Sharon’s story

Doing the deputy role gave me the confidence to apply for a manager role.

Sharon

SQE Compliance Manager

Before joining LOROL (now ARL), Sharon was a chauffeur but after a career break she decided to look for a new challenge and spotted LOROL's advert in the Metro for Conductors. She got the job and really enjoyed it, finding the mix of safety critical duties and dealing with the public both challenging and different.

Over the next couple of years, Sharon got the chance to work on projects such as Health and Safety risk assessments. She was delighted when the work she did on risk assessment was held up as the model of best practice in a previous rail company. The contact Sharon had with management through her project work gave her the confidence to apply for the role of Deputy Conductor Manager when it was advertised in 2006.

In April 2008 Sharon applied for and was successful for a Conductor Manager role and hasn't looked back since. She says: "doing the deputy role gave me the confidence to apply for a manager role as I already had some of the experience I would need and had the chance to do some of the duties to see if I liked it."

“In the next step of my career I wanted to find out more about other aspects of the business, so I was delighted when the SQE Audit & Compliance Manager role came up and I was successful in applying for it. This has been a great role for me and has drawn on all of my previous experience, skills and training and has helped develop my understanding of all aspects of the business and wider rail industry.”

Sharon feels that the company has changed considerably in the time she has been here. "Senior managers and directors are much more hands on and really interested in talking to staff out and about in the business."