60 SECONDS WITH... MATT HAYES

Every Month on Exchange Extra, we take sixty seconds out to get to know our team. Follow us on our journey to connect all members of our network.

This month we celebrate the progression of service delivery manager, Matt Hayes!

Name: Matt Hayes

Job title: Level 1 delay attributor, now service delivery manager

Location: Camden Road (Managing Hampstead Heath to Highbury & Islington)

Hi Matt! Please sum up your role in one sentence My role is to ensure the highest levels of customer satisfaction through my assigned team and my stations are safe, secure, and welcoming.  

Tell us about your journey to ARL… I joined the railway in 2009 as a Revenue Protection Officer and then as an onboard catering host at Virgin Trains. I left for a few years to work as Cabin Crew for British Airways; I then re-joined the railway as a Guard for East Midlands Railway Intercity before deciding to join ARL in their Control department.

What do you enjoy about working at ARL? Mostly the people, everyone I meet is supportive and friendly. There is a sense of pride and a willingness to provide the best service possible for our city. I like that Arriva promotes learning and development and offers many opportunities for career progression in ARL and across the Arriva group.

In your career so far, what are you most proud of? I'm proud of where I am today; I grew up on the Overground and watched it go from strength to strength. I am proud to be able to make a difference in the way people travel around my city. 

Tell us about your most memorable railway trip… I remember as a child taking a steam train from Paignton to Dartmouth, it was fantastic, and that memory has stayed with me.

If you could book a ticket to any destination, where would you go? A journey aboard the El Transcantabrico Gran Lujo, Spain's most luxurious train, for a memorable trip of 8 days and 7 nights between Santiago de Compostela and San Sebastian. If Arriva could make that part of our staff travel, that would be brilliant!

ARL is committed to the internal progression, growth and development of colleagues and over the past year, more than one third of vacancies were filled internally.