Our latest interview – Building a People-Centered Culture: insights with Kevin Green, Chief People Officer of First Bus
First Bus is a UK-based company with 14,000 employees that strives to be a great place to work. Kevin Green, the Chief People Officer, shares how he is transforming the company culture by putting colleagues and customers first, promoting employee engagement, and effectively communicating with a diverse team.
Leadership Approach
Kevin’s experience as an entrepreneur, CEO, and HRD of a FTSE 100 company has shaped his leadership approach. He values creating a culture where people feel valued, which is reflected in the company’s culture. To promote a more human culture across the company, Kevin introduced quarterly employee engagement surveys and a “Celebrating our Differences” development program for all managers.
Importance of Employee Engagement
Kevin emphasises the importance of employee engagement and experience, which drives the company’s people-centric strategy. Employee engagement surveys help First Bus understand the needs and experiences of their employees to make improvements. Kevin believes that companies should focus on employee engagement, diversity and inclusion, and communication to create an environment where employees feel valued and motivated to perform their best.
Communicating with a Diverse Team
First Bus has a diverse workforce, ranging from engineers to bus drivers, and Kevin believes in effective communication to reach all employees. He uses different communication methods such as videos, social media, and team meetings to effectively communicate with the team.
Challenges in Attracting and Retaining Bus Drivers
Attracting and retaining bus drivers is a common problem in the transportation sector. To overcome this challenge, Kevin emphasises the importance of providing a positive work environment, competitive benefits, and growth opportunities for employees.
Leadership Approach and Influences
Kevin’s approach to leadership is centered around creating a culture where employees feel valued, and he has learned from his experiences as an entrepreneur, CEO, and HRD of a FTSE 100 company. His passion for creating great cultures inspires him, and he is influenced by various individuals who have helped him develop his leadership skills.
Advice to Younger Self
Kevin advises his younger self to have more confidence and to take more risks. He believes that taking risks helps individuals grow and learn from their mistakes.
In this interview we asked:
Q1. Can you paint a picture of the culture of the organisation you work for now and how that differs from other cultures you have worked in?
Q2. How important is employee engagement/experience to you?
Q3. How do you communicate with a team ranging from engineers to bus drivers?
Q4. What are the challenges you face in attracting, training and retaining bus drivers?
Q5, How would you describe your approach to leadership and what have been your highlights and lowlights, if any!? What did you learn during the pandemic?
Q6. Who have been the major influences in your life? How so? What sustains your interest and motivation in your role at the First Bus?
Q7. What advice would you have given your younger self (18yo)?
Bio
Kevin is the Chief People Officer of First Bus – a division of FirstGroup. First Bus is a FTSE 250 Company and is one of the UK’s largest bus operators with 14,000 employees. In his time at First Bus, Kevin has kicked off a transformational people strategy, which will put colleagues and customers first. As part of this, People Centricity, at bottom-up change process, has started to roll-out across the business, driving a more human culture across First Bus where colleague behaviours are fully aligned to our purpose of ‘your journey is our everything’ and the First Bus values – or ‘Our Way’. Kevin has also introduced a step change on Diversity and Inclusion including the company-wide introduction of inclusion networks and a ‘Celebrating our Differences’ development programme for all managers. Quarterly employee engagement surveys are an integral part of ensuring that First Bus listens to its people and becomes a great place to work.
Kevin has been an entrepreneur, a CEO and HRD of a FTSE 100 company, he brings a wide range of skills and experience from each of these roles to assist the organisations he works with. He specialises in businesses that want to scale up or transform. Kevin has long been recognised as an award-winning business leader. He has worked with many leadership teams to maximise their performance by developing both unique customer offerings and differentiated people strategies which provide sustainable competitive advantage. His passion is creating great cultures where people want to give their best every day.
If you are a business owner or leader in an organisation and would like to be interviewed for the Q&R Listen.Better vodcast series in 2023 please do get in touch for an initial chat: tellmemore@questionandretain.co.uk