Dunfermline supervisor awarded top prize at inaugural Stagecoach Excellence Awards

• First ever internal Excellence Awards for Stagecoach employees across the UK
• Over 800 nominations received
• Categories included “Green Champion”, “Safety Advocate” and “Customer Champion”

With a team of over 23,000 employees, Stagecoach, the UK’s largest bus and coach operator, has celebrated its colleagues' achievements with its own internal Excellence Awards, hosted at the London Transport Museum on Tuesday 20 February.

Stagecoach employees nominated their colleagues via their intranet site called ‘Blink’ and celebrated ten categories ranging from ‘Customer Champion’ to ‘Unsung Hero’.

Over 800 nominations were received recognising individuals from across the organisation and country, and after careful review from the operator's Executive team, the phenomenal list of nominations were whittled down to the awards finalists.

The winners received their awards amongst peers on Tuesday night (February 20), with a total of eight Stagecoach Operating Companies celebrating a winner. Alongside this, two winners came from the Customer Service Centre, and one winner from Stagecoach Support Functions.

Announced as a surprise at the end of the night, the “Pride of Stagecoach” category was awarded to East Scotland Supervisor Neil Graham. Based in Stagecoach’s Dunfermline depot, Neil Graham received several nominations from colleagues for consistently going the extra mile, with comments such as “he finds solutions and strives to make things work”, “Neil takes pride in his job and makes the depot the best it can be” and “his positive attitude really boosts moral to fellow drivers”.

Neil, who is from Dunfermline, picked up a trophy honouring the award, in addition to winning a £2,000 holiday voucher to spend with Hays Travel. Upon return to work at Dunfermline depot, he was welcomed by colleagues who had put up photos of him all around the depot, showing just how valued and appreciated he is by the local team.

Lee Strachan, Dunfermline Depot Operations Manager, said: “Neil is a much loved and valued member of the team in Dunfermline Depot, having worked with Stagecoach since 2013 as a PCV driver, then progressing to Traffic Supervisor in 2019.

“Neil is real team player, that has a “can do” attitude to anything. He goes above and beyond for colleagues, customers, and the depot overall, assisting drivers, engineers, fellow supervisors and the management team on a daily basis.”

In addition to Neil, Stagecoach East Scotland Inspector, Gary Marshall, was also nominated in the “Safety Advocate” category for his passion and commitment in safety and the initiatives he has delivered locally to create a safer workplace for his colleagues.

Douglas Robertson, Stagecoach East Scotland Managing Director, said: “It was a delight to celebrate the many wonderful people at Stagecoach at our first Excellence Awards this week, especially Neil and Gary from the East Scotland team.

“With over 800 nominations across our 23,000 staff, the judging panel found picking winners extremely difficult, so we’re over the moon for Neil to have taken the “Pride of Stagecoach” top award. This is a massive achievement for Neil and he is truly deserving of this fantastic award.”