British Transport Police (BTP) won the Forward Thinkers of the Year award in Coaching Culture’s 2022 awards, for its innovative use of technology.
Other award winners were Coutts (Trust Builders of the Year), Kainos (Culture of Belonging), AND Digital (Be more Human), PSS (HR Team of the Year), Mike Bedford from ESFA (Coaching Leader of the Year) and PSS (Coaching Culture of the Year).
BTP was acknowledged for its coaching and mentoring app which automates the matching of coaches and mentors with clients. “We’ve set up an internal coaching and mentoring service. All our coaches and mentors undertake this work voluntarily and on top of their day job. Our coaching and mentoring community are all qualified coaches and/or experienced mentors. The service enables police officers and police staff to access support with career development, wellbeing, self-limiting beliefs and personal or professional goals.
“Technology has enabled us to make this a more efficient service, as we have a coaching app that enables coachees and mentees to select a coach or mentor whose profiles fit their needs for an initial chemistry review meeting,” said Sandra Wilson, BTP coaching and mentoring lead.
The app is just one of many technological features BTP has invested in to help with its “organisational culture of empowerment and shared learning” where its people, its “biggest asset, can thrive”.
BTP was partly prompted to improve technology by the COVID pandemic, along with the commitment from its new chief constable, who joined mid-pandemic, to transform leadership and use a coaching approach to empower and develop its workforce. Personal laptops and mobile technology became more commonly used and Microsoft Teams embraced, allowing ease of access to the pool of coaches and mentors.
Optimising mobile phones to access platforms, such as online learning management system MyLearn, Yammer and Teams, has meant even patrolling officers can participate in coaching CPD sessions. Yammer, which enables a private group for coaches and mentors to communicate, support and engage with each other, has boosted coach socialising and networking, making it easier to recommend resources, communicate events and news, and allow the coaching and mentoring community to access peer support.