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POL00039158
Branch Support Programme - TOR v.3 In confidence Gayle Peacock August 7% 2013
Branch Support Programme ~ Terms of Reference
Background
To address the concerns about the Horizon system that have been raised by some subpostmasters over
recent years, the Post Office commissioned an independent review of their cases. The company that
conducted the review issued an interim report on Monday 8" July 2013. The review made it clear that the
Horizon computer system and its supporting processes function effectively across our network. It did
however raise questions about the training and support we have offered some subpostmasters. It has been
acknowledged that this needs to be investigated further and improvements need to be made.
The purpose of this Programme is to understand the current business processes, operational procedures and
ways of working which are in place to support branches, identify the gaps and produce recommendations to
rectify the issues.
Scope
The interim report identified the following areas of concern which will be included within the scope of the
Programme.
¢ Post Office’s attitude to subpostmasters which is often defensive and unsympathetic, with a
focus to recover assets rather than to identify the root cause of the problem. There is a lack
of a subpostmaster “voice” or opportunities for them to raise their concerns.
Inadequate Helpdesk support with responses that are script based, coupled with a decrease
in overall branch support
© Lack of timely, accurate and complete information provided to subpostmasters to support
them in resolving issues
Inexperienced trainers and gaps in training coverage
e Lack of centralised data or files specific to each branch which hinders a quality investigation
from taking place.
Whilst the review has concentrated on the cases raised by subpostmasters, each branch segment within the
network will be considered within the programme.
Approach
The approach will be to operate the Programme following normal project management principles. A
governance structure will be established, key stakeholders identified and a project plan with key milestones
and deliverables will be developed. The initial activity will be to engage with the key people to ensure they
are committed to delivering the specific activity required within their respective work areas. The progress
with the Programme will be tracked against the successful delivery against the plan.
The approach to mapping the “as-is” and “to-be” process will be done in terms of understanding the
entrance to exit journey for subpostmasters, colleagues and multiple partners. The process will be to
understand all of the interactions and relationships those groups have with various teams within the
POL00039158
POL00039158
Branch Support Programme - TOR v.3 In confidence Gayle Peacock August 7% 2013
business, map what those interactions look like at the moment, identify the gaps and then map out what the
journey needs to look like going forward.
Governance and key stakeholders
Alice Perkins and Paula Vennells have requested the establishment of the Programme which will be led by
Angela Van-Den-Bogerd. Gayle Peacock will be accountable for running the Programme on an operational
level.
The following table outlines the different key stakeholders, their areas of responsibility and suggested
people who would input at the working group level. The Programme Board will agree how the Programme
should be managed to ensure the objectives are delivered.
Business Area Programme Working Group level I Reason for inclusion within the group
Board
Network — Contact I Amanda Stevens Kendra Dickinson Responsible for managing NBSC who are
Centres the first point of help for
subpostmasters. Programme could also
have an impact on POEX.
Network — Gayle Peacock TBC Responsible for outbound interventions
Performance to drive performance for non-sales area.
Data team sit within this area. Multiple
partner non-sales relationship.
Network — Craig Tuthill Responsible for agent contractual policy
Network Services and deployment, including the recovery
of agent debt
Network — Field Drew McBride Sue Richardson Responsible for training, support and
Support audits to all branch network
Network — Sales Karl Oliver/Andy Responsible for engaging subpostmasters
Kingham/Pam on sales.
Heap
Network — Crown Julie Thomas Tom Pegler Responsible for supporting Crown
& WHSmith branches both in training and
performance management
Network — Agent Nick Beal Responsible for agent pay and
Development relationship with NFSP
Finance Rod Ismay Andy Winn/Alison Responsible for branch accounting and
Bolsover/Paul client settlement. Also responsible for
Lebeter resolving specific branch accounting
issues
POL00039158
POL00039158
Branch Support Programme - TOR v.3 In confidence Gayle Peacock August 7% 2013
Business Area Programme Working Group level I Reason for inclusion within the group
Board
Security John Scott/Sally Joanne Responsible for detecting, investigating
Smith Hancock/Dave and preventing branch fraud
Posnett
Network — Cash Doug Brown Graham Tilley/Clive Responsible for managing cash provision
Services Holmes/Rebecca to branches
Portch
IT Steve Beddoe Scott Somerside Responsible for branch systems (and
management of HSD?
Commercial teams I Paul Brown TBC Responsible for managing the
commercial relationships with our clients
to drive sales and income
Managed Services I Andy Garner Responsible for managing the
contractual relationships with our clients
IT RoadMap TBC TBC Potential development of IT
infrastructure to support activity may be
required
Communications Alana Renner Richard Weaver Responsible for internal and branch
communication
HR Ann Miller/Fay TBC Responsible for colleague induction and
Healey training and development
Other people will be brought into the Programme if and when required as part of the individual work
streams.
Key Deliverables
The Programme will be responsible for delivering the following:
Mapping the “as-is” process for providing branch support and the various touch points for branches
e Undertaking a gap-analysis for each of the respective areas regarding the concerns raised in the
interim report
Producing recommendations for how the relevant gaps will be closed, supported by a deployment
and resource plan
The purpose of this approach is ensure the gaps that were identified and were specific areas of concern in
the interim report are addressed and closed.
POL00039158
POL00039158
Branch Support Programme - TOR v.3 In confidence Gayle Peacock August 7% 2013
Key Performance Indicators and Measures
The measure of success for the Programme will be to have consistent and effective training and support
mechanisms in place for all types of branches, resulting in an engaged network of subpostmasters and
colleagues, whilst protecting the assets and brand of Post Office. Measures for the Programme will include:
Key Performance Indicator Measures
Agent and colleague Branch survey — which focuses on value driven by each interaction,
engagement/satisfaction advisor knowledge, behaviour, follow up
High profile complaints/flag cases
Contact centre measures
Reducing effort for branches to receive the right support
First time resolution
Quality of training and support Improve branch performance against conformance standards,
provided including volume of transaction corrections
Kendata (?) feedback on support provided at training
Consistency of contract case management — (measure to be defined)
Number and type of training/support interventions
FTIR
QA/follow up check with branch that intervention/contact met needs
Branch losses and debt Number and value of current agent debt — amounts not to increase
Number and value of former agent debt — amounts not to increase
Suspense account entries —-measure to be confirmed
FTIR
QA/follow up check with branch that intervention/contact met needs
Costs Cost of resource to deliver required improvement changes
Structure How is POL organised to deliver high quality levels of branch support
and engagement consistently?
System Robustness of the system
Calls into HSD
Number and type of issues not to be increased
POL00039158
POL00039158
Branch Support Programme - TOR v.3 In confidence Gayle Peacock August 7% 2013
Risks and Issues
Each area will define their respective risks and issues. The known Programme risks and issues at this stage
are:
e Lack of resource/funds to develop a technical solution to support consistent working across business
functions.
¢ Inability to change people’s mind-sets and ways of working
Technical infrastructure and product transaction flow too complex to make things easier for
branches and our customers.
Dependencies
There are a number of other business activities which the Programme will be either a dependency for or
have a dependency on which include:
Royal Mail Group Separation for the Network Business Support Centre.
e Network Agency Sales Engagement activity and revised organisation structure.
Finance Service Centre process improvements and IT Roadmap
e Digital Channel Strategy
e¢ Network Transformation Programme.
© Fraud Software Programme pilot to help improve the detection of fraud.
e Branch User Forum
Version control
Date Version I Reason for change Name of
sign off
12.7.2013 I v.1 Initial terms of reference draft
19.7.2013 I v.2 Revised following input from Amanda
7.8.2013 I v.3 Input from Programme Board to include additional names, Programme
approach, definition of what good looks like and confirmation that the
Programme will be run by Gayle Peacock