First Bus celebrates frontline colleagues

First Bus has hosted its inaugural ‘Our Way’ Awards to recognise and celebrate frontline colleagues across the business.

Colleagues gathered at London’s St Pancras Renaissance Hotel on 17 April, where TV presenter Steph McGovern presented the awards.

The awards involved a robust nomination and shortlisting process, comprising two rounds of judging by independent panels and chaired by First Bus Managing Director, Janette Bell.

The first four categories focused on colleagues that embody the company’s ‘Our Way’ values – Always Care, Do What’s Right, Shape the Future and Succeed Together.

Always Care Winner – Kerry Turner, First Travel Solutions

An additional Heroic Contributions category was added during the judging process to recognise colleagues who had gone above and beyond the call of duty to keep their customers and the public safe.

First Bus Chief People Officer, Kevin Green, said: “The Our Way Awards are the latest part of the wider business transformation here at First Bus, as we strive to create a culture where our colleagues feel valued, supported and listened to.

“Putting our people first and recognising the fantastic work they do for our customers each and every day is crucial.

“As the backbone of our business, it’s important we take the time to celebrate their success and give them the credit they deserve for going above and beyond. A huge congratulations to our winners and those shortlisted – they should be very proud of what they’ve achieved.”

The 2024 ‘Our Way’ award winners were:

• Always Care – Kerry Turner (First Travel Solutions)
• Do What’s Right – Emma Murphy (First Travel Solutions)
• Shape the Future – Leicester Electrification Team (Manchester, Midlands & South Yorks – Winner), Chloe Way (Specialist Passenger Solutions – Highly Commended)
• Succeed Together – Marsh Street Operations Team (Wales & West)
• Learning Excellence Award – Hasan Girach (Manchester, Midlands & South Yorks – Winner), Chloe Moncrieff-Jury (South & South West – Highly Commended), Morgan Bond (Wales & West – Highly Commended)
• Lifetime Achievement Award – Ian Humphreys (Manchester, Midlands & South Yorks)
• Most Improved Small Depot – Worcester (Winner), Overtown (2nd place), Cymru East (3rd place)
• Most Improved Medium Depot – Portsmouth (Winner), Dorset (2nd place), Chelmsford (3rd place)
• Most Improved Large Depot – Bath (Winner), Aberdeen (2nd place), Cornwall (3rd place)
• Heroic Contributions – Derek Milliken (Scotland), Darren Telford (Manchester, Midlands & South Yorks) and Jakub Malicki (East of England)