Local bus company Arriva North East is celebrating this week after being accredited with Gold Investors in People status. 

Investors in People Gold is described as an achievement of ‘world class best practice’ and means that a company is considered to have the highest standards of people management and development. This places Arriva North East in the top tier of companies to work for across the country.

The company employs over 1500 colleagues with depots in Ashington, Blyth, Newcastle, Durham, Darlington, Stockton, Redcar and Whitby.

Nick Knox, area managing director for Arriva North East, said: “We are so proud and absolutely delighted  to have been awarded the Gold Investors in People standard. This prestigious accreditation is in recognition of the commitment and passion our employees show in delivering local bus services to our customers across the North East. Our  colleagues are at the heart of everything we do, as day in day out they ensure that our passengers get where they need to be. Running bus services is all about people.”

Roger Bradshaw, Investors in People Specialist, said: “Arriva has demonstrated a long term sustained commitment to continuous improvement recognising that  improvement across all the depots and head office can only be achieved by effectively leading, managing, supporting, training, valuing and recognising its people. 

This has meant the involvement and inclusion of people at every level and in every role in the business. the culture has changed and continues to change. 

The sound approaches taken have resulted in innovation such as Va Va Voom, an engineering initiative that has had a significant impact in transferring ownership for improved performance to people in the business.