Matt Watson

I came to Southern in 2005 and found there was a pressing need to change the way HR strategy was approached, planned and implemented. While there were some great ideas, HR activity was not aligned with the company’s vision to “think like a passenger”.

I wanted to ensure we really understood what was going on, so we began with a combination of assessments and focus groups. A group of front-line managers undertook a European Foundation of Quality Management self-assessment, which identified how effective HR was from their perspective. A more systematic business assurance audit of what people processes were being used and with what impact was also carried out. Focus groups took place with front-line staff and the HR team carried out Pestle and Swot analyses.