On 2 February at Southampton’s St Mary’s Stadium we held the first ‘starry, starry night’ event, which recognised the positive work of our people at Bluestar. There were several presentations, including certificates honouring a 100% attendance within the year and for a cumulative 2 year period – which is obviously an great achievement for our driving staff who must maintain punctual services and are here to serve our customers day in, day out, and our engineers and admin team who keep things on the move behind the scenes.
A number of our staff who have achieved 100% attendance for two years running are seen here – (from left) Jim Bubb, John Barrett, Barry Stuart, Rio Kumar and Dominic Bailey. Tony Gibbs, Anthony Styles, Barry Paxton, Scott Beeching and Cliff Estell were also recognised for their achievements.
We also presented 11 of our driving staff with their NVQ2 certificates in ‘Public Service Vehicle Driving’ which combines excellent performance in customer care, driving skills and other disciplines with a recognised achievement.
Some of our NVQ2 achievers are seen here with Training Manager Ian Clarke and Mark Hughes from PDM Training & Consultancy who have helped deliver the training involved. From left – Karen Camfield, Sheila King, Paul Carver, Mark Hughes, John Wright, Linda Wellman and Ian Clarke. Well done also to those staff not pictured – Sue Endersby, Stuart Robson, Shane Hickman, David Skelton, Jacquie Marshall, Malcolm Briggs, Stephen Bocock, Martin Field and Lorenzo Bandini.
The biggest award of the night went to driver Rio Kumar, who won our first ‘Star Driver of the Year’ award. This recognised his outstanding work in customer care, driving skills and his all round positive performance and the cheerfulness he brings to the job. A committed individual, he has also a unblemished record in his attendance and time-keeping for four years. With a tear in his eye, Rio received a certificate and £100 voucher to honour his performance.
Rio Kumar receives his award from Operations Manager Alex Hornby (left) and Managing Director Alex Carter (right)