Sweet Home Chicago

“So I think if I was to say anything, look at what you have. Invest in your future. Mentor them. And ensure that they understand the business side of the organization.”

I asked Brown if CTA had a mentor program and she admitted that it did not, but she says that doesn’t mean new employees are left on their own.

“What we do have [are] initiative programs where we try to shadow our least experienced employees with some of our more seasoned employees,” Brown says.

“And definitely those that can leave our employment at anytime because of retirement have knowledge that we need to tap into. We encourage our younger employees to get with one of the senior guys and learn what he knows.

“Sit with them, understand the system and learn what he knows because it’s going to be a positive impact on your career as you go forward.”

Home Sweet Home
Romayne Brown is proud of her system. And she likes the direction it is headed in, “CTA, like most organizations, we’re struggling, but we have a good workforce here. We have a positive president who just came on board that is looking to do great things with CTA. He brought a new administrative staff. They are looking at this not just from a business side, but from a side for the customer.”

I asked her if this direction has helped them prepare for this year’s APTA Rail Conference and with a smile and a laugh she proudly proclaimed, “We’re always prepared.

“You never will catch the CTA unprepared. We’re always prepared. Our only hindrance with anything we do is funding, so we would like to put on all the bells and whistles, but sometimes we have to hold back on what we do.”