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Electronicmemo HE POST OFFICE
To Dolores O'Conner/POCL/PORTOERICE.
BarretyPOCLIPOSTOFFICEL__GR'
Gil Freemai
MarricttiPOC!
Stubbs/PO%
Chris P Dav
co
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From
Date
uurne/POCL/POSTOFFICE
18:40
Subject fitatlve research
for your info - overview of Horizon qualitative research with staff and subpostmasters
cheers
Alan
To
PPOCLIPOSTOFFICI
ce Gt/POCLPOSTOF:
POCL/POSTOFFICEG
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From
Date
E
Subject horizon quallit earch
Dear Kathryn, Dave and Kjetl
The following email outlines the key findings te emerge from the Horizon Live Trial qualitative research (17 depth interviews:
masters from the new 100 offices across a range of office types}. The interviews expiored views of the
the overall change process and impact on ways of working.
Overall, perhe ificant observation to emerge was the keer
and the’ nbrace the changes. Peapie fell it was vital
showing they were highly committed lowards it, Although many had niggies about a variety of sp
encountered, 1t wa: ly against a positive background. The installation process in particular was gen
OMICS
workspace ‘ays
this was ‘I's designed for sub po
acking in desk
oftware usability/design,
2 attitudes associated wi
, father than the system be
ransactions,
generic in
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{ie. working til late in the evening) compared to manual balancing: there were some encouraging signs, however, in thal
Horizon-based balancing times were reducing as experience and understanding grew.
Relationship with the Post Office - many felt they were working twice as hard for less revenue, and there was concern over
impacts of this, is of bonuses (eg. influenced by poor queueing times) or impact on remuneration. Further
problems had occurred in Branch Offices due to simultaneaus training of BO staff from all offices, making provision of caver
for training release problematic.
Training - despite being generally perceived as too short, many liked it and thought trainers were good, although reported
that they felt it didn't deliver the depth of understanding they would have liked and didn't prepare them for actual g
Further specifics included...
- training not adapte
attention span and star
‘or manual working
of the group, ie. accounting for IT experience, learning approaches (linked with age),
way of working (eg, not clearly identifying whether people used ECCO
h difficult),
transfer from the old ay
~ classroorn ergonien
improvement opport
~ @ projected “trainer screen” was put forward by
to enable all participants to see specific $ OF DF
ral interviewees as a simple and useful
biem-solving approaches.
- people offen reported the! gh the tech
prepared them for u: 3 eal world”
changes in how tc ps rvice while usin
ig had been adequate, they often felt that the training had not
ly as issues around the increased service times and
@ system were not addressed,
e customer
- some elements of the training programme's content (balancing in particular} were felt to be unrealistic, resulting in
attempting to problems and considerable stress when peopie found the system not working as they anticipated in their
offices.
- speed of knowledge transfer and consolldat ers once back in the office.
n was clearly slower for part-ii
or
i” aS good in terms of interpersonal interaction, but were unable to provide an operationally
hat thay needed help "there and then” te solve operational queries, but offen had to
found either knowledge was lacking as “helpline are learning too” or help was
simpist
essential in the early days of live operati
through it, given the pressure to gel the
back to square one.
Cormonly HFSOs tended to do the balance rather than coach office mana:
completed. Once HFSOs had moved cn, outlet managers often reported bel
, Outlined below.
d te salve queris
Approaches fo solving range of appro: were empioy
Discussion within the team / knowledge sh enerally worked weil where the team was younger and there was some IT
in the team. f in a team was also important - groups sizes of 5/6 seemed to be opti
jcull where queue pressure was high and through-put of customers on an hour-by-hour basis proved
offices).
s Clearly worked best where semeor
here was aiso a far der
office managers (but not between BO: os $ and subs).
‘One-to-one with local expert
could solve problems effe:
subpostmasters and between drai
and error by user - this tended to hay when there was a lack of other support, and/or due to anxiety under pressure.
Given some knowledge this was reported as working reasonably weil, and if successful can help build greater confidence
quick! of subposimasters felt confident encugh tc do their 3rd balance unsupporied even if they made some
mistakes. if ity for the future
Helpline - good as a sounding beard, bul as
was also perceived as over-bureaucratic
managers reported feeling the helpline was more v
oped, ‘imited in ability to react in real
th knowledge of helpdesk staff cur
@ PO installation team than to
nt-line Horizon users.
HFSOs - if ave ight time, support was seen as very good and given the HFSO came across as credibie and
knew what they were doing. was a good confidence-bullder. Pressure to gel tasks done (eg. balancing) tended fo get in the
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way of helping users become independent and work effectively without support.
User guides - these were seen as useful as a quick reminder of the processes to follow, but not helpful if anything doesn't
work. Seemed fo work best where pecpie added their own methods or otherwise tailored them for their specific needs.
Manuals - where people had the
they were too u oy ane not desig
for example iQ “if X happens, ty Y and Z, if that
useful.
e, these were usef ¢ working through admin procedures, however ii came across thal
ind their operational purpose. it was suggested that a fault-fixer in the guide,
he helpline" would have been more practi ically
Considering the outline above which emerged from the interviews, there are ciearly a number of over-arching implications
for management of change. The generally positive altitude which came across indicates that there isn’t any obvious
resistance to change amongst the new 100 offices and they are prepared to tolerate short term frustration in the hope of
jong term business gain. More widely, however, many expressed the enormous impact that Horizon would have on the
culture of the organi: on perceptions of the PO as held by the communily they serve. To a degree the
Post Office may be largely in this goodwill to enabie implementation, and many felt this should be recognised
more positive and tangible way. She extent to which this is forthca 1g wil clearly have implications for acceptance: or
resistance te other changes in the future. In terms of enabling r transition from go-live to an effective way of work
areas requiring specific attention are:
iG
~ system ergonomics
~ training
~ approach to resclving operationai queries and fac
~ review written support materials
~ advice to counter clerks on managing impact on customers
- Spread awareness of impacts of change and how they can be managed.
ting both confidence and learning
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
4) Ergonomics
improvements to syste:
requirement for processes to quickly feed back design (software and hardware) problems for future
(currently part of BSM approach).
2) Training
~ ensure balanci tively and reaiistically covered in training.
~ encourage individuals to sclve queries within an office
- steam delegates on the basis of 'T previous experience, age and experience of PO systems (eg ECCO or manual}
- tailor course elements further to suil delegate groups
- involve feedback from HF SOs and users in course design
~ avoid “dumbing-down" of moutse IG legate ae already fTiterate
- provide advi ing used to the system
ensure ali HFSOs and les etc} clearly reinforce training
**settiing-in period’ after go live are made clear, with a dear approach to managing
expectations
~ review training to ensure it focuses on vital few outcomes for effective oper:
On at gi
ve
3) Helplines and resolving queries. Many offices solve problems without the helpline, meaning problem management
information may already be missing much useful data, and often it can't respond quickly enough for operational need. Given
this, a possicle (and inexpensive} solution would be..
a} Provide a short “question and answer" guide for basic resolution of commen queries, For instance, “If X happens, 4
then reboot, if st ducing demand on helpline and facilitating learning and confidence in
users to work effectively.
b} Offices © roe ie ey feedback (coo (eg. along with cash account?) of main queries/issues that occurred to BSM fer
afi agreed period after go-iive. Additionally, putting forward effective
st useful idea/methed of the month} and best practice fed back to ali
d informal between-office networks and group problem-solving
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as appropriate to ensure a range of support is available.
4) Review written material - use helpline feedback fo tallor user guides to office type, ensure manuals are more clearly
indexed and formatting is reviewed to enabl ater usabliity.
5} Provide advice on maintaining effective customer service whilst getting used to the system, both in training and for
HFSOs and outlet managers ic pass on fo clerks.
8) Change management approach - ensure the human side of change is assessed in the broader context, including the cost
of taking action and net doing se. Spread awareness of impact of changes on way of working after
ge from this stage of research.
Hope the above provides a useful summary of the key points to et
Kind regards,
Alan