Building winning teams: Rail workforce planning tips from elite sports

As the World Cup captures headlines and football fans look ahead to the next match, there's plenty of attention on star players and standout performances. But the world's most successful teams aren't built around a handful of superstars, they're built through years of planning, talent development and smart squad management. There's a lesson in that for rail employers and workforce planning.

With skills shortages, an ageing workforce and growing project demands continuing to challenge the sector, building a strong team requires the same long-term thinking that goes into creating a championship-winning team.

So, what can the rail sector learn from the teams battling it out on the world's biggest football stages?

There’s no ‘I’ in team

Every great sports team has standout performers. Whether it's a striker who scores crucial goals or goal keeper who can hold their nerve in a penalty shootout, individual talent matters. But as any football fan knows, even the world's best player can't win a tournament alone. The same principle applies across rail. When critical expertise sits with just one or two people, businesses become vulnerable. Retirement, career moves, sickness or unexpected absences can all leave projects exposed and teams scrambling to fill gaps.

The strongest rail employers focus on sharing knowledge, developing leadership at multiple levels and ensuring expertise isn't concentrated in a handful of individuals. Just like a successful sports team, they recognise that strength comes from the whole squad, not just a few key players.

Every rail employer needs a strong bench

One thing every major sporting tournament teaches us is the importance of squad depth. Winning teams rarely rely on the same starting line-up for every match. Injuries happen, players lose form and circumstances change. The teams that go furthest are those with talented substitutes ready to step in at a moment's notice.

Rail projects face similar challenges. Resource demands can shift quickly, project timelines can change, and unexpected absences can place pressure on existing teams. Waiting until a vacancy appears before beginning a recruitment process or having no workforce planning in rail, will create delays and increase costs.

That's why more rail employers are focusing on building talent pools and maintaining networks of pre-qualified candidates who can be mobilised quickly when required. Think of it as building a stronger bench: the stronger your squad, the more confidence you have when challenges inevitably arise.

Champions invest in future talent

Ask any successful sports club about sustained success and they'll tell you the same thing: future champions don't appear by accident. The best teams are constantly investing in the next generation. Rail employers can benefit from taking the same approach. Graduate programmes, apprenticeships and early-career development schemes all play an important role in creating a sustainable pipeline of future talent.

At a time when skills shortages remain a challenge across many rail disciplines, investing in future talent and ensuring effective workforce planning are becoming essential parts of long-term growth and continuity strategies.

Keeping an eye on the next season

While fans focus on this year's tournament, managers and coaches are often already planning for the next one. They know that today's winning team won't look exactly the same in four years' time. New players emerge, others retire and leadership roles evolve. Succession planning is part of the game.

Again, rail workforce planning faces a similar challenge. Many experienced professionals are approaching retirement, taking with them decades of technical expertise, operational knowledge and industry relationships. Replacing that experience isn't always straightforward, particularly within specialist areas such as signalling, electrification, project management and engineering.

Without a clear workforce plan, businesses risk being caught off guard when key individuals leave. Forward-thinking rail employers are taking a more proactive approach and identifying future talent early. In addition to protecting business continuity, this approach can also improve retention. People are more likely to stay with employers that actively invest in their development and provide clear career progression opportunities.

Training and preparation are key

In the same way that football clubs spend months preparing before a tournament begins, effective rail workforce planning requires investment long before resources are needed on site. Our recent mobilisation work across SRE and NWR reflects this approach in practice. It has required careful planning, early engagement with talent, ongoing training and a commitment to continuous improvement, so that teams are ready not just for the immediate demands of a project, but for the changing skills needs that follow. For rail employers, this kind of preparation is becoming increasingly important. Future talent cannot be built at the point of need. It has to be developed, supported and strengthened over time.

Building a squad ready for anything

The best sports teams don't wait until a weakness is exposed before strengthening their squad.

They're constantly scouting emerging talent, analysing where future gaps might appear and planning for the challenges ahead. They know that success depends on preparation long before the first ball is kicked.

In rail, too often, recruitment begins when a project is already under pressure or a critical vacancy has appeared. By taking a more proactive approach to workforce planning, organisations can build talent pipelines, strengthen succession plans and ensure they have access to the right people when they need them most. The result is greater resilience, stronger knowledge retention, improved team cohesion and a workforce that's better equipped to support safe, efficient project delivery.

After all, World Cup champions aren't created when the final whistle blows. Their success is built over years of careful planning, development and investment. The same is true of the strongest rail workforces. The teams that will deliver tomorrow's rail network are being developed today.

Want to know how your rail workforce planning can improve by taking an elite sport approach? Contact the team today.