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Welcome
to
Post Office Ltd
@
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Royal Mail Group (RMG)
Royal Mail Group is the parent group of the three trusted brands, Royal Mail, Post Office®
and Parcelforce Worldwide. Royal Mail Group is unique in reaching everyone in the UK
through the mails, Post Office® and parcels businesses
ti
Royal Mail Letters
Royal Mail is the letters and packages business, covering the whole of the UK for the one-
price-goes-anywhere universal service. Each working day they collect items directly from
113,000 post boxes, 14,300 Post Office® branches and from some 87,000 businesses.
These items pass through the network of 70 mail centres, 8 regional distribution centres (for
customer sorted mail) and 3,000 delivery offices. Then the fleet of over 30,000 red vehicles
and 33,000 bicycles help to deliver them to their final destination.
They use postcodes to identify where an item is going, helping them to sort mail efficiently
and deliver it faster. They make deliveries six days a week by around lunchtime, although
many customers receive their mail much earlier than this, and they aim to complete rural
deliveries by around 3pm.
Parcelforce
Parcelforce Worldwide is the express parcels business. Delivering around 150,000 parcels a
day to their customers.
In the last few years Parcelforce Worldwide has successfully turned around its business and
is now a key player in the competitive, unregulated, express parcels market. It has
dramatically cut its losses from operations and continues to improve the quality of service
provided for customers, particularly for its time-critical products.
The challenge it now faces is to build on these improvements and to operate at sustained
levels of profitability
General Logistics Systems (GLS) is the European parcels business and Parcelforce
Worldwide is its UK partner. Based at GLS head office in the Netherlands, it has14,500
employees.
GLS handles over 1 million parcels a day, through its network of 667 depots, 29 central
transhipment points, 16,000 delivery vehicles and 1,700 long distance trucks. Its core
operation is business-to-business parcels deliveries and it has 220,000 customers in 34
states across Europe.
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Post Office Limited
Post Office Ltd is the third company forming part of the Royal Mail Group that runs our
14,300 Post Office® branches across the country. It is the largest retail and financial
services chain in the UK - bigger than all of the UK’s banks and building societies put
together.
Post Office® network — a challenging future
The Post Office® network faces unprecedented challenges.
One of its most important products — the Post Office® Card Account, used by 4.5 million
customers — has been replaced with the Government card Account, which is currently out to
open tender and which Post Office Limited are bidding for.
The rural network relies on annual financing of £150 million from the Government, which has
been approved until 2008 — and the Post Office® awaits a decision on the future funding of
the network beyond 2008.
Meanwhile, the network overall continues to make a loss on its operations of some £2
million a week. The Post Office® will work as hard as it can to create a sustainable future
for the network and to remove uncertainty for its subpostmasters — but the future of the
network is in the Government's hands.
It is widely recognised that the network of 14,300 branches is a vital part of the fabric of the
country, cherished by the communities nationwide that rely on Post Office® products and
services. The Post Office®, together with the independent subpostmasters, is proud to run
this hugely valued network. In urban areas, over 99% of people live within a mile of a Post
Office® branch, and in rural areas 83% of people live within a mile of a branch. Over 24
million customers visit us each week.
Rural and urban branches
There are 8,000 rural branches and 6,500 urban branches in the 14,300-strong Post Office®
network. Almost all rural branches are loss-making for Post Office Ltd and it takes some £3
million a week to run the rural network, money which comes from the Government's annual
£150 million Social Network Payment.
The Post Office®, in response to a request from the Department of Trade and Industry
(DTI), has tested a range of innovative ways — other than the traditional village branch — of
providing Post Office® services in rural areas. We have reported on this work to the DTI
and while the pilot activity showed that costs could be reduced, the Post Office® does not
have the definitive answer as to how a sustainable, rural Post Office® service can be
provided.
A key challenge facing both urban and rural branches is the decline in Government business
going through the Post Office® network. Ten years ago, the majority of business transacted
across our counters was on behalf of Government departments.
With the switch to payment of pensions and benefits directly to bank accounts now
complete, the network has already lost the £400 million a year income it earned from this
work. The Post Office® Card Account has replaced some of this revenue and we have also
developed new revenue streams from the development of new financial products, such as
car and home insurance, and other new products, such as HomePhone. But there remains
a revenue shortfall
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Post Office Products and Services
The Post Office® and its partners offer over 170 products and services, including:
*» Postal services
‘Financial and banking services, including personal loans, car and home
insurance, a “two in one” credit card , savings and investment products and bill
payments
“Travel services, including foreign currency exchange, travel insurance,
passport application check and send service
** HomePhone (our home telephone service), directory enquiries, phonecards
and mobile phone top-ups
Postal orders, gift vouchers and cards, lottery products and licence
applications.
The Post Office® is also the biggest cash handler in the country with more than £90 billion
passing through its hands each year. For every £1 in circulation, 17p in goes through a Post
Office® branch and around 360 million household bills are paid at Post Office® branches
each year.
Who we are
EXECUTIVE TEAM
.
Marketing
Develop strategies to maximise revenue,
profit, and market shares
Operations
Develop and manage, in partnership
with our suppliers, the ‘end-to-end’
supply chain
Sales
Ensure resources are appropriately
deployed to optimise income from
products and channels
Network
Deliver excellence to the customer
and drive sales
Strategy
Develop Business strategy and deploy
the business planning framework,
stakeholder management and market
analysis for commercial opportunities
Finance
Manage Post Office® finances,
including cash flow, physical settlement
and receipt of funds, financial analysis,
and performance reporting
People & Organisational Development
Develop business unit people strategy,
identifying opportunities for
organisational development
ee
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Forward:five2eleven
the bigger picture
FORWARD: Five2eleven is our strategy for moving the Post Office® forward over the next
five years, taking us to 2011 and, ultimately, back into profit.
In 2006 Post Office® launched Forward five2eleven across the business introducing Post
Office® strategy, communicating what this involved, what it meant to our people, products,
brand, operations, channels and most importantly our customers.
The Post Office® strategy is based around four product pillars:
Mails and Retail,
“Financial Services,
* Telephony
“Government Services.
These are the areas where the Post Office® already are, or have the potential to be, a
distinctive supplier and will be building on past experience and previous successes to develop
easy to understand and attractive products for each of the four pillars. Creating a clear
identity for the Post Office® based around four product pillars.
We are now in year three (three2eleven) of our strategy. As we move up a gear in our
strategy to transform the Post Office® by 2011, these are our key priorities for 2008/09:
Key priorities
e Sales Consistent delivery of our sales targets is a must. We can no longer rely on
cutting costs to achieve our targets
e Consistent customer experience Bringing the Fairer, Easier, Better principles to
everything we do
e Engaging with subpostmasters Recognising and rewarding the vital part they play in
our plans
e Our product plans Defining the right portfolio for our customers and winning the new
Card Account contract
e — Introducing the Crown Office of the Future Creating a flagship branch model, where
customers get the right experience at the right cost to our business
«More about our direct proposition Creating a complementary customer experience via
our direct channels
«Delivering network transformation A network that's the right size, shape, and delivers
the right service and remuneration for our subpostmasters
e People and leadership Transforming our people by recognising and rewarding the
right contribution
e ITroadmap Building a new and more effective IT infrastructure, including Horizon
Online™
e Operational efficiency Delivering major cost savings and continuous improvement to
our business
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FORWARD: three2eleven
IT Roadmap
By the end of this year, we'll have put in place the base structure for our IT platform in the
form of Horizon Online™.
It's just the start of several stages in our mission to provide an agile, forward-looking platform
that enables us to deliver services to customers and partners more effectively - increasing
satisfaction while reducing costs.
A further key initiative is to deliver an end-to-end data management strategy to support our
direct proposition, the MI Programme and beyond, and take a consistent approach to sales
reporting that gives us one version of how we're doing.
We will be reviewing branch IT assets to optimise efficiency and effectiveness. The roll-out of
new pin-pads for all branches will begin, and the security infrastructure will also be updated.
From a strategic viewpoint, we will be identifying ways to reduce IT costs over the long term
and initiating any cost-saving opportunities, where possible.
Horizon Online™
Horizon Online™ - the next generation of our Horizon system and a
key pillar in our overall IT roadmap for the future of the business - is
now well into development, with a view to be trialled early in 2009
and rolled out to all branches during the summer 2009.
As well as offering colleagues in branch an intuitive and easy-to-use
customer service tool, Horizon Online™ will also enable changes to
be made and new functionality to be added very quickly behind the scenes, making its
management across the business significantly simpler and therefore more cost-effective than
existing systems.
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KEY POLICIES
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There are a number of policies and standards that apply to you whilst you are a Post Office
Ltd employee.
Some of the key policies are outlined below. Your line manager will answer any questions
you may have and will advise you on where to obtain further information.
Post Office Ltd Intranet Site
All of the following policies can be found on the Post Office Ltd Intranet web site. The Intranet
is a closed network for Royal Mail Group employees.
Each Business unit, Royal Mail, Parcelforce and Post Office Ltd have their own site, on one
platform, allowing access to the other Business unit's site.
The Intranet is used as the internal communications channel to share policies / guidelines and
information to assist in doing your job, including a HR site that covers all employee issues.
All employees are automatically given access as part of the ‘Tools for Job’, which will default
to the home page of their relevant Business unit. Each home page includes all the Tools,
Links and Promotions to help you do your job.
Post Office Ltd Intranet
Table of Contents
Bullying & Harassment
The Royal Mail Group Code of Business Standards
Health& Safety
Security
Managing attendance
Performance Management
Performance Management — PaLMS tool
Performance Management — one to ones
ONOTRON=
1. Bullying and Harassment
Royal Mail Group PLC is committed to making equality of opportunity & fairer treatment a
reality, whereby an individual can seek, obtain and continue employment without unfair and /
or unlawful discrimination.
Royal Mail Group pic have a policy outlining the procedures for reporting Bullying &
harassment which applies to all types of employees, as well as casuals, self employed
contract workers and agency contract workers.
A full copy of the Code is located on the POL Intranet Site under Post Office Ltd HR policies
site.
Bullying & Harassment Policy
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2. The Royal mail Group Code of Business Standards
This is a Code that sets out the standards of behaviour that all of us should maintain in our
dealings with customers, clients, suppliers, agents, competitors and colleagues. It applies to
all employees of Royal Mail Group, including those in Post Office Limited.
All employees and agents have a duty to uphold the standards set out in this Code, and
managers have a responsibility to ensure that their teams know about it and observe it. It
forms part of the company rules which you must follow as part of your employment. So you
need to be aware that any breach of this Code may be dealt with under the Conduct Code,
and that gross misconduct could result in your dismissal.
The Code is also meant as guidance when difficult situations arise. Of course, no set of rules
can cover every possibility. We all, at some time in our working lives, confront dilemmas
about whether an action is right. The Code of Business covers:
* Observing this code
“Service to customers
“ Concern for the community and the environment
“Personal conduct
Courtesy and personal appearance
Behaviour towards colleagues
Health and safety
Equal opportunities
Security and trust
Misuse of computers or the Internet
Political and pressure group activity
Conflicts of interest
* Gifts
* Hospitality and entertainment
“Preventing and reporting crime
A full copy of the Code can be found on the Post Office Ltd Intranet Site under Post Office
Policies, Conflict of Interest,
Code of Business Standards
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3. Health & Safety
Post Office Ltd recognises its health and safety responsibilities to its employees, partners and
contractors and to its customers, neighbours and the public and will take account of national
legislation and health and safety best practice in the conduct of all of its business activities.
The health and safety of individuals is the prime goal of this policy but Post Office Ltd also
recognises the business case for the prevention of losses due to injury and ill health. It
recognises the value and contribution to business performance of the positive health and
safety culture which derives from strong leadership and commitment to realistic health and
safety objectives designed to bring about continuous improvement in health and safety
management and health and safety performance.
As your employer, Post Office Limited must: -
Provide a safe place of work, with safe equipment and safe methods of work
Provide information, instruction, training and supervision on health and safety
+ Provide a written statement of health and safety policy
“+ Ensure the safety of members of the public and all those it may affect in
conducting its business, are not affected by the business work activity.
All employees must: -
* Take care of themselves and other people who might be affected by what they
are doing when they are at their place of work or any other place when they are
officially on duty
Perform any necessary health and safety duty required by their employer
Take part in any instruction or training as directed by their employer
Not intentionally or recklessly misuse anything provided in the interests of health
and safety.
Each line manager is responsible for the health and safety of those staff that report to
hinvVher. Your line manager will ensure that you receive a full briefing on the essential Health
and Safety information that you need to do your job safely.
Each individual is responsible for complying with his/her line manager's instructions in health
and safety matters.
Should you need to discuss health and safety with anyone, your first point of contact should
be your immediate line manager.
A full copy of the Health & safety Policy can be found on Post Office Intranet site.
Health & Safety Policy
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Key Policies
4. Security
All employees have a duty to guard against crime, and to take care that we do not expose
colleagues or company property to criminal activity by relaxing procedures. We also have a
duty to take action to prevent crime against the company, whether by terrorists, computer
hackers, outsiders or by employees, and to report it whenever necessary. Nobody, however,
should risk death or injury in circumstances of extreme danger such as a criminal attack or
hostage situation.
Your Guide to Information Security
Information Security is not an option
All business units and employees must maintain a minimum level of security to enable the
business to meet its legal and contractual obligations. Compliance with government and
industry standards of best practice is expected by our clients and contributes to the overall
reputation of the company and the value of our brands. Consequently, everyone in Royal Mail
Group, including Post Office Ltd has a responsibility for ensuring that information is managed
properly and suitably protected.
The aim of this guide is to provide direction and advice on how to apply information security in
and out of the workplace, Your Guide to Information Security covers:
* Clear desk
“Confidentiality
“ Security
Computers
Security working away from office
Software
Email / internet/viruses
“Information security incidents
* Data protection act
“Who to Contact
* Where to find policies & guidance
Your line manager will provide you with the specific information and guidance applicable to
your role, on:
Local security practices and procedures
Looking after your own personal security
“National Security Policies
The ‘Your Guide to Information Security’ is mandatory and is automatically downloaded onto
your computer on joining; you can also find the guide on Post Office Ltd Intranet site
Information Security Policy
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5. Managing Attendance: guidelines
Our customers depend on us to provide high levels of service. With so many people and
businesses relying on us, we need to make sure that you understand how important you are
to the smooth running of the operation. We rely on you to come to work on time, every time. If
you are ill and unable to work, we will support you in every way we can. To be fair to
everyone, we have set attendance standards that we expect you to keep.
The procedure comprises stages at which individuals will be encouraged, through advice and
guidance given at interview, to improve and sustain their level of attendance. The stages are
progressive and specifically intended to help individuals be aware of and sustain the required
levels of attendance, so as to avoid more formal action, which can ultimately lead to
dismissal.
..if you're ill
Call your manager as soon as you know you're not going to be able to come to work
wherever possible, preferably before you are due to start work. Explain what is wrong with
you and how long you think you might be off sick. If it's due to an accident in work, we need
to know immediately. Keep your manager updated by phoning in, preferably every day, to let
us know how you are. If you’re off work for more than 7 days, ask your GP for a certificate
and send it to your manager.
...when you come back to
work after being ill
Report to your manager who will arrange a short meeting to ensure you are fit to come back,
you will be given a self certification form to fill in. This will cover the first 7 days you were
Away or any period not covered by your GPs certificate.
Unauthorised absence
Our customers expect great service, whoever they are and wherever they live or operate
from. So great service is what we all aim to deliver and that’s why it is so important to let your
manager know if you cannot attend work. In the unlikely event that you are away from work
without letting your manager know, this will be classed as unauthorised absence, which will
be unpaid. This is because it breaches your contract and results in disruption of the services
we offer to our customers. It may then be dealt with under Royal Mail Group's Code of
Conduct. So, if you can’t attend work, let your manager know.
Your line manager will be happy to discuss attendance requirements with you in more detail.
The full policy can be found on the Post Office Ltd Intranet site.
Attendance and Absence policy
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6. Performance Management
What is Performance Management?
In its simplest form “performance management is the enhancing of an individuals
performance within their current job role”. Performance management is a discipline with the
responsibility for managing performance shared between the individual, the line manager and
Post Office Ltd.
Performance Management is critical to achieving business results and raising performance
standards in a consistent manner while helping people to gain a real understanding of:
“how they are performing
“how they can develop
“how to enhance their performance and increase their pay.
In Royal Mail Group including Post Office Limited a Performance Development Review (PDR)
process is operated.
The PDR process is run through April to March, with an Interim PDR completed in
September. Line Mangers will discuss with their direct reports, progress against objectives
set at the beginning of the PDR year, via monthly one to one meetings (1-2-1’s).
There are three key components to measuring performance:
1. What someone has achieved — their performance against objectives
2. How they have achieved this performance — their behaviours
3. How their performance compares to their peers - relative performance.
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6. Performance Management - continued
Objectives:
Objectives describe something that people must accomplish over a period of time and
contributes to the success of the business. Measures must cover time, resource and quality
the ‘what’ people need to do to achieve an objective.
Behaviours
Appropriate behaviours are those which lie behind competent performance, to perform a job
well it is necessary both to be able to do a job at a technically competent level and to have
behaviours that reinforce these technical skills, i.e. they demonstrate the ‘how’ of achieving a
goal.
Relative performance
Relative performance comparison sessions, allow us to better understand how our people are
performing in relation to one another at the same level within the organisation, and ensure
that consistent standards and performance ratings are applied.
These sessions are run at the end of the Performance year, and are held by either the first or
second line managers, supported by our HR teams with everybody across the business. In
advance of the comparison session, individuals will have had opportunity to input to their own
performance review. The performance review forms should provide details of what they have
achieved against objectives, how it was delivered against each of the business behaviours.
This will also include any feedback received from customers and colleagues which provides
valuable evidence for the comparison session.
The output from the sessions will be a final agreed rating for each individual. This rating is
used to calculate the amount of pay increase and bonus the individual will receive.
Senior Managers and CMA managers Incentive schemes are both on the Post Office Ltd
Intranet site.
CMA Admin Bonus Scheme
Senior Manager Bonus Scheme
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7. Performance Management - PaLMS
To support the Business with Performance Development Review Process (PDR) we use an
electronic tool, e-Performance.
e-Performance is an off-the-shelf, web-based performance management system which is
accessible via the Business intranet. By allowing people to input their own performance
information it will support a cultural shift towards them managing and owning actions to
improve their personal work performance, leading to an integrated approach to performance
management.
This tool is referred to as PaLMS (Performance and Learning Management System)
The Benefits include:
“Integrated system hosting Performance, Web-Based Training and Classroom Based
Training.
Facility to set record and track personal and development objectives.
“Recording 1:1 notes.
‘360 degree feedback review tool.
Ability to carry out and record performance reviews.
Track, host and launch Web Based training.
Facility to apply for classroom based training online from pre-scheduled courses.
Everybody has access to the PaLMS system and is joined as part of the recruitment process.
The Royal Mail Group intranet site has a Generic Guide for PaLMS which explains in simple
terms the importance of how to set clearly defined objectives that make the managing of your
performance via the PaLMS system an easy to follow step by step process.
The Generic Guides for PaLMS can be found on the Post Office Intranet site
PaLMS quides
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8. Performance Management - One to One Meetings
Business Guidelines state that one to one activity should take place regularly throughout the
performance year, and where possible on a monthly basis.
What is a one to one?
A one-to-one is a meeting between two people to review objectives and/or to discuss current
and future work related issues. It is not a structured performance review but a regular, less
formal, discussion about work. This might be to review progress, discuss a particular issue or
coach on an upcoming event. One to one's are a method of contact with your line manager,
and an effective way of receiving ongoing encouragement and support during your
performance
Benefits of one-to-one’s
A one-to one is an opportunity for both the individual and line manager to discuss what is
happening in the Business unit, share updates on team performance and discuss any big
changes that will affect the individual or the team in the future.
There are a number of benefits of holding regular one-to-ones (1-2-1). The obvious
advantages are that you can:
Clarify expectations
“Discuss what is going well and what is not going so well
“Receive feedback on progress and behaviours
“Discuss any development opportunities
All individuals should expect, and be proactive in securing, a one to one with the relevant line
manager which provides an environment for continuous monitoring of progress and
development opportunities.
One to one’s are the tool that feed Mid Year Reviews and ultimately populate the end of year
PDR form and therefore are essential.
There is a standard form to use for One to One activity; you can find the document on the
Change & IS SharePoint site using the link below.
1-2-1 agenda
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OPERATIONS DIRECTORATE
Are-structure of the Organisation took place in 2006 as part of the Forward Five2eleven
launch. This review gave the Operations Directorate an opportunity to bring together a
number of functions that had previously been spread between different Directorates, and
locate them within one Directorate to clarify accountability for delivery.
The functions moved into the Operations Directorate included Security which had previously
sat in Finance, Investigations, and a number of teams concerned with change
implementation. Elsewhere within the Operations Directorate, changes were made to
management arrangements for example
A flatter management structure for cash
Creation of four Business Partner Roles within Change & IS, with the IT function
being aligned behind them to improve support
All property projects now in one place
Commercial team moved into Operations control
Locating all change implementation expertise in one place limits duplication, and clarified
accountability for achieving results. Creation of the Business partner role enabled us to
deliver a more responsive service to our clients which are also better tailored to their needs.
Who we are
Operations Team
Operations,
Director
Mike Young
Head of
Operational
Efficiency
Neil Ennis
Head of
Property
Projects
Clive Bradley
Head OF I
Change & 1S
Dave Smith
Head of
Supply Chain
Keith Rann
Security
John Scott
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Operations Directorate
The simplest way to describe the role of Operations is that we deliver & maintain the
environment that opens the Post Office for business, across all of the channels (Branch,
Contact centre & online).
Operations consist of six key areas, all unique but all inter-related as they work to achieve this
goal.
Change & IS: The business change agent.
C&IS relates to the POL organisation through a business partner structure. It takes ideas (“the
what’) and turns them into deliverables (“the how”) through a network of internal & external
partners. This is true for all changes both large & small.
Operations Control: The service delivery engine.
Ops control ensures that the day to day availability of all services (e.g. technology, contact
centres, branch equipment etc) is maintained at a cost effective level -the first port of call for
day to day issues.
Supply Chain: The delivery vehicle.
Supply Chain is responsible for the effective management, delivery & collection of all cash &
stock to and from the network. This includes offsite cash processing.
In order to manage the net cost of Operation the Supply Chain offers a profitable 3" party
collection & processing operation for a number of the major high street retailers.
Property Projects: The estate managers.
Post Office Ltd operates a significant estate in terms of both Supply Chain & the Crown Office
Network. The management of the estate as well as all major change (closure, refurbishment,
disposal etc) is managed through the Property Projects team. This team links into the Group
Property structure where appropriate.
Security: The guardians focused on preventing loss.
The security function operates across the whole of the Post Office estate in a mode of
prevention and, if necessary, investigation & recovery.
Commercial security is initially built in a product design stage; the estate is risk assessed and
managed at a physical level & finally investigation and recovery comes into play in the event
of an eventual loss.
Operational Efficiency: The process improvers
With a goal on discovering & saving £270m p.a. by the year 2011, this function is focused on
improving, not only the Operations function, but Post Office Ltd as a whole.
The team will use techniques from the traditional through to Lean to make this happen in an
effective & sustainable way.
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CHANGE & IS
Who we are
Change & Is Lead Team
Dave Smith
Head of
Change & IS
Keith Graves
Head of
Business
Partnerships
BUSINESS I PARTNERS
I
Tim Connold I Mark Burley I
Andy Jones
Carol Ayres.
Ann David Gray
Marketing Direct Sales Delivery, Programme Strategy &
Integration & Manager Architecture
Operations Assurance HNG-x
Change & IS Purpose
The Change & IS purpose statement can be found on the Change & IS SharePoint site
Change and IS purpose statement
Ways of Working
Post Office Ltd has various Business premises across the country, Change & IS are primarily
split across 4 business sites:
Royal Mail Building -1 Future Walk, West Bars Chesterfield S49 1PF
Royal Mail Building — 80 Old Street, London EC1V 9NN
Royal Mail Building - 148 Old Street, London EC1V 9HQ
Fujitsu Services Building - Lovelace Road, Bracknell
Fujitsu Services (key supplier) allows Post Office Ltd to rent floor space in Fujitsu’s Services
Bracknell site. This enables Post Office Ltd staff to work closely with Fujitsu, for Change & IS
we have our Reference Data team (Business partner Network & Operations) and some of our
testers.
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CHANGE & IS
Key Suppliers
FUJITSU SERVICES
Manage the Horizon system which serves the front end counter. (Fujitsu Services also host
POLFS). Horizon next generation (HNG-x) will replace the existing system from April 09
PRISM
Manage the ongoing support of and changes to the business financial system i.e. POLFS
which is a SAP application. Manage the data gateway (EDG) which is a platform for sending
data / files between Post Office Ltd and its clients. Manage changes to SAPADS - a bespoke
SAP application used by the supply chain for the management of stock and cash.
Prism also host Post Office Ltd reference data and MI systems.
LOGICA
Key supplier in making changes to the reference data system.
STREAMLNE
Involved in the accreditation process for transactions involving debit / credit card acceptance.
e-ENTERPRISE
Support all web development changes although their role is being evaluated under the current
Group IT review.
INGENICO
Manage the paystation network which primarily supports bill payment transactions within
branch. This is currently being developed to support a wider transaction base.
BT (Including Servista, Fintech, TechMahindra)
Provide the Broadband and HomePhone Contact Centre and White Label Web portal. They
receive daily files from Horizon for Branch Telecoms orders and payments.
SPRING TECHNOLOGY
Manage & fulfill requests for external resource requirements which are primarily IT focused
roles, these will be on short term contracts.
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CHANGE & IS
a
Change and IS standards
Communications
* Allemails must include name, job title, address and contact details
* Allindividuals must use electronic calendar and have open access for all to view
* Out of office indicator must be in use if out of office on leave, training etc and
include an alternative contact person/point
** Mobiles must have voicemail activity
* For periods when you are away from your desk for meetings, lunch, etc please
ensure you make arrangements for your desk phone to be diverted to a phone that
can be answered by a colleague or to your mobile phone
Courtesy and Personal Appearance.
As a courtesy to our customers and colleagues, everyone who works for the company is
expected to show high standard of behavior to present a smart and clean appearance.
Please never, by act or appearance, bring the company or any of its brands into disrepute.
Local practice for work areas is Smart Business dress for Monday's to Thursdays, Fridays is
smart casual wear, with exceptions where you are attending meetings with external clients,
where standard business dress is expected.
Any marks, badges, ribbons, tattoos or ornaments (including items used in body piercing) that
are either
* Offensive
“Indecent
Ahealth & safety risk or,
* Otherwise incompatible with the standards in this code
should not be displayed on company premises or property. Managers have the right to
require badges, ribbons or other items to be removed if the cause in question or the manner
of display of the items might embarrass the company.
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CHANGE & IS
TT
Processes / Tools
Annual Leave
One of the most important conditions of employment offered by Post Office Ltd is the
entitlement to annual leave. Annual leave is the term used by the business to describe staff
holidays with full pay.
Part of the line manager's job is to know how much leave their team members can take ata
given time, arrange an ‘Annual Leave Plan ‘ and maintain proper records to support absence
taken by members of the team, for this purpose Change & IS use a Lotus Notes database
tool. The database is called ‘IT Comm. Team. A/Leave database, it is held on Lotus Notes
and is easily accessible to all Lotus Notes users.
Profiles for all Change & IS are created on the database by the Resource Team as part of the
recruitment process.
You can find the instructions / guide for individuals on how to use the Lotus Notes Annual
Leave database on the Change & IS SharePoint site...
Annual Leave Lotus Notes Database
POL Operations Scheduler
POL Operations Scheduler is a Lotus notes calendar database which allows others with
access rights to see the availability of everybody within the Operations Directorate, useful
when setting up meetings. This information is pulled directly from individual calendars via
their Lotus Notes accounts.
All Change & IS Internal employees’ will be joined to the scheduler by the Resource team as
part of the resource process.
Change & IS Newsletter
The Change & IS Newsletter is a tool used for informing people about what's happening and
contains key messages, key project/programme delivery updates, performance data, and
people matters. It also includes useful links relating to the content, and is sent to everyone in
Change & IS on a monthly basis via a Lotus Notes email.
SharePoint
SharePoint is Microsoft's brand name for the collaborative tool that allows groups with the
business to set up their own restricted access mini-sites. Change & IS have a group site on
which we share information, hold current templates for organisation charts, project
documents, team information etc. Everybody in Change & IS is given access rights to the
collaborative site.
Change & IS SharePoint site
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CHANGE & IS
a
Change Management Framework
The Change Management Framework (CMF) is the model used by Change and IS to assess
and deliver change on behalf of the business.
The framework covers the end to end Project Lifecycle and pre project idea development,
impact assessment and feasibility. It is made up of Governance forums, delivery lifecycles,
templates, product descriptions and guidelines.
Pre Project work is initiated by a High Level Blueprint - a form outlining an idea for
progression. This form is completed by the Sponsor with support from Change and IS,
Finance and Strategy. It is then presented to a forum for assurance, resource and advice on
the most appropriate delivery lifecycle.
The Delivery Lifecycles are:
Harmony - A Royal Mail Group mandated methodology for delivering IT developments.
The Harmony lifecycle is a hierarchy of Phases, Activities and Tasks in the development and
delivery of business changes. Harmony describes what should be done, when and by whom.
It serves as a guide, or checklist, for practitioners to be augmented for each project identifying
how it will be used for that project.
All activities in Harmony are mandatory for every project. This helps to ensure a standard
approach for projects as well as ensuring that every activity has been considered. This does
not mean that the same effort, time or resources are required for every activity. In some
projects, activities may be planned with negligible effort, timescales and resources while
others may be far more significant.
You can find out more about Harmony via the Post Office Ltd Intranet site:
Harmony,
PLC - Project Lifecycle applies the PRINCE 2 methodology for all IT development projects.
For example Post Office Ltd Crown Office refurbishments
PACE - Is a low risk, minimal control for non development change. For example product
prices change. The PACE process is run by the Network & Product Change Team within the
Change & IS directorate. The aim of the core process is to provide a framework for
implementing changes to products/services throughout the Post Office® network. The PACE
processes are based on PRINCE 2 project management principles which means that they
also dovetail with the new Royal Mail project process entitled ‘HARMONY’.
Programmed Change. - A predefined method for re-occurring non development change for
example: issue of new philatelic stamps
PLC, PACE and Programme Change templates can be found on the Change and IS.
SharePoint site
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CHANGE & IS
Document Review and IT Document Library
Team purpose statement
Ensure that all POL Stakeholders are identified and that they have sight of changes that
impact them. Ensure that relevant changes are properly understood, enabling effective impact
assessment and delivery.
Document Review
Advise projects on stakeholders for document reviews
Ensure that the documents are reviewed by the right stakeholders
Stakeholders outside POL can be included
Collate and sense check stakeholders comments
Return consolidated comments to projects
Check documents are updated with comments incorporated
Provide information to projects on stakeholders responses
Chase Approval Authorities & Sign- Offs
Document review details tracked
IT’S Document Library
Provide project with library space in which to manage documents
Managed storage for baseline documents when business sign-off has been
completed
Document Archiving service
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Glossary of terms & abbreviations
For understanding the ‘Technical speak’ visit the Jargon Buster on the Post Office Ltd Intranet site:
JargonBuster
Abbreviation
Term
Meaning
AM
Area Manager
Manages a number of Crown Offices, service, profit & loss,
part of Post Office Ltd Network
ATT Average Transaction All transaction has an ATT which helps drive remuneration
Time. levels for Sub Postmaster’s.
BA Business Analyst Requirements analyst in Post Office Ltd (POL)
BAU Business as Usual Normal way of working, operational baseline
BCCB Business Change Control I Agree/approve technical & contractual change requests.
Board Meeting managed by Kevin Brothwood, Portfolio Planning &
Integration manager in Delivery Integration & Assurance team
(DIA).
BCS British Computer Society I Accreditation against a model for personnel development.
Accreditation Similar to Investors in People.
BDM Business Development Manage a group of Post Office Ltd branches/areas. Part of
Manager Network group.
BP Business Partner Head of each silo of Change &IS, team managers and maintain
key relationships with their corresponding business unit of
Post Office Ltd
Broadbanding I Broadbanding Post Office Ltd approach to reward & recognition linking pay
to Job Family descriptions and performance reviews
BM Branch Manager Manages a Crown Office within Post Office Ltd Network.
BSM Business Solutions Report to the Business Partner. Lead the interface between
Manager Change &IS and Post Office Ltd business area with their
Business Analyst’s.
C&IS Change & IS Managed by Dave Smith, segment of Operations Directorate,
this team’s role is to manage & deliver change projects to Post
Office Ltd
C&IS Lead Change & IS Lead Team I Head of Change & IS and his direct reports. Meet weekly and
Team monthly. Minuted & actions logged.
cD Conceptual Design High-level requirements document, sometimes used to
communicate requirements & high-level design to suppliers.
CIT Cash In Transit POL business involving delivery and pick-up of cash to/from
Post Office branches.
Client Client Business for which Post Office Ltd sells products. E.g. Money
gram, Royal Mail Letters, DVLA
CMA The Communication and I Union for Royal Mail Group management staff
Managers Association
Community Community Days Meeting of people in the same job family to share best
Days practices, ideas
Crown Office
Crown Office
A post office counter 100% owned by Post Office Ltd
CSR
Corporate Social
Responsibility
One of many Royal Mail Group/ Post Office Ltd initiatives
CTT Counter Transaction Type of transaction in the Horizon counter system
Type
CWU Communication Workers I Union representing workers in the postal and telecoms sector.
Union Includes large members-only section.
Customer Customer Individual who buys products from a post office.
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Glossary of terms & abbreviations
Abbreviation I Term
Meaning
DIA Delivery, Integration &
Assurance
Managed by Andy Jones member of the Change & IS Lead
team, part of Change & IS , this team’s role is similar to a
Project Management Office
Directorate Directorate
One of the top level business units of Post Office Ltd :
Marketing, Finance, Network, Operations, Personnel &
Organisational Development, Strategy, Sales, Project
Management Office
DR Delivery Request Detailed documentation of the specifics required. Input to
PACE & Programme projects.
DWG Delivery Working Group I A project steering group within Change &IS involving the key
project managers in looking at cross-project dependencies &
risks. Chaired by the Head of Planning & Change Integration.
EC Executive Committee a.k.a. Executive Team
ECD Employee Royal Mail Group Address book (in Notes). Tends to be out
Communications
of date.
Directory See Peoplefinder
EDG Electronic Data Gateway I A service that is hoisted by Prism on behalf of Royal Mail
Group, that is an electronic posting box for file transfers
between parties
ET Executive Team The group of the Post Office Ltd Managing Director & his
a.k.a. Executive
Leadership Team
reports
FSS Financial Service Support the sale of financial products within the Crown
Specialists Network.
Harmony Harmony Project management methodology used across Post Office Ltd
& Royal Mail Group.
HLBP High Level Blue Print 1. Very high-level requirements analysis & solutions
description
2. A forum (HLBP Forum) who approve the blueprints
HNG Horizon Next Generation I A programme to replace the main Post Office Ltd counter
system in order to modularize it so that changes to individual
parts do not require a complete new release and changes may
be verified independently of other parts of the system. A.k.a.
HNG-X for HNG version X.
Horizon Horizon Point of sale system used at Post Office counters in the
network
Name of the system (hardware + software + process)
HYS Have Your Say Royal Mail Group method of gathering employee feedback
In Touch In Touch Meetings Weekly meetings of Change &IS Lead Team
Meetings
Initiative Initiative Work done before a project, or outside of project structure
IRF Input Review Forum Authorises final releases of minor changes (all Project
lifecycle & some PACE) into the operation, ready to go live.
See also Release Authorisation Board for major releases of
Horizon
TRIS Interactive Recruitment I Royal Mail Group job vacancy database, internal & external
and Information System _I views
ITWG IT Working Group Long term IT planning & strategy & decision making
Job Famil Job Family
Groupings of similar job types
Job Level Job Level
Grade category. See Change & IS orgchart. E.g. 4A, 4B
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Glossary of terms & abbreviations
Abbreviation I Term Meaning
Keith Keith Nickname for Progress & Project Reporting Tool
LEAN Lean Reduce waste, reduce process variation. Common partner to 6-
sigma. Management buzzword.
LIW Location Independent Agreement where individuals are not required to work in a
Working
specific location, i.e. work from home.
MI Management .. System. Post Office Ltd management information
Information
NS&I National Savings & Post Office Ltd client. Bank. Previously Post Office Ltd
Investment owned.
OBC Operational Business A type of small change to reference data as part of a
Change Programmed Change. Requirement is documented in an
Operational Baseline Change Form sent to suppliers and ref.
data team.
OD Organisational 1. Human Resource dept
Development 2. The review & subsequent change in Post Office Ltd
organisation structure which took place 2006/7. As in “OD
review”.
Operational Operational Baseline 1. A documented description of the system in place to manage
Baseline the Post Office service to customers (branches and on-line).
The system includes the processes followed, the roles and
organisation used, hardware, facilities, software, data and
information. The system does not include Post Office-
internal processes (e.g. project management or resource
planning). The Operational Baseline is proposed to be
developed using enterprise architecture modelling tools.
2. Current way of working, largely undocumented
P&OD Personnel & Human Resources department at Post Office Ltd
Organisational
Development
PACE Progressing and Project lifecycle & process for small change projects
Achieving Change
Effectivel
PaLMS Performance and System for logging personal objectives and achievements
Learning Management against them, 1-2-1 notes, booking and tracking training.
System
PATs Process Activities & Document for recording stakeholder accountability by process,
Tasks spreadsheet activity, and task.
PDD Project Definition Project Specification or Plan.
document
PDR Personal Development Performance appraisal against objectives. Annual in April,
Review half-yearly in September.
Peak Peak Defect (in Horizon)
Peoplefinder I Peoplefinder Intranet address book. Kept up to date. Used by RMG, can be
filtered see only own organisation.
PID Project Initiation Project Specification or Plan. PID is a Prince term.
Document a.k.a PDD Project Definition Doc
Pillars Pillars Four marketing areas in Post Office Ltd: Government
services, Mails and retail, Telephony, Financial Services
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Glossary of terms & abbreviations
Abbreviation
Term
Meaning
PLC
Project Lifecycle
1. A type of project run by Change & IS, usually large, e.g.
over 6 months duration, non-PACE.
2. Project lifecycle in traditional sense.
PMO
Project Management
Office
1. A person allocated to do project support work for a specific
project.
2. A business unit of Post Office Ltd , reporting high-level
programme information into the executive team
3. Work type performed by people in Delivery, Integration
Assurance
4. A “Job /work family” including 1-3
POa
Purchase Order
Method of raising a request to pay for goods, services etc -
once raised a Purchase Order (a) number is assigned to
identify the correct invoice submitted for payment
POb Postal Officer CWU grade member — generic to the branch office counter
work — new grade is CSA (Customer Service Advisor)
POc Post Office Post Office Ltd office —general term used by customers for all
our counter offices from Branch Office, franchises, sub post
offices run in the rural network,
PO Postal Order Post Office Ltd product — a method of sending money
POFS Post Office Financial Joint venture Post Office Ltd + Bank of Ireland which
Services manages financial product offering. E.g. home insurance,
travel money
POL Post Office Ltd. 1000 — 1500 heads plus franchisees
POLFS Post Office Ltd Finance I A Post Office Ltd finance system for client settlement and
System accounting
POLIC Post Office Investment Approve business cases, giving approval for budget allocations
Committee to projects. Members include the Executive Team and other
financial stakeholders. There is also a Group Investment
Committee.
PPF Post Project Feedback Project managers send out requests on day of go-live for every
change. Often used instead of lessons leamed activities. P.S.
responses often ignored.
PPRT Progress & Project a.k.a. Keith
Reporting Tool Access database recording project and pre-project data.
Programme Programme A set of multiple, related projects managed & coordinated
together to deliver a set of benefits
Programmed I Programmed Changes Very small changes to the Post Office Ltd system, requiring
Changes little process/project overhead. Occur frequently and have
little or no cost impact. A.k.a PACE programmed changes
Project Project 1. project in traditional sense
2. PACE changes
Q&B Quote & Buy Web-based internet system, allows Post Office Ltd advisors to
get a quote for a financial product from Bank of Ireland (e.g.
home insurance)
RAB Release Authorisation Joint decision Post Office Ltd + supplier to release for major
Board Horizon releases only,
RDS Reference Data System __I System used to manage Reference Data
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Glossary of terms & abbreviations
Abbreviation I Term Meaning
Reference Reference Data Descriptive data about the elements of the Post Office Ltd
Data counter system. Example: types of products and their prices
or max/min in-payments; types of offices and the products
they offer. There is a team in Bracknell who manages this
data. See RDS (Reference Data System)
RMG Royal Mail Group The managing company overseeing: Royal Mail, Post Office
Ltd, Parcelforce, and General Logistics Systems (GLS). UK’s
largest employer.
RM Royal Mail Royal Mail is the letters and packages business, one of the
three trusted brands forming part of Royal Mail Group
RM Regional Manager Responsible for several Area Manager’s and Crown Offices in
the Network, based on 4 geographical areas.
ROMEC Royal Mail Engineering I Outsourced facilities management for Royal Mail Group
Company (room bookings, id cards, clock setting, cleaning, etc.)
S Releases S Releases Large, staged releases of Horizon (12-18 months apart). No
longer adopted. See T Releases.
SAP Systems Applications 1. SAP off-the-shelf software modified for POL to form:
and Products in Data SAPADS - advanced distribution service (of POL office
Processing stock)
SAPHR — Human Resources database, e.g. payroll
2. A global software company headquartered in Walldorf,
Germany or its various products
SharePoint SharePoint 1. Microsoft software for network sharing of files
2. The Post Office Ltd collection of files available using the
SharePoint software
SEM’s Sales Effectiveness Provide sales coaching and support for various Network
Managers Teams.
SIP System Integration A working group of employees from both Post Office Ltd and
Partnership Fujitsu to manage & optimise the systems supplied by Fujitsu.
T Releases T Releases Small releases of Horizon containing all changes since the last
release, usually every 3 months.
Template, Template, Templated 1. Org chart; Roles on the org chart
Templated Role 2. Standard form used to create a document
Role
TOIL Time off in lieu Time off in Lieu is a process designed to assist Post Office Ltd
and Managers manage excess hours worked by Counter
Manager Grades (CMA)
VR Voluntary redundancy Business does not operate compulsory redundancy - where
appropriate individuals can request Voluntary redundancy
WHS WH Smith Business partnership with Post office Ltd, where we have Post
offices located within WH Smith stores.
WTLL Work Time Listen & Monthly team meeting held across the Business. Head of
Learn Planning & Change Integration sets agenda items for the Work
Time Listen & Learn to share across Change & IS Directorate.
WOW Way of Working Often referred to as a ‘way of working’ where no defined
process exists
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