Since becoming chief executive of Wightlink in 2024, Katy Taylor has made transforming the company’s culture one of her defining priorities. Over the past two years, she has focused on creating a more open organisation by strengthening relationships with employees, customers and the communities the ferry operator serves between the Isle of Wight and the English mainland.
“We now do quarterly customer drop-ins,” says Taylor. “We’re really listening to what our customers are asking for, and we’ve delivered changes, whether that be regarding tickets, timings or the overall experience.
“Part of our approach to improving communication with customers is the work we’ve done around information during disruption. We’ve really upped our game – rolling out a service status WhatsApp channel, having tighter controls and processes, and a better management presence on the ground.”
That emphasis on communication extends throughout the business. Wightlink has introduced employee forums where teams can discuss operational challenges and identify solutions specific to their roles. Rather than directing every improvement from the top, the company is encouraging employees to take ownership of change.
“They know what the best solutions will be, so we’re empowering them by giving them budgets and the freedom to change things,” says Taylor.
The cultural shift has gone hand in hand with a broader programme of modernisation. Wightlink has digitised processes that were previously paper based, redesigned how it develops staff rosters and replaced traditional office layouts with open-plan workspaces where executives sit alongside colleagues from across the business.
“Our executives, department heads and colleagues sit together – we wanted to move away from a hierarchical and institutionalised way to something where everyone’s voice is equal and should be heard,” says Taylor. “This setup is empowering people and getting them to be more proactive.
“One thing I found – it might be for historic reasons – but people were waiting for permission to do something. We’ve changed that mindset – we give you the freedom to work within a framework and get things done. It shouldn’t be management making all decisions and colleagues absorbing them – if someone has a good idea, we should create an environment where it is heard and acted upon.”
Phil Jelly from the Isle of Wight Bus and Rail Users Group speaking with Wightlink CEO Katy Taylor during one of the company’s regular ‘Meet the team’ sessions (Photo: Wightlink)
While changing workplace culture has been a major undertaking, Wightlink is also preparing for the next stage of its fleet renewal programme. The operator is planning to replace St Faith, which entered service in 1990, with a new hybrid vessel while continuing discussions about fully electric ferries.
“We are in the process of ordering our next hybrid vessel to replace St Faith, which entered service in 1990,” says Taylor. “We can’t go fully electric yet, but that’s our ambition. Our next vessel we hope will be a hybrid, and we’re continuing discussions with government about what needs to be in place to enable fully electric ferries in the future.”
Taylor believes the future of the ferry operator is closely linked to the prosperity of the Isle of Wight itself. Wightlink is working with colleges, tourism organisations, local councils and the chamber of commerce to encourage more people to visit, invest in and work on the island.
“People don’t usually catch a ferry for the fun of it,” she says. “They generally catch it to go somewhere and therefore we need to make sure that somewhere is attractive to residents and holidaymakers. We’re having conversations with colleges around how to help young adults on the island to get jobs, work experience, apprenticeships and so on. And we’re talking about having more events and festivals with tourist organisations.”
The company has also launched ‘meet the team’ events, giving customers the opportunity to speak directly with employees from across the business, including senior decision-makers.
“It’s for anyone who wants to drop in and have a conversation,” says Taylor. “I went to one recently and I spoke very openly about the different challenges, both big and small, that we face and about some of the decisions we have to make. Transparency is key for me.
“I think one of the biggest frustrations that people have in life is not being heard and feeling like decisions are made by someone else. We want to address that. Port managers, head of fleet, operations personnel, etc, are at these events and people can have gritty conversations if they want to. This has been a proud new thing for me – I feel like people who have been to those events see that our staff go the extra mile, and that customers can talk to people who actually make decisions.”
Victoria of Wight, the first hybrid battery-powered ferry to join the Wightlink fleet, began service in September 2018 (Photo: Wightlink)
That commitment to openness also extends beyond the organisation. In May 2026, Wightlink hosted an Interferry meeting on the Isle of Wight, giving delegates the opportunity to see the company’s operations first hand while exchanging ideas with ferry operators from around the world.
“It was a great opportunity for our team to talk to industry leaders from across the world,” says Taylor. “You learn something from every conversation you have. The meeting definitely opened our eyes to what is happening elsewhere – you can’t visit every ferry company in the world, so Interferry opens a window into that for us.”
Taylor will continue those conversations at Interferry’s 50th Annual Conference in Bangkok, Thailand, held from 31 October to 4 November 2026, where she will speak about empowering employees and creating workplaces where people are encouraged to contribute.
“I’ll be focusing on what I feel strongly about: how we manage our people,” she says. “The maritime sector can be quite old-fashioned in how it’s managed people. I believe the best businesses are run where people are empowered to make decisions for themselves. You need to move away from some of that traditional hierarchy if you want people to speak up.”
Discover more insights on the passenger shipping industry in the Autumn/Winter 2026 issue of Cruise & Ferry Review. To get content like this on a regular basis, subscribe to the print editions or free digital editions of our Cruise & Ferry publications.