SVR General Discussion

Many of those on the NYMR breathed a sigh of relief when a previous GM who possessed those same attributes left!

 

I used to be a big fan of experience of your industry is more important than pure management skills. However in my working life I witnessed a number of highly qualified engineers who could not manage their way out of a paper bag, and skilled Procurement Managers who were all the right talk but no actual practical action. In fact at one stage most of my senior managers staged a successful "coup" to remove the director who was useless, and perhaps by then also had mental issues. Of course we lower level mortals only found out "the coup" & about how it actually happened later.
So I guess what I am really saying is that it needs to be the right person with the right skills. That may be someone who worked their way up, but equally an outside view at times is the only thing that can work.
For the SVR (or any company really) an appeal, or asking staff to "contribute" in some way to day to day operating costs is a big ask without a business plan publically showing how this is going to fix things and I am unsure this has been achieved.
On a far larger scale I think back to 9/11 and the support airlines got from their staff to make the company survive, partly because airlines were honest about the mess they had suddenly found themselves in through no fault of their own, the fact that airport ramps were full of parked up aircraft, deliveries postponed and suppliers asked to "contribute", among many other things showed action was being taken.
Now with an organisation such as an HR relying on large numbers of volunteers you cannot save money by asking them to take 6 months or a year off, or contribute 20% of a non existent salary. You will not be a big enough organisation to get suppliers to contribute. But you need something to take your working members, armchair members, let alone the public, along with you.
I am unsure what that is, and maybe there is way more that has been published than is on the link to the appeal from the front page of the SVR website, but I feel uneasy when I see organisation talking about chasing revenue rather than profit or no stated cost reduction beyond existing redundancies.
There is of course great truth in the fact that Covid and the impact of the war were unforeseen, but those apply to all companies, big and small and every individual throughout the country.
Supporting a project (shed, restoration etc) has a stated end goal, and circumstances may delay or change those goals (e.g. Wareham service or carriage shed in my neck of the woods), but you do know what you are donating to.
"Give us money to keep us going" is a far bigger ask, which I think the WSR discovered last year.
I wish the SVR well, but at the moment from what I have seen, I am far from sure that there are not more worthy causes elsewhere.

 

Some might suggest that those sighs of relief were premature, and that the motto of "beware what you ask for" be emphasised.

 

I'm glad you don't run my employer's business. The point about schemes like furlough was that they shielded companies and people - they were not "good for firms" but helped prevent them going bust when they couldn't earn much or anything. Any business needs to both manage its costs AND grow revenue; focusing on what costs were avoided just misses the point.

 

Even though I encouraged the present GM to apply I would have to agree that he has been underwhelming of late, after a decent start. Morale improved greatly, notably at the MPD, and he made a good start with the mbwo but I think that has fallen off somewhat, and I think he has also been hamstrung to a degree by earlier decisions - notably Whitby running which imho has proved to be a great strain both on costs and human resources. He's also swallowed the "Managementspeak for Dummies" book whole and regurgitates it a piece at a time. I also don't think that some of his management team are not that great, particularly in terms of engaging with the line's enthusiast supporters. The report overall is one of mixed progress but could do better. But I think there are few who who would want to revert to his predecessor.

 

I'll also just observe that any employee operates in a context, and that context may determine how successful they can - or cannot - be.

 

Do you think it right to discuss someone's job performance in such detail in an online forum such as this?
At least you think his management team are great, so that's good.
Ian

 

Why would it not be OK?
The railway is supported by volunteers, shareholders and a supporting charitable Trust, all of whom will have opinions about how the railway is performing. The GM is a paid employee so all involved in the railway are entitled to an opinion on his work performance.
I think you've been around the WSR for too long.

 

April’s Branch Lines e-newsletter is available at https://www.svrlive.com/blapr23

 

I was trying to be honest, but I do feel a sense of "bunker mentality" has descended on the NYMR management as a whole, which is perhaps not the best way to deal with a volunteer organisation where volunteer numbers have fallen away. On the other hand, the NYMR has done well financially in recent years, in grant generating terms. Although I think a significant proportion is down to its fundraising volunteers, the paid staff will undoubtedly contributed as well, so I think my summation was not unfair, its not perfection personified either!

 

I was somewhat alarmed at an article penned in a magazine the other month that seemed to amount to "Stop bothering us, let us get on with the job because we know best". I can understand where the frustration comes from, no doubt an awful lot of bilge goes in that direction, but there is no doubt also an awful lot of volunteers who don't feel they are being included in whatever journey the NYMR is on. I'd be thinking I need to try harder to bring these people with me, not write articles desperately asking them to leave us to it.

 

I'm getting confused is this the SVR or NYMR thread !!

 

I have deliberately spent some time away from here, so a few thoughts...

1. Having considered what's been said, I *will* be contributing to the SVR finanically. I will also be attending the imminent gala as a paying customer, making additional spends on the railway, etc. However, if we all found ourselves back here in a couple of years then I'm sure I'd be much less inclined to do it again.
2. Connected to 1 above, someone a few pages back suggested hand-in-pocket now, hard questions later. I think the hard questions need to happen simultaneously, not afterwards. Partly so we can see what answers we get, and partly because hard questions need to be asked *before* it's too late to do anything about any issues raised.
3. The Kidder Shuttle article linked to earlier had the usual absurdities in the comments, but also serious points. e.g. one person complained that they could no longer buy a KR-BY return. I don't know whether this is accurate, it was news to me anyway. With my Bewdley hat on, we always used to get a smallish number of people who came to Bewdley from Kidder for the day and did so by train. If that's gone, it's rather a shame for the town.
4. I won't make any comment on SVR staffing matters as I have no knowledge on these.
5. The current SVR timetable is unappealing, I think most agree with this. However, for *leisure visitors* as opposed to enthusiasts, a message of "come while it's poor so it's still there when it's better" isn't very appealing either. If I had no local or emotional connection with the SVR and was looking for somewhere to bring a family, I wouldn't currently consider it.

 

Re no. 3. This person is talking nonsense. It is most definitely still available, though is now a somewhat unappealing £11 for adult, £7.50 for a child/member.
Unless of course said person tried to travel on a gala when normal fares are suspended.

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depends what you compare it against. As a habitual Kidderminster to Bewdley traveller who used to use the train to go to work (in the late 1990s, obviously afternoon shifts) it was about £3, but so was a taxi (both each way, not return). I used to take my bike for free and cycle back on the evening.

Not used a Kidderminster-Bewdley taxi lately but I expect it would be a tenner each way. I know you can split a taxi by the occupants but as a single traveller a train vs a taxi Kidderminster to Bewdley is now apparently half the price.

If anything, it feels like either taxis are profiteering or the trains are off the pace…

 

I sense a new orthodoxy being created at the moment. Railways can only survive by becoming arts council funded museums and this will also entail more professional managers and staff.

Like all orthodoxy it has elements of truth about it, but shouldn’t be pushed to the point where it becomes dogma.

Forgetting what got us to where we are, good and bad, is a recipe for repeating mistakes.

Good relationships are more critical than ever, not less. I worry that it is become a race to see whether heritage railways can alienate their volunteers faster than they run out of money.

There are a lot of risk averse, poor communicating, and frightened directors that feel powerless to navigate their way out of the perfect storm that they perceive around them.

Watch the railways that care for their volunteers. Those are the ones (big and small) that will weather the storms best.

 

Also worth remembering that what ACE giveth, ACE can taketh away. See English National Opera for how arbitrary that process can be.


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‘Yes Bluebell Railway, we will give you £2m, but there’re too many wealthy people in Sussex. You have to move everything to Hartlepool’

 

I wonder how many volunteers would vote to "sell their independence" given how much money, time, effort, (I could include the Churchillian blood, toil, tears and sweat) countless hundreds have expended over many decades. After all he who pays the Piper, calls the tune. Furthermore can you see the Arts Council funding the KESR, Spa Valley and The Bluebell (apologies for singling you out) given their relative close proximity and in the perceived wealthy south east of England.

The Arts Council will have to have incredibly deep pockets if it has to start paying the wages of all the staff on a volunteer railway on any given day. They will then have to employ wages staff, an HR Manager, an HR Managers assistant (have you not noticed that all HR Managers need an assistant). Then the paid staff will want to join a trade union...........there will then have to be a Personnel Director.... it will go on and on until the Arts Council say they will have to trim £2M off the wage bill and there will be redundancies and service cuts.