Positive and productive

Having recently taken on a new route and proven to be extremely productive in short order, Paul Walker was named Newcastle LD’s employee of the month for August 2018.

‘Paul is keen to do well with route excellence, preparing his manifest each morning to provide accurate times to customers and seeking feedback to see how he has done and where he can improve,’ said Operations Manager Stephen Darnell. ‘Throughout August, he was particularly helpful with deliveries in the Northumberland area - he picked up work from all surrounding routes, which helped us move work around and lapse duties while still maintaining high quality of service for customers.’

As a case in point, he has assisted with a route that had to be covered at short notice due to sick absence. ‘He immediately offered assistance to cover some of the work which is close to his route and he covered the majority of the daily collections,’ explained Stephen, adding that Paul’s positive attitude has inspired other drivers to muck in and help out. ‘He worked with the other drivers to organize and balance the extra workload for everyone.’

During August, Paul also came off his own route to cover a vacant owner driver duty, which was very demanding; then went on to train an agency driver to perform this difficult rural route. ‘Paul checked with the driver every day to make sure he was confident before he left the depot. Thanks to Paul's training and help, the agency driver is now clearing the route to a very high standard,’ said Stephen.