Reading Buses has been shortlisted for the Leadership Team of the Year category in the Thames Valley 250 Awards.
The awards are open to the 250 top performing businesses by turnover based in the Thames Valley region and this year recognise companies’ dedication to keeping the local area moving during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I felt that an entry in this category would rightly reflect what a great locally based senior team I’m delighted to lead, and the significant effort that has gone in dealing with COVID-19 while also keeping the business afloat,” says Reading Buses Chief Executive Officer Robert Williams. “Businesses have faced huge, unprecedented challenges over the last 18 months, none more so than at Reading Buses where services needed to keep running even though people were being advised not to use them by government.
“Keeping key workers connected, and an organisation running, when the vast majority of employees can’t work from home – drivers, cleaners and engineers – and the majority of your income has disappeared, and then attempting to build back, has been a huge challenge.
“Our leadership team has done a great job in keeping things going by maintaining processes, working tirelessly to ensure the correct service levels are running and that all employees were safe and well themselves. This enabled our team to help keep other businesses and organisations across the Thames Valley connected with their employees.
“Clearly, such an achievement is not possible without a fantastic team of frontline employees, including our drivers and those behind the scenes in engineering and support roles. As such, our leadership team represents the whole of Reading Buses.
“We have been rightly proud and vocal about our employees’ hard work and dedication throughout the pandemic and I feel that this shortlisting is another opportunity to thank the team, and especially our senior team. It is also an opportunity to help generate greater engagement with bus travel in the local business community as the solution to connecting with workforces, reducing carbon emissions and making the area a more attractive place to live and work.”