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Culture
IDG Update
16" January 2024
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Criticisms, actions
and opportunities
Common Issues Judgment
Horizon Issues Judgment
Court of Appeal Judgment
Hamilton Judgment
Core theme: lack of oversight
Common Issues Judgment
‘The majority of problems... simply would not
have seen the light of day without this group
litigation’
‘a serious deficiency... in the required level of
controls’
‘Post Office’s own decision at the highest level
not to investigate certain matters as recently as
2016 — are of great concern’
Improvements implemented to date
New CEO — September 2019
2 Postmaster NEDs appointed to Board
Postmaster Director appointed to leadership team
New Chair, Shareholder Director and Non-
Executive Directors
Disbanded Group Executive and Senior Leadership
Group structures to move to Strategic Executive
Group and Leadership Team — January 2024
Set up of Remediation Unit (previously Historic
Matters Unit) and Public Inquiry teams
Group Assurance Function
Internal Audit culture findings incorporated into
reporting
Organisational design principles were established
in 2021
Draft indicators of culture established working
with the Institute of Business Ethics
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Improvement Opportunities
New leadership model — in progress — to be in place by
the end of January.
Grant Thornton governance review — in progress — to
report to management in January.
Organisational clarification of roles and responsibilities
— due by the end of March.
Re-establish organisational design principles in 2024/5
People Plan as 2021 principles have not been sustained.
Indicators of culture to be measured and reported on
to the Board by March 2024.
Core theme: lack of capability
Common Issues Judgment
‘Even... a very senior person... said that he did not
know this before’
‘a failure by the PO to understand the concept...’
Common Issues Requirements
‘Properly, fully and fairly... investigate’
Court of Appeal
‘made sweeping statements about the trial and
the judgment which were demonstrably wrong’
‘they have fundamentally misunderstood...’
“PO have ascribed greater significance to this issue
than it warrants because they may have again
misunderstood the judgment’
‘another sweeping and incorrect statement based
on the failure to understand the judgment’
Significant new capability in senior leadership:
* 58.3% of SLP have tenure of under 5
years
* 50% of GE have tenure of under 5 years
Improvements in performance management
process during 2022 (‘Everybody's
conversations’)
Leading to Serve training for ~400 leaders
Service Mindset Training for Postmaster-facing
colleagues in the Support Centre and Supply
Chain
New Post Office Management Programme
(POMP) replaced People Management
Fundamentals (PMF)
Relaunched L&D catalogue
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Organisational clarification of roles and responsibilities —
due by the end of March,
Leadership behaviours framework to be in place by the
end of January.
Assessment of existing leadership population against
leadership behaviours framework by end of March.
Next stage of leadership development (to include
leading EDI) in People Plan 2024/5.
Plan to develop a set of transparent job families and a
supporting technical and career framework for
employees in People Plan 2024/5.
Group Target Operating Model aligned to strategy
beyond 2025 in People Plan 2024/5.
Core theme: lack of curiosity
rovements implemente:
Common Issues Judgment
‘The problem with the Post Office witnesses
generally is they have become so entrenched over
the years’... ‘This entrenchment is particularly telling
in the Post Office witnesses who occupy the more
senior posts.’
‘They give me the impression that they simply
cannot allow themselves to consider the possibility
that the Post Office may be wrong, as the
consequences of doing so are too significant to
contemplate.’
Post Office... demonstrates the most dreadful
complacency, and total lack of interest in
investigating these serious issues, bordering on
fearfulness of what might be found if they were
properly investigated.’
‘Post Office... demonstrates a simple institutional
obstinacy or refusal to consider any possible
alternatives to their view’
‘ought to have known how its own system works’
Common Issues Requirements
‘make reasonable enquiry, undertake reasonable
analysis... and give fair consideration to the facts’
Adopt an Area Scheme in place since 2021
Regional Postmaster Forums attended by senior
leaders
‘Week in the life of a Postmaster’ training
introduced in 2021
Postmaster Engagement Surveys since late 2020
GLO Awareness Training — annual mandatory
training module for employees
More colleagues supporting in branches over peak
and extended to Postmaster-run branches
Postmaster Director appointed to leadership team
Postmaster comms shared internally with
employees
CEO coffee catch ups — themed conversations
Restorative justice meetings with those impacted
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Implementation of key listening points in employee
lifecycle:
+ Exit interviews — January 2024
* New starter surveys — February 2024
* Recruitment surveys — 2024/5 People Plan
Post Office scandal mandatory e-learning module and live
sessions to raise awareness of the human impact of the
scandal and broaden the experience of restorative justice
to all employees and contractors by February 2024.
All new starters to work in branches for 1 day in their first 2
months by March 2024.
Core theme: lack of transparency
Hiebea iy = mbromenter (2 mprovement Opportunities
Cri
isms
Common Issues Judgment
‘Transparency, cooperation, and trust and
confidence are...implicit within... good faith’
‘Culture of secrecy and excessive confidentiality
generally’
‘Post Office had been “obstructive”’
‘the Post Office finds itself now having made
misleading public statements’
‘There has certainly been a lack of transparency,
and a lack of accuracy in description’
‘a distinct sensitivity within... Post Office... about
keeping this information to themselves’
Common Issues Requirements
“To provide adequate training and support’
“Properly and accurately to produce all relevant
records’
‘disclose... candidly, fully and frankly’
‘communicate, alternatively, not to conceal known
problems’
Court of Appeal
‘a party who failed to provide any sort of detail of
their case’
Branch Hub launched 2020
10@10 introduced 2019 by CEO
CEO coffee catch ups — themed conversations
Monthly Town Halls
Annual colleague conference
Bi-annual Postmaster conference
Weekly Postmaster email from Chief Retail Officer
External review of Postmaster comms strategy by
Strand Partners
New ‘open’ recognition platform for colleagues
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Developing a set of job families and a technical and
career framework in People Plan 2024/5.
Developing an awards and recognition framework in
People Plan 2024/5.
Developing ‘always on’ listening mechanisms in People
Plan 2024/5.
Earlier launch of incentive schemes for financial year
2024/5.
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Core theme: failure to speak up
F mprovements implemented to
Cc isms date
Common Issues Judgment * Relaunch of Speak Up
‘behind the scenes there were at least a number of
people within the Post Office who realised that
there were difficulties with the Horizon system’
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Core theme: pre-conceived biases
mprovements implemented to
at
date
Common Issues Judgment * Unconscious bias training for all employees * Develop a 3-year ED&I strategy and plan — to include
introduced in 2021 employees and Postmasters by March 2024. Aim will be to
‘Mrs Van den Bogerd is, in my judgment, a move maturity from being ‘characteristics-focused’ to
particularly stark example of how a witness had to * Inclusion Playbook launched 2023 Apelusive’ over year period.
force their evidence of fact to fit with a pre- :
‘ordained thesis? + ‘Let's talk about...” sessions launched 2021
* Define the roles and responsibilities of all employees
‘they remain steadfastly committed, in their * Introduced ED&I surveys for employees in 2021 regarding ED&l, including the ED&l Team, Leadership,
collective psyche, to the Post Office party view, Senior Managers, People Managers, the People team and
despite... the contents of some of their own * Policy reviews e.g. Dignity at work
all employees by March 2024.
internal documents that suggest to the contrary’
* Grant Thornton ED&I Audit completed in November
‘simple institutional obstinacy or refusal to 2023 + Extension of the ‘conflicts of interest’ review into non-
consider any possible alternatives...which was Remediation Unit areas by March 2024.
maintained regardless of the weight of factual * Remediation Unit completed review of ‘conflicts of
evidence to the contrary’ interest’ of their employees * Post Office scandal mandatory e-learning module and live
“This approach by the Post Office has amounted, in sessions to raise awareness of the human impact of the
ee hare Hi ee that ignore a Sane eae the year at the European scandal and broaden the experience of restorative justice
what has actually occurred... It amounts to the to all employees and contractors by February 2024.
21st century equivalent of maintaining that the
earth is flat’ * Improvements to applicant tracking system and applicant
‘there has been a pattern of considerable MI in People Plan 2024/5.
defensiveness’
* Improvements to people selection processes in People Plan
2024/5.
Core theme: behaviour
mprovements implemented to
Common Issues Judgment
‘it is oppressive behaviour’
‘they... behave with impunity and oppressively’
‘such conduct... could potentially be construed as
threatening, oppressive, and potentially
discouraging’
Court of Appeal
‘was not obliged to treat their SPMs with good
faith, and instead entitled to treat them in
capricious or arbitrary ways which would not be
unfamiliar to a mid-Victorian factory-owner’
‘PO’s argument is based on an unfair description’
Ways of Working launched
Ways of Working incorporated into colleague
performance reviews
Senior Leader Ways of Working peer, direct reports
and line manager feedback in performance reviews
Service Mindset Training for Postmaster-facing
colleagues in the Support Centre and Supply Chain
Leading to Serve training for ~400 leaders
Postmaster Support Policies established
Postmaster complaints and issue resolution
channels set up
Postmaster engagement surveys
Worked with Institute of Business Ethics since
December 2022
Policy reviews undertaken e.g. Dignity at work
(2023)
Code of Business Standards reviewed 2023
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Improvement Opportu
I
Behaviours
* Possible amendments to existing Ways of Working as a
result of SEG workshops with businessfourzero in January
2024.
Leadership behaviours
Senior leadership behaviours have broadly not improved in
engagement surveys since 2019. The following actions are
being taken:
* Leadership behaviours framework in place by end of
January 2024
* Assessments of leadership population against behaviours
framework
* Senior Leadership Ways of Working peer, direct report and
line manager feedback for full year reviews for first time in
2024
* SEG workshops with businessfourzero in January 2024
Other
* Annual review of key policies
* Code of Business Standards to be updated in February 2024
post SEG workshops — with particular focus on highlighting
behaviours and new ethical decision-making framework.
* Development of ethics quick wins by March 2024
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Outcomes
From employee engagement surveys
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Employee Engagement Trends since 2019
Trends on employee engagement are difficult to draw because of the inconsistent methodology used by Post Office to survey
employee engagement. However, the following are the conclusions drawn from the data available.
Ways of Working
Colleagues are seeing the Ways of Working demonstrated better across the business since their launch in 2021
eae
N/A 41% 50% 58%
Overall engagement
Overall engagement of Post Office employees has grown since 2019 — no measure in 2021 survey, 2020 measure from McKinsey
Organisational Health Index
i ee ee ee
56% 54% NIA 67% 68%
Response rates
Response rates to surveys have been mixed but appear to be recovering — 2022 impacted by industrial action
92% 73% 44% 36% 65%
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Employee Engagement Trends since 2019
Trends on employee engagement are difficult to draw because of the inconsistent methodology used by Post Office to survey
employee engagement. However, the following are the conclusions drawn from the data available.
Senior Leadership
Confidence in senior leadership has remained flat since 2019
a
36% 41% 39% 40%
Senior leaders working in line with the Post Office Ways of Working has remained flat since 2019
ee
40% 43% 39% 44%
The most senior leaders Post Office became less engaged post 2019 and have remained less engaged — in 2019, the engagement
score for senior leaders was 57% (down 23% on 2018), higher than the Group average at 56%, but since then senior leadership
scores have been lower than the Group average. To demonstrate this, the McKinsey OHI notes that ‘Senior leaders are the most
critical’, the 2021 survey resulted in a -51 NPS for Senior Leaders vs a -8 NPS for the Group, the 2022 survey resulted in a—51 NPS
for Senior Leaders vs a -14 NPS for the Group.
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