator (First Hull Trains). First TransPennine Express (FTPE) runs inter-city train services on three main routes across the North of England. FTPE link Liverpool and Manchester with Leeds, York and the North East, with Sheffield and Doncaster, and with the Lake District and beyond. In December 2007 FTPE rail network expanded to link Manchester with Glasgow and Edinburgh.
2. Recruitment and selection
Applicants should have a look at the FirstGroup Careers website where they can find all current vacancies both in First TransPennine Express and other FirstGroup businesses in the UK.
Applicants will be prompted to apply for UK Jobs. They will need to set up an account using an email address. This will allow the Human Resources department to contact applicants with regard to their applications. This will also allow to log in and out of the form so applicants can take a break during the application. There is a 120 minute time limit to complete an application - if the application takes longer applicants can click on ‘Save as Draft’. The application will not be submitted to FirstGroup until the ‘Submit’ button is clicked. The Human Resources department will look at the application on the basis of the information provided by applicants.
Once applicants submit applications they will receive an acknowledgement email from the Human Resources department. Once the Human Resources department have reviewed applications they will contact applicants again by email to outline what the next steps are.
For some roles, they will also ask applicants to attend an assessment centre. There, they will use a variety of methods to determine whether applicants have the skills and capabilities needed to succeed in the role.
The format of your assessment will depend upon the job they have applied for, but may consist of a mixture of classroom-based tests, group exercises, presentations or interviews at one or more stages. When applicants are invited to attend an assessment centre the Human Resources department will let them know beforehand what to expect and how to prepare for the day.
The Human Resources department will contact applicants by the email address they provided in applications as soon as they are able to update them on their applications or interviews and assessments.
3. Training and Development
Training Academy
The First TransPennine Express Training Academy has been established to offer structured and focused training and development for all of the Company's employees. Before embarking on any activity FTPE must first of all ensure that the Training & Development Plan is focused on the achievement of the FTPE’s business objectives and the development needs of the employees. This is done by undertaking a training needs analysis which involves consulting with a sample of employees and managers at every level to identify how best to access their full potential. This will enable The Academy to focus its resources in those areas most beneficial to the FTPE and to individual employees.
An agreed Training & Development Plan will be distributed throughout the FTPE and will be accessible to all employees through Newsletters, meetings with Line Managers and the intranet. The six monthly performance review process will identify which programmes are most suited to individual development needs.
The Academy intends to provide high quality training venues which are conducive to effective learning and development and being easily accessible from the employees’ normal place of work.
NVQs
Where training is undertaken away from the normal workplace each employee will receive a Certificate of Attendance from The Training Academy. This certificate will confirm that the employee has attended a particular programme, for example Customer Service Training.
Back in the workplace the employee must then be able to apply their newly acquired skills and knowledge in their normal everyday work. Once the employee is able to undertake the activity confidently and to a consistently high standard they are then recognised to have achieved a level of competence.
With the introduction of National Vocational Qualifications First TransPennine Express provides the opportunity to recognise their achievements through a framework of railway specific qualifications.
4. Equal Opportunities and Managing Diversity
FirstGroup Equal Opportunity Policy ensures that the Group promote a working environment which ensures that everyone respects individuals, irrespective of gender, status, race or religion. This applies to all aspects of the Group activities, from recruitment to training and assessing to progression.
FirstGroup is an equal opportunities employer, committed to increasing the diversity of its workforce. However, some groups are less well represented than others, in particular women in the Company’s UK operations and in the Board room.
Through the Group’s succession planning programme, FirstGroup aim to improve the diversity of representation in senior management positions. FirstGroup also working with Women 1st and the 'Step Up' course, a skills sector programme to support female junior managers develop essential skills required to become future senior managers and board members.
FirstGroup also been looking at recruitment processes to ensure they do not discriminate against female candidates. Evidence to date suggests that the Group’s new online recruitment processes are encouraging more women to seek work with FirstGroup.
FirstGroup monitor the number of women who apply for the Company’s jobs and their success rate. The success rate of female applicants is currently higher than their male counterparts. Last year one third of FirstGroup graduate intake was female.
To address some of the other barriers that might discourage women from joining the driving workforce, FirstGroup is consulting with the trade unions on the role played by shift patterns and working hours in deterring women from entering the driving profession and how these barriers can be overcome.
New diversity and equality training for supervisors and management has been developed and is available across the Group to raise awareness and the importance of diversity within the workplace.
FirstGroup also participate actively in diversity discussions with its industry peers. The Group is represented on the Railway Stakeholder LGBT forum and Glasgow Employer Diversity Forum, and regularly attend Stonewall events.