AllAll AboardAboard FIRST QUARTER 2015 NEWSLETTER FOR ALASKA RAILROAD EMPLOYEES Crossings: Updated company brand features new public-facing logo INSIDE... Alaska Railroad branding evolves Crossings: 0022 President’s Th ousands of Alaskans and visitors each year corporate communication with Message catch a glimpse of the Alas- stakeholders because it is an ka Railroad’s iconic blue important part of our history Crossings: and gold trains as they roll and identity. 0044 COO: More through towns and country- Moving forward, you Engagement side. Using a very distinctive will see the public-facing font, the word “ALASKA” logo in various styles, from Mileposts: is emblazoned on the side of standing alone with elegant 0055 Employee each railcar and locomotive, drop shadows and lines, to Recognition emphasizing our role in state instances where it is placed transportation. Our passen- into a gold and blue stripe Mileposts: ger trains are easily our most similar to the sides of our 0066 Longest-serving recognizable asset, and we’re trains. A company identity woman retires capitalizing on that familiarity Strategic Plan has new brand. and brand guide includes with a brand refresh, including the diff erent logo styles, along with clear guide- Crossings: a new public-facing logo. lines for how and when to use a particular style. Th e 0077 Real Estate Over the course of several months, our mar- guide is available to all, and will soon be posted on Update keting fi rm, Spawn Ideas, worked with leadership our employee web site. from each railroad department to develop a brand You will not see a lot of fanfare or an external SIDINGS: that underscores all of our business lines — freight, public campaign announcing the changes. Rather, 0088 CREATING A passenger and real estate. Spawn Ideas presented the rollout will happen in phases. We fi rst intro- CONNABOOSE dozens of inventive designs, but in the end, it made duced Railroaders to the new branding design and sense to mirror our well-established railcar and logo with the Strategic Plan. Since then we’ve hung Crossings: locomotive scheme. new company safety and values posters, revised our 0099 Retirement News We began with a cleaned up version of the letterhead, published advertisements and created “ALASKA” from our railcars, and added “RAIL- some gifts and giveaways that sport the new “look Sidings: ROAD” in larger, clearer lettering, which does not and feel.” In the coming weeks, supervisors will Lessons in get lost or unreadable at smaller sizes — a fatal fl aw follow-up with employees, providing more informa- 1100 Lighting in our corporate seal in terms of brand promotion. tion and new branded materials. Despite its graphic drawbacks, we know our corpo- In a few months, our new external web site will Crossings: rate seal is recognized by some Alaskans, especially feature the revamped brand. We will use up current New Chief Info those along the Railbelt or those with direct experi- stocks of stationary (letterhead, envelopes, business 1122 Offi cer ence or ties to the Railroad. Th e railroad’s corporate cards) before ordering the new. Logo apparel and seal will remain intact and will continue to be used items in our Gift Shop will be phased in as new Crossings: on some internal documents and more formal (See “Evolving Brand” on page 3) 1133 Financial News and Warning Wye of It: 1144 Railroad to the Rescue! President’s Message: Improving employee engagement and safety All Aboard Status on employee-focused initiatives 2 By President & CEO Bill O’Leary Available on our employee web site, the charter’s fi rst edition includes a 2014-2015 Engagement Ac- 1ST QTR 2015 In 2014, the Alaska Railroad began planning tion Plan, with dozens of initiatives that are already and implementing a number of initiatives aimed at completed or underway. improving employee engagement and safety. Below is a brief status of these initiatives. Communications Focus: Our executive man- agement team members are more accessible. Senior Employee Benefi ts: Our Human Resources leadership including myself regularly post news and (HR) team is providing more information than ever important information directly to employee emails. to help employees make good decisions. Quarterly We are out and about with scheduled in-person Benefi ts and Wellness Newsletters that began in fi eld visits, attending diff erent department staff 2014 will continue this year. Benefi ts Journals were meetings and training sessions, and welcoming new recently supplemented with a Medical Plan Tips employees during orientation. We are planning to Bill O’Leary and Tools brochure mailed to participants in the repeat last fall’s town hall meeting forums at least new Blue and Gold health plans. For retirement annually. Finally, our eff orts to rebuild the employee planning, employees get updated Summary Plan web site is nearing completion and should roll out Descriptions for the 401(k) Plan and the Pension early summer. Th e retooled external company web Plan, monthly retirement planning educational site will go live in 4-5 months. items, and access to Vanguard’s calendar of webinars and other online retirement planning tools. Employee Recognition: We are tweaking the program to tie into our company values (safety, New Employee Orientation: For months, integrity, teamwork, service excellence and sustain- Chief Operating Offi cer (COO) Doug Engebretson ability). A couple dozen employees recently took and I have personally welcomed new employees part in focus groups in Fairbanks and Anchorage, during their orientation. HR added a segment on where railroaders off ered insight into how we can our Strategic Plan and company values, and these better communicate and facilitate our recognition documents were added to the welcome packet. program. We expect to present a revised program We are currently working to develop a Railroad later this year. In the meantime, employees can 101 presentation to acquaint new employees with still use the existing Spotlight Award program to the organization. Th is is a step toward automat- highlight individuals and teams who go above and ing more of the orientation, so the information is beyond. available electronically and on our internal web site. Suggestions for enhancing the new employees’ Safety Face-to-Face: We are stepping up experience are welcome. Send your ideas to VP face-to-face eff orts to keep railroaders informed and Business Management & Corporate Aff airs Wendy engaged on the safety front. In early February, a Su- Lindskoog or to HR Director Susan Lindemuth. pervisors Safety Summit provided tools and infor- mation to pass along to employees to help everyone Non-Rep Classifi cation/Compensation: understand the safety changes and challenges ahead. Last summer, Segal Waters was hired to do a See the photo story on page 3. We invite all em- Classifi cation and Compensation Study for non- ployees to attend quarterly safety meetings to learn represented positions. Based on Job Description how we are doing and where we need more focus. Questionnaires completed by our non-represented Th ese safety forums complement our eff orts to stay employees, the consultant suggests some revised job in front of pending federal regulatory actions. titles and position descriptions. We are reviewing Federal Focus: the study fi ndings to determine possible non-rep Th e Federal Railroad Adminis- classifi cation changes. In addition, we are working tration (FRA) is taking steps to improve how the on a new non-represented performance evaluation rail industry manages safety, including how safety form and process, which may be ready to present by training is documented and delivered. While the June 2015. Alaska Railroad is already compliant with current law, we are being proactive to meet new federal Engagement: Last year, we formed an Engage- regulatory requirements anticipated in the next 2-3 ment Leadership Group and adopted four Engage- years. We are actively working on: ment focus areas (Accountability, Communications, • formalizing safety training for safety-sensitive Training, and Social Opportunities). Th e group employees (train and track workers) and train- has since developed a 2014 – 2019 Engagement Charter that outlines measurable goals and actions. (See “President’s Message” on page 3) Crossings: Carmen union and Railroad have new 3-year agreement All Aboard TCU and Railroad sign new contract ALL ABOARD3 1ST QTR 2015 Left: On April 3, the Alaska Railroad and the Transporta- tion Communica- tions International Union (TCU) Broth- erhood Railway Carmen Division TCU Local Chair Jim Abitz, left, and Local 6067 signed ARRC President & CEO Bill O’Leary a new three-year shake on the new 3-year TCU labor collective bar- agreement. gaining agreement. Pictured: Alaska Railroad President/ CEO Bill O’Leary, President’s Message ... Labor Relations Director Debi (continued from page 2) various departments, and we are investigating English, Manager learning management software options. of Car Operations ers. Th e FRA will soon be asking railroads to • developing a Safety System Program Plan Ron Thompson, prove consistency and competency within their (SSPP), as prescribed by the FRA in pending and Carman / TCU safety training programs. To that end, ARRC is regulations. As reported in an earlier issue of All Local Chairman Jim hiring a Training Manager who will eventually Aboard, our Safety Department is working on Abitz and Carman / bring all of our safety training under one um- an SSPP, which will replace our current Safety TCU Local Presi- brella, who will ensure consistency in training Management System (SMS) document. Fortu- dent Al Kinne. Not curricula and testing, and who will manage and nately, we are already doing most of the things pictured is national track the training among the workforce. Th is a formal SSPP requires. We continue to make TCU / IAM Assis- position will also provide a central management progress on organizing our program elements tant General Presi- point for professional development training.