All Change please

Last night I experienced a longer than usual return journey from London to Hereford. Boarding the 18.22 from Paddington, along with a few thousand others I commenced my 3.5 hour journey home. I know it's not fashionable to say this but I actually quite like trains. Usually I find them more laid back than air travel, less tiring than driving, and more comfortable than buses or trams.

With three hours under our travelling belt, our journey was halted by the news that a rail had broken up ahead and the train would not be able to reach its destination. The train Manager advised us to stay put in the warm, it had dropped to around 0c outside, and he would advise us what was to happen next.

I was relatively confident that neither I or any other passenger had a spare rail, high temperature welding equipment or the necessary skills and certifications to fix the problem so psychologically I entered the – 'powerless to change my situation state' - at which point things began to get interesting.

The train crew knew exactly what to do. They followed a well-practiced protocol and began gathering us together in a single carriage, counting and recounting everyone. 

I walked almost the length of the now mostly empty 8 coach train and found myself in 'Carriage B' with the other final passengers, around 20 people. It has to be said that this was an extremely diverse and eclectic group of travellers. We had the worried grandparents, the confused non English speaker, the hard-bitten moaner, the snoring drunk, the uber geek, the visually impaired man and his guide dog, plus several anxious individuals returning to their care home from a day out, and the usual mix of business travellers. I was almost convinced that at any moment Hercules Poirot would appear telling us all that we were on the orient express… however, I reminded myself this was real life and not an Agatha Christie novel. 

The Great Western train crew did everything right. They managed uncertainty, kept us informed, met immediate needs by handing out drinks and snacks, worked out the key stakeholder requirements and met those first and were visibly active in organising the taxi's that were intended to take us onto our various stations. I have to admit I watched it all with my professional change management hat on thinking well done GWR.

Meanwhile the diverse passengers were slowly moving into the 'shared experience' which leads to the beginnings of a group forming. Adrian our visually impaired person and 'Crumble' his dog provided something around which people could rally and feel useful supporting. The Train crew got us off the train into the cold night air of Great Malvern station to some grumbling, but I made a mental note as to how effective free drinks, crisps and biscuits are at softening the blow.

Slowly the taxis came and our numbers reduced until there were four people and one dog waiting for the taxi to Hereford supported by the Train crew who never left us despite their train moving off. They supported us all through the process remaining cheerful and supportive throughout.

So, there we were no longer strangers. 'Crumble' our nominated team leader, Adrian, Helen the international Banker, Luke who had taken responsibility for Adrian and looked after him making sure he and 'Crumble' were first into the car, and me. Chatting and laughing with our taxi driver finding out it would be Helen's birthday in an hours' time, praising 'Crumble' for her excellent behaviour we made our way through the frosty foggy Herefordshire countryside to the station.

Mission accomplished for GWR. Apart from one tiny accidental mistake. Somehow Adrian's bag with his special phone, money and keys to his home had been lifted out of the taxi by the driver, who hadn’t realised it was Adrian's, and passed to the train crew as lost property just before we set off.  By this time the crew were well on their way back to Bristol along with the bag.

So we found ourselves outside a closed Hereford station at midnight in freezing weather. They say you should judge a society by how it treats its most vulnerable members and Luke and I looked at each other and, unspoken, agreed that there was no way Adrian and Crumble were being abandoned. We tried locksmiths, the emergency services, the Landlords. Both my phones ran out of power and still we couldn’t find a way to get him home. The tone had gone from Agatha Christie to Planes trains and automobiles and was on its way to Apollo 13… Eventually we agreed that we would try the local Police station and if that failed, Adrian and Crumble would go home with Luke as he lived nearer than I. 'Crumble' looked a little less certain when she discovered that Luke had cats not dogs and no dog food however being the trooper she is she went with the flow. 

So, at 2.00am I finally got home and reflected over the usual British cup of tea. From a process perspective everything had worked perfectly. From a style and approach perspective GWR had done an excellent job of managing the unforeseen situation. However, from an outcome perspective their most vulnerable stakeholder had suffered a really negative experience. 

The lesson for me was that yes you have to have excellent contingency planning, and training. You do have to have competence and experience in the mix. 

Last night I was reminded that you also need some compassion and humanity. Managing change is not a job to be done by 'bots' or remotely or offshore. It's not about who has the best accelerators, or methodologies. This is about people.

John Hunter - December 2019