National Express had commissioned a number of research studies across 10,000 customers to find out what they wanted and the current level of customer satisfaction. The findings were formed into a cross divisional programme, containing 10 projects, to improve customer satisfaction and improve consistency across the three divisions (buses, coaches & trains).
The divisions were used to working in different ways and in different markets, so there was a real challenge trying to drive consistency across the projects.
Red Ant Consulting was commissioned by David Bird (Customer Service Director) to help structure the 10 projects into an overall change programme. This involved careful stakeholder management; action–focused workshops and practical project frameworks to make sure the programme moved forward and were appropriately monitored.
This resulted in a consistent approach being adopted across the 10 projects and across the different operating companies. The Board remained informed and was supportively involved throughout; Red Ant’s flexible approach meant that it worked at both the programme structuring level and the more pragmatic project delivery level. This was seen to greatly help maintain momentum on the programme, despite the implementation covering a range of initiatives across many operating companies.
The governance and programme structure helped the different divisions share knowledge and learning between them through good working relationships and trust, which contributed towards solutions being implemented sooner.
David Bird sums up the benefits: “Red Ant worked very well with everyone at all levels in National Express Group.” “Red Ant has a very flexible approach and understood the company culture and operating style. They managed relationships well, knowing when to push and when to back off. They helped structure the key areas of the programme and kept me informed of key areas to address.” David also recognised that Red Ant Consulting were “very active and responsive to development of requirements” and believes he got good value for money.
