First Great Western has been awarded Silver Status by Investors in People for how it manages its staff after a review at the end of September.

Several FGW locations were visited by three assessors to review the company against the Investors in People standard between September 24 and 27.

The assessors emphasised how far First Great Western has come since the company achieved Bronze Status in 2011.

They highlighted how "impressed they were with the progress FGW has made since their last visit in terms of the effectiveness and efficiency of the support for the people in our business."

They also commented that "this is especially commendable given the dynamic and changing environment within the transport sector."

Sharon Johnston, FGW Head of Human Resources, said: “Investing in our staff is a very important part of how we manage our business.

"We set high standards and we recognise that involving staff and supporting them in their work improves the service we offer our customers.

“We are therefore delighted to have achieved Silver Status in the nationally recognised Investors in People programme.”

Investors in People provides a framework that many organisations use to review how they are performing in how they manage their people.

The framework covers a wide range of areas including business planning, training and development, and measuring performance.