Veronica Branton
Fri, 12 Feb 2021 17:34:47 +0000
Tim Parker; Ken McCall! ‘arin Patel; Thomas Cooper; Lisa Harrington Carla
Nick Read; Alisdair Cameron; Amanda Jones; Jonathan Knox; Richard Taylor
For information: Postmaster Engagement
Dear all,
Please see the note from Amanda below.
Best wishes,
Veronica
Dear Board,
I thought you might be interested to see an example of one of the types of engagement we have with
Postmasters. We started this weekly email at the beginning of the pandemic as a way of trying to build
a more personal and engaging way of communicating to Postmasters. It has now become an established
way of sharing relevant content each week. More broadly on communication, Richard and I are working
together to create a communication framework for Postmasters which clearly defines tactic, content
and frequency.
Amanda
Amanda Jones
Retail and Franchise Network
Director
Finsbury Dials
24 Floor
20 Finsbury Street
AQ
WE'RE STRONGER TOGETHER
Email to Postmasters 12" February 2021
Hello,
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Hope you are well, I’ve been enjoying ‘virtual’ branch visits recently ~ Wales yesterday, Scotland last week
and the South West the week before. It’s never the same as actually visiting in person but it’s been lovely to
meet some of you and thank you for taking time out of your busy days.
T hope you are having a great “Love Your Customer” Week. I have highlighted some of the early customer
feedback and good news stories below. Before that, I have a few areas I would like to update you on.
Working together...
Postmaster Consultation update
Thank you once again for taking part in the recent Postmaster consultation survey. We had over 1,700
responses to 35 questions so as you can imagine there is a lot of data to interpret which our research agency,
Quadrangle, are doing for us. The feedback is really insightful, and we are committed to acting on this
feedback, implementing improvements that will make a real difference to you on a day-to-day basis.
These are the six areas you’ve told us are the top priorities for improvement:
Remuneration
IT Systems and Processes
Communication
Training
Access to senior management
6. Innovation and Working groups
YWRYnr
So, what happens next?
You told us that you prefer your interactions with Post Office to be with your Area Managers, so rather than
trying to cover all the important outputs of the Consultation in my email, we will share it with the Area
Managers so they can take you through it.
Many of you also told us that you are keen to get involved with shaping ideas. This is great news so we will be
asking willing participants to join working groups in the next couple weeks to flesh out some of the key
priority areas that you’ve identified.
Post Office colleagues Adopt an Area
Over the coming weeks some of you will see a Post Office colleague join your Area Manager during their
virtual visit to branch.
In the consultation one of the questions we asked was:
"To what extent do you feel Post Office understands the day-to-day realities of running a Post Office?"
Almost half of you told us you don’t think Post Office colleagues understand the realities of running a Post
Office. We want to fix this, so Adopt an Area is a new initiative to bring Postmasters and Post Office
colleagues closer together so more people can understand your day-to-day challenges, and act on the concerns
and ideas you might have.
* Read more about our Adopt an Area initiative
Supporting you...
Cash management Supply Chain
T want to keep you posted on changes taking place across our support functions. Having the right cash in
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branch is important and we haven’t always got it right in the past. This week, we’ ve asked Russell Hancock,
who manages our stock and cash supply chain to explain some of the initial improvements underway to better
support you.
e — Hear from Russell our Supply Chain Director
Customs forms
Yesterday Royal Mail made some changes to customs forms processes; goods and gifts (excluding letters) that
do not have customs declarations will no longer be despatched overseas. Forms also need to be clear to read
and fully completed. They made this change due to the increasing compliance checks by customs authorities.
An initial report from Royal Mail shows 90% of items from Post Office branches addressed to EU countries
included a customs declaration form. This is great news but increasingly we are hearing about items being
delayed and returned to senders. We understand it will take customers some time to get used to these changes
but please do continue to support them. Our marketing team are also working on materials to help build
awareness.
Before Christmas we also confirmed we will provide some additional payments in January, February and
March to all branches in England, Scotland and Wales to support you with these changes around customs
forms.
e Contact your Area Manager if you need further guidance
Commercial focus....
Banking services
Martin Kearsley is back with another update on Banking services and this month responds to your feedback
and questions. Martin also gives an update on TimeSaver, our drop & go style business banking service which
is launching soon.
¢ Read about banking services from Martin
Nick’s podcast recording
T hope you have had a chance to listen to Nick Read, our Group CEO’s podcast recording which was sent to
Postmasters on Monday. Nick gives an update on a pick-up and drop off trial for mails which is starting in
some Post Office branches. We’ ve received feedback that some Postmasters prefer written information so a
transcript is now available for you to read.
¢ Listen to or read Nick’s update
Celebrating success...
Branches going the Extra Mile
Four days in and it’s been a brilliant start to Love Your Customer Week. Hundreds of customers have left
Extra Miles feedback and I want to highlight some of the comments branches have received.
e Strong adherence to social distancing, Covid measures. Explanation of delivery variables due to both
weather and Covid. Gita is always so friendly. She has made the Village Shops and Post Office the Heart
of the community.
e — They are the friendliest shop and are working so hard to support the community during COVID. They are
wonderful to young children and remember to ask afier them, even when they are not present due to
restrictions. I would never fault this Post Office (and shop), they are such kind people.
* Because I have used this Post Office branch for the last 18 years and the staff are always friendly, helpful
and if they are not busy you can have a bit of a banter which always brightens my day up, so on this last
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visit we had a bit of a banter.
° Find out if this feedback was for your branch
Feedback like this is great to see and has lifted my spirits — thank you for everything you do for our customers
and your community.
Thank you for your ongoing support and stay safe.
Jonathan Knox
Head of Channels & Delivery
Corporate Affairs & Communications Team
Working from Home