Kier Transportation’s round table brought together key industry leaders on a collective mission to understand how flexible working can operate better in the transportation sector, particularly for site-based colleagues…

Kier Transportation hosted a roundtable at the Interchange conference in Manchester with some key industry leaders and a few of our own too, as we sought to understand how flexible working can operate better in the Transportation sector…

Their insights, opinions and experiences were invaluable to us learning so much.

Here are our top 5 takeaways:

1) Flexibility means giving a choice

Flexibility isn’t just about working from home. It’s about the ‘where’, the ‘when’ and the ‘how much’ too. Looking beyond hybrid working, there's opportunities in varied shift patterns, part-time, job sharing and self-rostering, and so much more!

2) Setting up our sites right is a real opportunity

A great case study is our A417 project, where we set up a city-centre office instead of having everyone directly on the site itself. It afforded greater flexibility for recruitment in Gloucestershire and saved on costs too.

3) We can learn from other sectors

Some parts of the NHS have introduced the self-rostering model. We all have our own preferences and commitments - allowing colleagues to control their roster can improve engagement and reduce absenteeism.

There's also more we can do to share learnings within Transportation through case studies.

4) Client input is extremely valuable

We’ve got the ability to demonstrate how we’re innovating with our offering and demonstrate the link between flexible working and KPI’s for clients.

5) Tracking our way forward

It's in our gift to change perceptions about what flexible working does for our people, our clients, and our bottom line (and back all that up with data!).

Thanks so much to everyone who participated in our roundtable and provided such valuable insights: Sonya Byers, Marie-Claude Hemming, Simon Higgens MBE FInstRE, Nicola Pease, Rachel Leyland FCIPD, Harriet Slatter, Lynsey Cunnington, Scott Cooper BEng CEng FICE FCIHT and Natalie Geraghty PgDiP MCIPR 🟡.

And here is some of the key feedback:

“It was great to hear about how Kier and others are making flexible working work in operational/site locations. It shows what can be done with the courage to push boundaries, learn and keep working together to make it work for everyone. Change is hard and it does take time but it’s definitely possible. I’d love to see and hear more of the flexible working stories from operational/shift based settings from within and outside of transport. Really enjoyed this session.”

Sonya Byers, CEO at Women in Transport

“We can absolutely give flexibility to our site-based colleagues, it just looks different to office-based colleagues. What’s important is giving choice!”

Nicola Pease, Flexible Working Activist and Leadership Coach

“It was a great session and I learnt much. Thank you for inviting me along.”

Simon Higgens MBE FInstRE, Business Development Director | Vice Chair, Rail Trade Association | Rail Safety Week Champion | Veteran

“A very Insightful discussion. Thoroughly enjoyed being a part of this and listening to everyone’s views and experiences.”

Natalie Geraghty, Director | Comms specialist

Kier would love to hear your ideas and experiences on how can the transportation sector practically improve its flexible working offering. If you want to join this conversation, please channel your input through Natalie Geraghty