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Appendix C
Stakehold I Change requested Output
er
Chris Lose Sales Session - Too long a session , delegates don’t like itand _I This relates to all conversational sales sessions and is dependant on
Fayers don’t participate, (General comment on all sessions. Not specific to number of participants and their willingness to participate
an actual session.)
Lose 6 Credit Card - We can only refer to the leaflet
Are we obliged to keep on timetable regarding Sales Team? Session is
still valid even though we cannot process in branch.
Lose 12 pt2 Perfect Branch - See no benefit to this exercise
Slides are set by the Sales Team and are currently under review. The
exercise is designed as an end to the course (for most) which enforces
knowledge of conversations. It is dependant on the number of
delegates/willingness to particpate. No change required to slides, they
are just summary slides building up to the exercise. Could be moved to
before Stock Balancing session as delegates just want to go home after
that.
Lose Insurance session is far too long. Could be split and use session
on Car Tax to introduce car & bike. Home insurance linked with
redirection etc
Agree with this but are we set these slides by the sales team and what, if
any, can we change? Would also mean a lot of work to change each
session to include the conversations etc
Lose 12 pt2 The Perfect Branch - The content of the slides is poor
and basically is already covered in the sessions Business Awareness,
Customer Service and The Secret.
Slides are set by the Sales Team and are currently under review. The
exercise is designed as an end to the course (for most) which enforces
knowledge of conversations. It is dependant on the number of
delegates/willingness to particpate. No change required to slides, they
are just summary slides building up to the exercise. Could be moved to
before Stock Balancing session as delegates just want to go home after
that.
Lose Handout — The secret assessing conversations - More beneficial
is to replace this with the ‘Science behind the conversations’ ( to go
with the Minimum standard conversations handouts.)
No change required. The ‘assessing convesations' handout is to enforce
the slide. The 'science behind the conversations' is a 19 page document
and is not designed to be given out, more as a reference point although it
can be printed on an ad-hoc basis as required.
Lose The Secret - 45 Slides!!! This whole session does not work & is
unnecessary if the sales aspect of our transactions are delivered well.
Slides are set by the Sales Team and are currently under review. The
session is designed as a pre-cursor to doing the individual sales sessions
showing the science behind sales. Is the issue more to do with the
wording on the slides/notes than the session itself?
Lose 65 Homephone & Broadband - Slide 7 & 11 on handout
No change required. Minimum Standards conversation slides to remain
as per all other sessions. These are under review by the Sales Team
Lose Minimum service standards 9/05 - colours, cant read, coloured
blind people cant read. States on school for blind, red and green
unreadable.
Minimum Standards conversations under review by Sales Team. I agree
the colours are not ideal. Red and green is designed to be like traffic
lights suggesting a route to follow. The handouts/slides could be changed
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so that the question box has a red or green outline but the in-fill is white
with black writing. This would still be identifiable but easier to read
Lose Minimum standards - Sheet 11, 4th triangle along writing
unreadable.
Minimum Standards conversations under review by Sales Team. I agree
the colours are not ideal. Red and green is designed to be like traffic
lights suggesting a route to follow. The handouts/slides could be changed
so that the question box has a red or green outline but the in-fill is white
with black writing. This would still be identifiable but easier to read
Change 64 PO Savings - Overcomplex with delegates being
bombarded with features on all savings. Let's use the HOL kit in
practical support of products and services ie concentrate on instant
Saver which can be processed on HOL, and also premium bonds
which again can be processed on HOL. Quick overview showing web
site on our other products.
Does the Sales team have ownership on the content of this session?
What can we change? Inputting on HOL is an option but will add time to
the course. It is a ‘scan barcode’ transaction so not hard to do. Time is
better spent doing other practicals.
Add to Insurances - Very brief overview on Insurances and where to
access info ie website, or Help.
Does the Sales team have ownership on the content of this session?
What can we change?
Change - Concentrate on practical ‘Customer Referrals’ exercise
using Car Insurance / Home insurance. Can’t remember if we can
completely process Over 50 application on HOL in classroom. If we
can have an exercise on taking application and in depth selling
scenario using Over 59 Prospectus.
Inputting on HOL is an option but will add time to the course. It is a ‘scan
barcode' transaction so not hard to do. Time is better spent doing other
practicals. No harm in doing a customer referral transaction but can be at
discretion of instructor rather than a scripted transaction
Change The Secret slide — far too long, too many slides, mail
workshop results slide is not easy to understand. Made for internal
use — BDM’s??
Does the Sales team have ownership on the content of this session?
What can we change?
Change Insurances, link them to sessions —- example, home
insurance linked with redirection rather than 3 hours on insurances.
Good idea but will need to agree which product can be introduced in
which session. Will have a big impact on the FTL's who hold those
sessions as each session would have to be changed to include the
conversation/product.
Change 12 Customer service - Better if merged with session 1 Intro,
too late in the course by day 2
No change required. The ‘intro' session on day 1 is an introduction to the
course itself. Session 12 Customer Service is a pre-cursor to Session 12
pt 2 and sets the scene for that session.
Change 64 Savings - Very wordy slides, could do with a lot of
simplification & most of the detail in the notes.
Does the Sales team have ownership on the content of this session?
What can we change?
Change Minimum service standards9/05 - Red green to white on red.
Black on red to white on red
Minimum Standards conversations under review by Sales Team. I agree
the colours are not ideal. Red and green is designed to be like traffic
lights suggesting a route to follow. The handouts/slides could be changed
so that the question box has a red or green outline but the in-fill is white
with black writing. This would still be identifiable but easier to read
Change Minimum standards - grey should be black writing.
Minimum Standards conversations under review by Sales Team. I agree
the colours are not ideal. Red and green is designed to be like traffic
lights suggesting a route to follow. The handouts/slides could be changed
so that the question box has a red or green outline but the in-fill is white
zezves
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with black writing. This would still be identifiable but easier to read
Keep Minimum Standards Conversations handout very
good starting point for delegates
No change required
Keep 12 pt2 The Perfect Branch - no issues
No change required
Keep 61 Insurances - no issues
No change required
Minimum Standard Conversation would have been useful if they had
it sent to them with the distance learning pack so they would be able
to look at it in advance so as to see what they would be doing when
we cover the perfect branch.
No change required. Previous feedback suggested too much was in the
DLP so it was reduced dramatically as a result. Minimum standards
document is introduced earlier in the week so they are aware of the
conversations anyway.
Having done my first course for quite a while I went into this course
with a positive attitude but possibly looking for issues.
My initial thought is what has changed. I have already expressed the
opinion that we might have missed the boat as far as making changes
to the course and still hope this isn’t seen as being negative and
unconstructive. It seems to me all we have done is to take the old
sessions, up date them a little but no longer call them module 1, 2 or
3. I was very aware that this course is still a one size fits all type of
course which is aimed more towards the crown office branches. All of
this might of course be changed with the network changes, even so,
SPMR of Main PO Branches are not the same as counter assistants
in a Crown Office, my feeling is there should be a course written
completely from scratch that is aimed specifically at someone who will
have to run a branch by themselves after a couple of weeks or so. As
a for instance, we could cover Rem’s more fully.
The notes are very full now almost scripted and even though I tried to
follow them I found I was talking a head of the slides. I do find it hard
to train with the notes in front of me meaning that I have probably
missed something that was important. The onsite training will
probably high light if that is the case. When I was running courses
back to back I developed my own style and more importantly, made
changes. So the next course always ran smoother than the previous
one, unfortunately this doesn’t seem possible now, which I fully
understand.
Day 2 I found a very heavy day and I think the delegates did as well.
Someone commented that Business awareness sits better in day
one. I didn’t really understand slide 14 in session 9, and there are no
notes. The notes for slide 6 say, ‘you may have seen this before’,
when did the delegates see this slide before? If we are going to
simply put another presentation designed for a different type of
audience into the course, can we at least make some changes to
reflect what we are about? In fact I wasn’t comfortable delivering this
General comment on running a course. It does suggest that if you do
classroom training on a regular basis, you are able to understand the
course content better and develop a fluidity in your delivery. This can only
be obtained by doing courses regularly so, dependant on geographical
location and delegates availability, this may not be the case. Do we go
back to having a small amount of people who deliver courses? Slide 14
on Session 9 The Secret is a little confusing. It seems to compare
branches that have been on a sales workshop for Mails against those
that haven't although it is not too clear what it all means. Do we need
someone from the Sales Team explaining/running this session at one of
our Patch meetings? Hopefully this is under review and it will become
more clear.
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session as although it clearly is important, I didn’t feel qualified to
deliver it. It is clearly designed to be delivered by an experienced
sales manager. Still I feel I did my best.
Dave Change 23 RM parcels - Slides 10,11,12 & 13 are repeated over the I Will stay for now until Michael Larkin team refresh the sales/service
Ogleby next three sessions, it's a bit repetitive & heavy handed conversations in Q4, although the conversation isn't one of the slides
Frank has asked to be moved. I think the slides are necessary on all
three sessions, as they reinforce the message about income generation,
and give the delegates a chance to think about linked sales opportunities,
and also recap on the session they've just done.
Change 43pt1 PFWW Inland - as above Will stay for now until Michael Larkin team refresh the sales/service
conversations in Q4, although the conversation isn't one of the slides
Frank has asked to be moved. I think the slides are necessary on all
three sessions, as they reinforce the message about income generation,
and give the delegates a chance to think about linked sales opportunities,
and also recap on the session they've just done.
Change 43pt2 International Parcels - as above Will stay for now until Michael Larkin team refresh the sales/service
conversations in Q4, although the conversation isn't one of the slides
Frank has asked to be moved. I think the slides are necessary on all
three sessions, as they reinforce the message about income generation,
and give the delegates a chance to think about linked sales opportunities,
and also recap on the session they've just done.
Rita Change Passports (42pt3) -Passport session would be easier if we No changes - Session was changed to add a blank passport to be
Kendellen I had the previous example used from previous module completed by delegates initially and left the option for 1 or 2 practical
examples in this session. Only one feedback so leaving as it is for now.
Change 42pt2 Bureau - Pre order process does not work on HOL so
quick overview only needed. Rem in currency to each SU and No Changes - Only one slide for Pre Order (more than previously) and
concentrate on buy and sell of Euro Dollars only. Carry on with Travel I says to talk through as cannot be processed on HOL. Rem in of currency
Money Card as it is. Overview only of travellers cheques as we to be added to prep guide. Travellers Cheques can be processed using
cannot process. dummy cheques available as Adhoc item.
Change - Bureau session needs to be made more appropriate to No changes - Courses are mixed so this is down to the delivery of the
offices on course especially if only Pre order/Euro on demand session being made appropriate for the audience. We need to include
content that is suitable for all delegates
Change 42pt1 Travel Insurance - slides 16&17 are the wrong way
round Changed
Change 42pt2 Travel Money - slides 34&35 wrong way round Changed
Change 42pt3 IPS - slides 11&12 wrong way round Changed
Bob Keep 74 Redirection - no issues Reviewed the handouts and material with Anne Lealman during the
Collins summer. Anil made changes and on EASE via Myself.
All timings to be reviewed with general timetable review
Keep 45 Security - no issues
Arranged review with Dave Pettitt & Mark Dinsdale for Grapevine invited
to FTL's WTL's and with support from Neil Stewart & Dave Young agrred
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amendments and contents and placed on EASE.
All timings to be reviewed with general timetable review
Keep 54pt1 POCA existing accounts - no issues
All amendments made to fit any changes during the year. All timings to
be reviewed with general timetable review
Keep 54pt2 POCA opening etc. - no issues
All amendments made to fit any changes during the year. All timings to
be reviewed with general timetable review
Chris
Gilding
Lose 46 Cash Management - Relevant only to Sub Postmasters. Can
be covered much better on site.
No change - Important to stress the impact on business profitability for all
to see.
Lose PSA - daily - A few seconds after each session is all that is
needed for trainees to enter any comments on their PSA. We also
have 1 % hours on the last day to catch up if necessary.
Agree best way forward (a) as listed here or (b) formal sessions remain.
Await outcome of timetable changes in Qtr 4
Change 1&4 Intro H&S - Wording on slide e "interesting" about
yourself.
"Interesting" removed
Change Business Strategy - 3/4 shows values as FACTS
Was updated in June 11
Change Introduction to horizon 8/1 - Q3 customer has £5
Was updated to £6 on 7th July
Change HOL Help - Exercise similar to that for COM’s. Use
questions that we know will be asked in branch eg DVLA VED; stores
catalogue; country codes; customs; prohibitions etc
Not essential as this is an exercise in navigation only. However 3
questions have been altered to cover regular searches..
Change PSA - Retention — how long? Who it’s sent to — Contract
Admin Team not branch support Team
Retention Periods listed at end of guidance notes.
PSA needs to be revisited as we feel at the present it does not give a
guide to how the delegate has performed in the classroom.
More detail required.
Stock balancing is only 2 slides and that is taking about cash
management, which has already been covered in an hour’s session.
It needs to have more reference to all aspects of balancing — for
example, TP and BP, net discrepancies’ settling centrally, transaction
corrections and rems.
2 new slides added to explain balancing terminology and accounting
procedures for Gains & Losses
Add more information regarding how a branch works difference as above
between office & stock unit, TPs & BPs, how Horizon accounts for
transactions.
Change 1&4 Intro H&S - "something about yourself. As above
Change Business Strategy - New values are FEB
Was updated in June 11
Introduction to horizon 8/1 - Change this to £6
Was updated to £6 on 7th July
Change 1 and 4 session H & S - slide 14 mis spelling shows
LACATION
Version 1.4 - changed to Location
Change Slide 3 H&S - add the word NO TEXTING on mobiles
Wording changed to - Mobiles - switch off. Only use during breaks, your
full attention is required
Add to H&S slide 16 - Green line around items for 10kgms plus
No change as H&S is an overview session only, don't want to get bogged
down in too much detail. Also Green Line is no longer a requirement.
Parcelforce session covers this.
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Introduction to horizon trainers notes - Add after slide 5 but before 6,
delegates need to log on with the cto user name, create themselves,
THEN they log out and log back in using their new user. Then
complete the practical exercise
Notes added to slide 6
Session 46 slide 3 notes - add in calculation how we got to the final
sum.
Explanation of how the sum is calculated has been added to the notes
The new Help navigation exercise - This new exercise crucial to the
new course to ‘sow the seed’ of the importance of the Help function
was not in my prep box (2 weeks ago). I had to print off my own
copies.
Confirmation required that this will in future be included.
Sandra confirmed that 8,2 is a Reprep item, 8,3 is adhoc and should be
printed by FSA's as required
Frank Blue Cashcheques transaction especially is now very uncommon Agree we can take out the session as we cover HMRC cheques in the
Martin and could be covered on site if necessary this would give more time same session wich covers security etc, will look at Paystation session
in class to introduce Paystation and stress to the delegates’ how once the timetable has been reviewed
important Paystation is to the future of the business rather than spend
time on paper based transactions that we as a business are moving
away from.
Change: Combine the Cashcheques and DWP sessions which are
very similar There is no need also for 2 separate questionnaires, Good idea combining both sessions and having one questionnaire but will
these could also be combined. review when we change timetable
51pt1 CheqDebitCredit Card - General note: Would be good to have No, and the reason for this is we could be constantly changing the slide if
a slide to explain what we can/can't accept cheques for. the way we settle a transaction changes, bill payments normally have the
method of payment on them, there was a list of products sent out telling
us what we can't take cheques for and we can use debit cards for most
transactions and if their not sure we all ways ask the customer to try
anyway.
Change DWP answer sheet - Full driving licence if paper one, or full/_I Q.7 would a driving licence be acceptable when cashing a Girocheque,
provisional photo driving licence change wording on answer sheet to what is on feedback, yes can change
Keep 16 Postage Stamps - no issues No change
Keep 51pt2 Cashcheques - no issues No change
Julia Lose 70/72 International Letters etc. Slide 9 as all others of this type - I This slide needs to be left as it is at moment, as the Sales Team are
Mann too confusing on a slide. Small packet etc lose updating/re-designing slides and conversations.
Change 70/72 International Letters etc. Plain text with 3 headings and I Queried with Frank - 02/12 - response received 14/12 . Not implemented
list underneath of what can be enclosed in each. Wings are stupid as the aim here, is for delegates to use HOL Help to define the 3 rates of
International Mail — Letter, Small_ Packet and Printed Paper.
Session 70/72 - add cash and jewellery must be sent in polyops, Queried with Frank - 02/12 - response received 14/12. Not implemented
counter focus has picture as I checked HOL Help and couldn’t find any reference that states cash
and jewellery must be sent in polyops. When I enquired about this further
and asked the contributor where a picture of a polyop could be added the
answer was to slide 23, however there isn’t a slide 23!
Pete Change Day 7 — MVLs (66 & 68) All V11 do not show correct prices _I Cannot be altered as V11’s and Tax Discs will
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Jackson on HOL screen , We should if possible just carry out transaction of 1, I always be out of date
PLG , 1 Motorcycle & Pc , The V11 for Disabled does not come up as
a zero price so it makes it awkward to show delegates what to expect. I Extra slide put into session regarding 2 day rule.
Add in about the break in a tax disc in a slide with regard to, the
customer can purchase it only 2 days before the end of the month, for
the new month or have it starting from the 1st from the month they
came which means they have lost 3 weeks but still have to pay for it
to be legally on the road.
Any scope for mentioning AEI service? * To remain as part of the on-site training as by proportion of delegates
there will only be a few.
Add handout for spoiling tax disc’s to prep box Added to process
37 Postal Orders - Slide 10 not in keeping with other presentations The slide is designed to put the delegates into the
when indicating a practical is to be done. correct frame of mind. Also same style in MVL’s
66&68 MVLs - no issues No action required
50 DVLA Premium Service - no issues No action required
David Change 59&60 NS&I - Losing the work, premium bonds can be
Patrick incorporated into PO Savings, which I shall comment on later NS&l slides already amended and sent 7/11
NS&l products from course leave only Premium bonds and INVAC.
account in light of recent events NS&l slides already amended and sent 7/11
7pt2 Regulatory Compliance — Slide 22 add to notes instead. Noted - full 7pt 2 session is currently with Georgina Blair (risk &
Slide 30 The video (if available) duplicates what has already been assurance reg compliance training manager) for a full review to ensure it
trained is current & fit for purpose. Slide 30 reinforces the message
Lose 47 ETop ups - Slide 18 as before - its on a handout simply adds a visual to help with product knowledge
Lose Reg Compliance - FSA, AML and Mails Noted - full 7pt 2 session is currently with Georgina Blair ( risk &
assurance reg compliance training manager for a full review to ensure it
is current & fit for purpose
Compliance workbooks or learning packs should still be issued as
delegates that have been on the course have not been able to read
up before taking the on line tests, and have no points of reference
afterwards. Escalated to Shirley hailstones for consideration
7pt2 Regulatory Compliance - Slide 4 says "Activity One" but there
are no other "activity" slides. will take the word 'one' off it
Reg Compliance - Receipts delegates bring in do not state which
tests they have passed, they need to be titled by the compliance team I Georgina Blair is aware of issue and looking for a fix
7ptt & 5 Take over stock unit & Datestamps - no issues na
59&60 NS&l - no issues n/a
Lee Heil Classroom should be made a specialist that is not to say thatno one I Every FTM should be able to deliver a Classroom course and is the role
else should ever do it. All should be given the opportunity to cover if
necessary. We feel it gets watered down if it is not done for a while,
of FTL to manage the activity and performance of each individual to
ensure they can perform this role confidently. _If they were too introduce
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and this is not fair on the delegates. ‘Specialists’ it would restrict us to the number of courses run and the
location. Currently we have scheduled FTM to deliver classrooms that
have not done them for a while but these often revert back to the FTM
that performs them regularly and we also have to schedule the other FTM
for shadowing thus doubling up resource.
Time needs to be allocated to ensure materials are up to date in CTO I This would increase days allocated to classroom and would reduce
long before prep day as not enough time to get up to date POPOS resource available. This cannot be done too early as the materials will be
especially if OOD material missing in prep box. out of date for the course but a possible solution would be that the heath
and safety check is carried out at the CTO which every 3 months. The
materials could be checked during this visit.
Keep the sessions so that just 1 FSA can do the whole course rather I As per description. It give consistency for the delegates and allows the
than in the past having 3 FSA's to do modules 1,2 and 3. Works well I FTM's to work well across the 6-8days
and is easier to resource.
Linda Lose 30 Giro Practical - Can be covered better in daily revision isolated comment
McLaughli
n
18 RM Inland mail - slide 16 unnecessary. no change, useful for re-iteration
Slide 17 unnecessary in conversations handout
slide 26 unnecessary
slide 38 as slide 17
RM Inland Mail Session - Not enough time scheduled capture until quarter 4, new timetable may be imminent
Royal Mail 1* & 2"¢ Class / Rec Del/Special Delivery (18) The changed to keep
slides from 1-22 are correct and should follow on with Royal mail 1° &
2"™ which helps the delegate to get used to using post office labels etc
as this would be the first time they would be using the horizon icons ,
printer, cash etc.
Recorded Delivery and Special Delivery would be easier to cover on I capture until quarter 4, new timetable may be imminent
day separately. To cover all three sessions above in 2.30 is difficult.
Session 18. Revisit the order of the slides, mail segregation and cop I No change.
are mentioned with special delivery and should be in with the first and
second class slides, because neither cop or mail segs applies to
special delivery.
Mails revert to 1°.2™ recorded, special as way of introducing products I No change.
18 RM Inland mail - Slide 8 untidy. Slide 8 untidy: no change required> 9 - could reduce and move to notes?
Slide 9 too many words, this could be mostly notes
28pt1 Santander Deposits - no issues Updated
28pt 2 Aps/reversals - no issues Updated
Sandra Lose all out of date material being sent to CTO and in prep box. Upon further investigation it appears some of the Financial Services
McBride leaflets have been out of date. I have discussed this with Stock Services
and instead of the item list being checked on an Adhoc basis this will now
be checked on a weekly basis and any out of date items will be replaced
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in the Training Stores. Also the Travel insurance leaflet was missing from
the box, which has now been added.
Prep boxes have missing handouts/brochures.
Email sent to Adrian for more detail
Could the sub postmasters be issued with a simplified version of the
toolkit that was given to WH Smiths managers, we think this would
save on interventions.
Unfortunately the answer is No. Most of the information is available on
Horizon Help and in hard copy format the toolkit would go out of date very
quickly so is deemed as a Business risk. It would also be costly to
produce and maintain.
DDA pack — is it sent to the office or do they just inherit one? Or could
they have one sent to them with the joining instructions so we can
cover it in the classroom.
The DDA Pack is posted out to the new agent by HR as part of the
Welcome Pack.
Embed DVD's into the sessions. Example — mails session DVD
session 18. This was very advantageous.
Yes, this is possible if the DVD's are available in electronic format.
Prep boxes - out of date leaflets included within.
Email sent to Pete for more detail
With the current format we can tell delegates’ How to do something
and let them do it on the horizon terminal. But we cant “Show Then”
in a full classroom could we have a spare kit in the classroom are
more HOL screenshots in the PowerPoint presentations.
This would be too costly to have spare kit and there is currently no
budget available. Each delegate has their own kit to be able to navigate
themselves.
80 Feedback & Closure - Last few slides could be in a better order.
Slides rearranged and added to EASE
There are many areas as a ctc trainer that I have had to deal with in a
short period of time, and its then we build up the rapport with the new
delegates, if we know they have left the course happy and
understood , then the transition will not be so daunting.
Observation - Emailed David to discuss with contributor
It would be nice to have a CA to sit in on a session to see how
delegates are doing on the course, but understand they are busy, but
we have to pick up the pieces when they are struggling.
Observation - Emailed David to deal with (invite CA to attend WTL?)
It would be useful to ask a member of the Sales Team to take a 1% -
2 hour session on sales as they are more experienced than us.
All of the team received training on the new sales sessions from a
member of the Sales Team in the spring. The Sales and Service Team
are revising conversations which will be ready for Q4 then we will look
how it impacts on the sessions.
Would like to see a place where comments can be left by the on site
trainer, e.g. Subpostmaster generally very good however there was
an issue when his Paystation crashed three times in one day or
Subpostmaster had his rubbish stolen whilst I was on site. This
would assist with the PTC process as whoever was completing this
element would have an understanding of any problems the Sub was
having.
Email sent to Chris G to add to PSA or discuss other suggestions
Stakehold
er
Change requested
Output
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Chris Change Minimum Service Standards (conversations) - No problems The conversations are under review by the Sales Team. At present these
Fayers with these personally but most new entrants seem to want to ask the I are the agreed standards from the Sales team who have stressed that,
questions in their own way. Then, at later visits, the correct whilst certain words could be changed, the overall meaning has to stay
conversations are rarely heard. the same to ensure consistency. We can only monitor them whist they are
in training (onsite or classroom) so if they change the words after that we
can't tell. On a positive note it is better to have a level of sales
conversations in the branch, even if they are not worded as originally
intended. As long as they are compliantly done I would not see it as a
waste.
Minimum Service Standards (conversations) - Is it just me? I've tried I The conversations are under review by the Sales Team. At present these
to instil the correct conversations into the folk I’ve trained but they all I are the agreed standards from the Sales team who have stressed that,
want to ‘say it their way’. Then at later visits, all of the work done on whilst certain words could be changed, the overall meaning has to stay
these conversations is proved to be a waste since they are not having I the same to ensure consistency. We can only monitor them whist they are
them as they should be. in training (onsite or classroom) so if they change the words after that we
can't tell. On a positive note it is better to have a level of sales
conversations in the branch, even if they are not worded as originally
intended. As long as they are compliantly done I would not see it as a
waste.
Dave Pre-Training Checklist - Could the following be added to the list- Are I Yes - can be added straight away
Ogleby all forms and leaflets the current versions? If not, can you please
order the current versions before the Branch Transfers? (This will aid
and encourage new PM to practice conversations)
Chris PSA Alter PSA so if you mark a subject as Red then a comment PSA Updated so that Name and Branch from Cover Page flow through to
Gilding feeds through to the action plan (make it the same as the CAT Action Plan. On site tab has button to click if any RED items appear,
reporting tool). these will then flow through to the Action Plan. New tab added for PO
Local on site.
Julia Lose Ready To serve - This is something the Subby may do for a Some areas are now Weekly activities and not Daily. Retail Standards
Mann couple of days and then it’s just going to be forgotten about. were used to define what should be Daily & Weekly, also I sought
Maybe it should be a ‘once a week’ task, just like checking scales is,
and not every day.
feedback from Mark Lawrence. Some activities have been added
together where they were similar and a new Daily activity has been
added - Confidential waste destroyed as per guidelines. New version is
V1.2 December 2011.
Ready to Serve - Change to a form that is completed once a week
(Monday)
See above
Change Ready to Serve Document so that it is completed weekly
rather than daily, by the end of week 1 the Subpostmaster just goes
down the list and puts a tick against whatever was ticked the previous
day without reading the question and consequently the form loses it
value.
See above
Ready to Serve document is useful for new agents to prepare
themselves. Maybe not to be used on a daily basis when they are
See above
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more used to the job, but new agent feedback has said as an intial
aid it was very useful.
Keep Ready to Serve - This requires the Subby to do a check every
day which is too much and not really required. As a result, they tend
to do it for about a week or two and then forget it. It would be better if
it were a ‘once a week’ task and maybe the completion of it should be
checked at audit. See above
Pete SPMR Self Audit - No problems with this
Jackson + These are positive comments — No action required
Lee Heil Change the staffing levels at some PO Local's. It is impossible to No change as Classroom courses for PO Locals being introduced during
train out back on and all the sales assistants and keep the branch rollout.
from being error free.
Onsite too short at times - Once the transfer audit is done, the Standard training package. The training package would have to
balance is shown on a Wednesday and a half day Saturday there is __I increase. Forms part of this review.
not always time to cover topics
Change - Transfer day-even if transfer audit is efficient (cash/stock Not a bad idea but there are problems that arise from this. .ie. Who has
neat/tidy/well presented)-delays on transfer of deeds/funds due to access to building, keys, security. It is more often than not agreed with
solicitors/banks can make it a late opening (or even next day). Can both the outgoing and incoming of their transfer date and it would have to
funds/deeds be transferred the day before? be made clear to them that the deeds/funds should be transferred the day
before. This has been done before but it meant that transfers were
arranged for Wednesday afternoons and at 5.30pm to allow deeds/funds
to be transferred. This still caused problems as with any sale of business
or house it all depends on when the funds transferred.
When training on site hours tend to be longer than when auditing so This would reduce the resource available to achieve the Audits plan and
can accrue quickly. Also time to prepare handouts, /finish audit accommodate transfers and classroom/onsite training and any other BAU
reports / fill in PSAs /Action Plans needed,& especially with FUB now I activity. It is better to conduct audits on a Thursday following balance and
a longer activity much longer -. I suggest day after FUB as an admin TP. Itis the responsibility of the FTL to manage the performance and
day (if a late balance how do you get 11 hours break if an early audit I activity of their team and should flag this up to NSA team as an exception
start required), and a prep day before. If last day on site is a but this would not be the rule.
Wednesday, an audit Thursday AM is again inadvisable.
Sandra Introduce the sales model to Sub Pm and coach them how to coach__I The Sales and Service Team are revising conversations which will be
McBride their staff by using the science behind the conversations. Also how to I ready for Q4 then we will look how it impacts on the sessions/training.
tun focus days and staff warm ups
I haven't really done that much on-site training, however I don’t see Email sent to Chris G for more information
there is much change here. The main issue I think on site is training a
new PM to run a well managed branch and some time in a classroom
setup going through basic routines, i.e. Remittances, MVL procedures
etc I am sure would be useful, let's call a one day induction.
Rita PO Local - General - Completing the transfer and then expecting the I Understand what is being said and the importance of maintaining a
Kendellen I branch to open in the afternoon is a very optimistic expectation. In all I survive for customers is key. To transfer in the afternoon and start
but a handful of cases the money transfer for the business does not training the following day would require extra resource. To be able to
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take place until at least 2pm on the day of the transfer and it is quite
often later than that. Once the money has transferred the incoming is
then pulled in all directions, trying to learn from the outgoing what all
the keys open and close, learning the locking up process, how the tills
work, dealing with stock takers, removal men, agreeing meter
readings, putting beds together so the children have somewhere to
sleep that night, numerous phone calls from the bakery/ milk/
newspaper supplier wanting to set up accounts etc etc. The last thing
they want to do serve in the PO. So you either get the staff running
the branch, which is OK as you can get them coached in minimum
sales standards (if required) but this could obviously be completed
later in the week However as the on site FSA you want the new
Subpostmaster and it is very rare to see him/her. If a single person
branch you get a very harassed person who wants/needs to be
elsewhere and he/she takes nothing in. No matter how much you
stress on the pre transfer telephone call what the expectation is in my
experience it does not happen successfully very often, I feel we
should go back to lunchtime transfers and leave the PO closed pm.
As branches are generally busier mornings that afternoons anyway
less customers would inconvenienced. Branches were there are
staff or the Sub wants to could still open after the transfer once the
money has gone through and it would make better us of FSA time as
we would not need to attend until lunchtime in all but the busiest
branches where it may be beneficial to go a bit earlier. We would not
to sit around for at least half a day and sometimes considerably more
awaiting the transfer of funds. I am of course aware that there would
be an additional cost of one day on site training if it was decided to
stick to the same delivery package as at present, but this would in my
opinion be justified as the value of day one on site in terms of training
is generally worthless.
understand if late opening is a big issue a question will be added to
Transfer SharePoint for Qtr 4 to identify the time the office opened to the
public following the transfer. This will allow the gathering of information
and be able to make the appropriate decision based on fact.
Stakehold I Change requested Output
er
Pete Lose cash check at PTV, the office will be audited with in the first 9
Jackson months + Acash check has to be done at every visit
I don't think the current procedures are relevant when the branch
transfers from one nominee to another and the staff remain in place.
Much of the one month and three month contact questions simply do
+ The questions are to establish good working practises are in place as
well as monitoring the new Agents progress
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not apply.
Lose the 1 month phone call. (four people commented on this) * To remain - contradicts other views and offers vital support
Lose the one month phone call and the PTV at three months and + Schedule and T&S will not allow a 1 month visit unless after the call it
change it to a PTV at one month and PTA at 6-9 month stage. becomes an intervention issue due to problems the office is having
Generally if a Subpostmaster is struggling with a particular element it I issues
will have raised itself by one month, it is much easier to sort out
problems on site rather than over the telephone, if additional training/
support is required the Sub may be reluctant to ask for it over the
telephone but on site you can see the issue. It seems daft to me to
leave it until the 3 month visit if the Sub tells you over the telephone
that everything is fine at the one month stage.
If three elements of PTC are to be maintained then the questions * Questions have been reviewed and made less repetitive.
should be less repetitive. What is the point of asking at one month
“are you aware of the Helpline to assist you” then repeat the question
at the PTV and PTA. If know about the Helpline at the one month
stage then they obviously know about at PTV and PTA so why ask
again it just makes us look unprofessional. The questions should only
be repeated if there was gap last time.
PTV’s are important and add value, but due to the size of the teams + NFSA‘s carrying out PTV’s has been addressed.
now, and their geographical spread, it’s unrealistic to schedule them
to the FTLs. I've had some FSAs complete some for me, and also ran
a training session and shadowing for FCAs, a couple of whom have
done some visits for me
This is from a SPMR, via Kendata, and although they're not an * States in the reviewed instructions that if it is impractical to carry out the
internal stakeholder, thought I'd include it anyway: “As the audit and PTV after the audit then the NFSA to make arrangements to
Post transfer visits were conducted on the same day I was not pre- re-visit.
informed. Had I known I would have made provision for another
member of staff to be present as I happened to be alone on that day
and therefore not an ideal situation. Otherwise the visit went well.”
Amend for Locals — especially for PTV re sales & remuneration + Already addressed
1-month call - Would be better as a visit + Schedule and T&S will not allow a 1 month visit unless after the call it
becomes an intervention issue due to problems the office is having
issues
eLeztes
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6-9-month audit - Too much to cover with Audit, Cat questions & PTC I + States in the reviewed instructions that if it is impractical to carry out the
questions
PTV after the audit then the NFSA to make arrangements to
re-visit.
1 month call - PTC — A visit is more beneficial on the 1 month PTC. A
phone call is not always convenient to the subpostmaster.
+ Schedule and T&S will not allow a 1 month visit unless after the call it
becomes an intervention issue due to problems the office is having. If not
convenient arrange a time that is.
Only completed one of these as yet, but it felt too soon to be
contacting the PM, he hasn’t had a chance to get into the role. I think
it would be better to make these calls at the 2-Month stage.
The phone call will be made 4 weeks after the FUB
Do Compliance at 3 month PTV then gaps can be picked up at Post
Transfer Audit
Added to process
Kendata forms do not fit the process as there are times when all we
are having is a chat.(Two people commented on this)
Although it is in the form of a chat all the points on the Kendata form
should be covered
Change 1 month phone call to six weeks after FUB
The phone call will be made 4 weeks after the FUB
Change - Follow up visit sooner to ensure weaknesses’ shown on-site
can be corrected sooner rather than later i.e. ATM, Lottery, Sales,
cash management. Possible reduction in number of interventions
required.
+ If apparent problem established at 1 month Phone call. Organise an
Intervention Visit
Visit is extremely useful to get genuine and honest feedback,
however it is not best use of FTL’s time and generates high t&s costs
because of the areas covered. Perhaps they could be scheduled for
the FSA and then the FTL to pick up at least 2 per six months for
each of their FSA's to complete to get this feedback on their
performance
+ NFSA's carrying out PTV’s has been addressed.
The whole process has impressed the agents I have been involved
with.
+ These are positive comments — No action required
The PTV at the three month stage works well with the FTL being able
to access the performance of the FSA as well as being able to deal
with problems and issues raised my our new Postmasters.
+ These are positive comments — No action required
3-month visit - No problems with this
+ These are positive comments — No action required
Pre — Transfer Contact - No problems with this
+ These are positive comments — No action required
Agreat opportunity to engage with spmr and find out how they are
doing. This provides a quick healthcheck and gives them a chance to
air their views and concerns. (Four people commented this way)
+ These are positive comments — No action required
Self audit pack a brilliant idea but make all the questions . E.g.
Question 38 “my staff and I are competent in knowledge of NS&I
products” this should be a specific question to test knowledge. E.g. If
Premium Bonds are purchased on 3% December which month will
* The question is designed for Spmr and their staff to become
conversant with products but nothing to stop the NFSA/NFSTL
asking specific questions such as stated to verify their knowledge.
Will need to be reassessed in the near future with changes to NS&l.
vLi6zLes
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they be eligible for the draw?
Potential to select a more bespoke option for smaller branches,
especially for Island branches. Perhaps forego a face to face 3 month
visit, replacing with a phone call and spending longer onsite at 6-9
month audit.
+ This needs to be done on an individual basis.
1 month Call - These calls can be difficult. You cannot see if the
Subby has a queue and if it really is convenient to be talking with him.
Avisit also allows you to check on the general running of the office in
the most crucial early stages e.g. is he/she doing everything right.
Any problems can be resolved quickly which, under the present
procedure, would not be spotted until the 3 month visit.
+ Already stated why a 1 month phonecall against a visit. The phonecall
needs to be arranged with the Spmr to be at a convenient time for them.
This has been added.
6-9 month audit - There is rather a lot to do at this audit and it all
takes a long time. It can be very difficult to ask all of the questions,
and talk about everything that we have to, whilst the Subby is trying to
serve customers.
* States in the reviewed instructions that if it is impractical to carry out the
PTV after the audit then the NFSA to make arrangements to
re-visit.
DDA Accessibility Guidance Pack - The PTC document states the
following on the front page, and is an action at the 1 and 3 month
contacts - All New Agents must complete DDA Self audit contained
within Guide prior to PTV visit. Completion is also a condition of
appointment. At the 3 month visit
This is also always a Condition of Appointment.
However I have completed at least 19 PTV’s and not one PM has
ever seen sight of this document. I always end up emailing the PM a
copy after my visit. This needs to be looked in to and a copy need to
be with the PM ready for when they start at their brach — either sent
by HR or Contract Advisors.
+ Recruitment are emailing this to the new Spmr along with the
Recruitment Pack. This is being addressed.
New procedure for follow up balance at 6-9 months is a good idea
and PTC process is quite straight forward to follow. Also Sub Pm self
audit and Ready To Serve doc as been received well
+ These are positive comments — No action required
3 month PTV, should not be restricted to FTL only, should be utilised
as a development opportunity for FSA. Also due to geographical
location these visits can be extremely costly without making best use
of FTL time. Feedback on FSA could be obtained by phone based on
Kendata feedback etc if required
NFSA’s carrying out PTV’s has been addressed.
I can’t comment on the PTV as I haven’t done one, however the
phone call is good as issues can be picked up quickly. As to the audit,
again this is good as it picks up any problems, however, would it not
be better to do a compliance audit at the 3 month visit and use the
actual audit at the 6 month stage to gauge whether any gaps have
been closed. This can then be seen not so much as finding fault but
as part of the training and support. Most new PM's want to have a
Added to process
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well run compliant branch and will take this seriously. The real
concern would be if they haven't closed the gaps by the 6 month
period.
Stakehold I Change requested Output
er
Sandra Set-up a group to change and test what goes on EASE. People using I New items are tested prior to being added to EASE. To make this more
McBride the system regularly should control more of what is on it and where it I visible I will inform team of who tests new documents /processes via the
goes. Audit Update, etc.
I find EASE so cumbersome and out of date. This is the starting point I We will be moving EASE to SharePoint in the next few months where it
of all the other bits, so needs to be user friendly and up to date. will be updated. There will also be a much more efficient Search facility.
Further feedback will be sought then as we do currently.
Lee Heil There is not enough information on the Intervention Request form / Information is provided by the requestor on a form to the Branch Support
have found the visit unnecessary on arrival. (Two people commented
this way)
team. Pat Bursi updates SharePoint with this information and can only
go off what is provided. For every intervention a phone call should be
made to the branch to determine what is required and whether a visit is
required or not. Alternatively a call should be made to either Pat Bursi or
the requestor who may be able to explain a bit further.
I know we use Mondays etc when free to update ourselves, but
occasionally preparation time and keeping up to date should be
scheduled.
No change as this should be scheduled by the team leader
I know we use Mondays etc when free to update ourselves, but
occasionally preparation time and keeping up to date should be
scheduled.
No change as this is the responsibility of the Team Leader to manage
performance and activity of the FTM.
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