POL Board Strategy Away Day 1 and 2
08/07/2024 02:30 PM - 05:30 PM
09/07/2024 09:00 AM - 05:00 PM
Agenda Topic
Agenda
Monday 8 July
1. Board Away Day Welcome
2. 2023/24 Engagement Survey Results Deep Dive
21 Postmaster
2.2 Colleague
2.3. Culture Dashboard
3. Grant Thornton Governance Review Recommendation Planning
4. Evening Leadership Team Drinks Reception
5. Board Dinner
Tuesday 9 July
6. Welcome
7. Strategic Review
71 Update on Strategic Review and Phase I Findings
7.2 Key Theme Deep Dives
8. Lunch w/ Regional Managers
9. POHIT Inquiry
9.1 Phase 5 / 6 Look Back and Phase 7 Look Forward
9.2 Summary of Phase 7 Business Leads Evidence Gathering
9.3 Inquiry Recommendations and Planning
10. Conclusion and Wrap Up
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Post Office Limited
Board Away Day
July 2024
Strictly Confidential
ZZL€Z0 WI
Post Office Board Away Day — July 2024
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Monday 8 July I
July Board meeting
Break
Board Away Day Welcome
2023/24 Engagement Survey Results Deep Dive
- Postmaster
- Colleague
Culture Dashboard
Grant Thornton Governance Review Recommendation Planning
Evening Leadership Team Drinks Reception
Board Dinner
Tuesday 9 July
Welcome
Strategic Review
- Update on Strategic Review and Phase I Findings
- Key Theme Deep Dives
Lunch w/ Regional Managers
POHIT Inquiry
- Phase 5 / 6 Look Back and Phase 7 Look Forward
- Summary of Phase 7 Business Leads Evidence Gathering
- Inquiry Recommendations and Planning
Conclusion and Wrap-up
Nigel Railton / Nick Read / Owen Woodley
Martin Roberts/ Pete Marsh/ Mark Eldridge/ Tracy Marshall
Karen McEwan/ Tim Perkins
Sarah Bell (Grant Thornton]
Nigel Railton / Nick Read / Owen Woodley
Stuart Keeping [Teneo]
Diane Wills / Dan O'Mahoney / Kate Gallafent KC/ C Pispinis
Nigel Railton / Nick Read / Owen Woodley
09:00 — 14:00
14:00 - 14:30
14:30 - 14:45
14:45 - 16:15
16:15 - 17:30
17:30 - 18:30
18:30
09:00 - 09:15
09:15 - 13:00
13:00 - 14:00
14:00 - 16:30
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Survey Results
Internal Use Only
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Postmaster Survey Summary
Overview:
* This year’s annual Postmaster Engagement Survey an between the 8* - 315t
March 2024 and was our fourth annual survey.
+ 1,917 postmaster responses were received (+17% vs LY) and is the highest
completion rate since the annual survey started in 2021.
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Off the back of enhanced engagement initiatives, this year’s results evidence
improved metrics across both response rate and overall sentiment vs LY.
Methodology:
+ The survey was managed by ‘Quadrangle’, an independent market research
agency, who designed the questions following a large-scale piece of qualitative
research with postmasters, to understand what drives their overall opinion.
* We have consistently measured overall postmaster sentiment vidwo key
questions, both of which postmasters respond to on a 7point scale (1 being low,
7 being high).
+ Firstly, we ask how they woulddescribe the relationship they have with Post
Office and whether it is as a ‘subordinate business partner’ or a ‘valued/equal
business partner.’
* Secondly, we ask how supported they feel by Post Officewhether they feel
January January March Oct (Pulse) March March
Metric
2021 2022 2023 2023 2024 «23. vs 24
# of Survey 1,767 1,313 1,642 1,751 1,917 +17%
Responses
Survey Response I 950 19% 23% 25% 27% +4%
Rate*
Overall Sentiment] 459, 28% 22% 29% 26% +4%
Score
How would you
describe the
relationship you I 17% 25% 19% 26% 22% 43%
have with Post
Office?
How supported orI
not do you feel by’ 26% 30% 24% 31% 29% +5%
Post Office?
‘unsupported’ or ‘very supported’. For both questions, the top two boxes (scores;
6 and 7 respectively) are used as a proxy for strong sentiment, combining to give
us an overall sentiment score.
Postmaster Engagement
*based on an average of 7,000 postmasters
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Postmaster Survey Key Takeaways
Our focused engagement initiatives have driven improved metrics, with better response rates and overall
sentiment compared to previous years. Increased interaction with postmasters is proving to have a positive effect on sentiment, with
accelerated activity to support greater engagement, especially with the involvement and visibility of senior leaders. Beyond our
accelerated engagement initiatives, the business has made substantial improvements across other critical areas including the Branch
Support Centre (BSC), training, field team support and quicker IT fix times, all contributing to the positive outcomes
Despite these achievements, many external factors have impacted our scores negatively, highlighting
the need for continued improvement. Key external events such as the cost-of-living crisis, Royal Mail strikes, cyber-attacks, and media
coverage (ITV drama and inquiry) have negatively impacted sentiment scores.
The sentiment scores have shown significant fluctuations over the past four years, influenced by both
Post Office actions and external factors. Despite some improvements, there has been increased polarisation with more postmasters
scoring at the extremes of the scale. (See next slide).
Satisfaction with remuneration is a critical driver of positive sentiment among PMs. Despite some
increases, remuneration remains the top priority and the area with the lowest perceived improvement.
The main themes for improvement identified are ‘leadership and culture’, ‘reputation and trust’, and
‘future strategy’. Continuous engagement initiatives and feedback loops are planned to address these areas and further improve
postmaster sentiment. Over the last 4 years we have increased the number of postmasters attending various listening groups and
forums from 23 to 589, to help address underlying issues and create solutions.
Postmaster Engagemen
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Over the last 5surveys, we have seen our relationship with Postmasters
fluctuate, with a greater polarisation of views more recently.
How would you describe the relationship you have with Post Office? How supported, or not, do you feel by Post Office?
Send7 score] [26%] [30%] [24%]
[ Sand 7 scores I [ 17% I I 25% I 19% ] [ 26% ] [ 22%] §
Ff Denotes» sonicantiy higher score vs Pulse
cg a =
32% J Denotes a significantly lower score vs Pulse
a &
Puse - 23 Mar-24
Jan-21 Jan-22 Mar-23 Pulse - 23 Mar-24
5 ms
mi ome 3 m4 ms me m7
bordinate Valued/equat Unsupported sappates
business partner business partner 87 How aot oot oyu al by Po
8: How noida cio a sono yau ve with a rc a waves
Baan wave 15 767 PF eaa vee 173i aave 5 1917
There appears to be 2 main reasons for the polarisation of opinion:
1) Firstly, PUDO seems to have divided the network - those postmasters who have PUDO services seem to be happier and positive aboutthe future,
whereas those who don’t have the services are clearly aware of the services and the benefits that it brings but are frustrate that they cannot offer
them.
2)
Secondly, a culmination of the cost-of-living crisis, the ITV drama and inquiry, the various disclosures of bonus payments and the racial document
have increased negative sentiment considerably.
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Postmaster Survey Next Steps
Key Action Plan Themes
Leadership & Culture
Inclusive project planning / involvement in decision making
Specialised subgroups
Community building
+ Transparent communication
Collaborative surveys
* Confidentiality guidelines and protocols
Regional connectively
Reputation & Trust
* Financial transparency
* Incentivised engagement
+ Enhanced health & wellbeing support
Future & Strategy
* Comprehensive remuneration review
+ Leadership strategy presentations
+ Inclusive feedback mechanisms
* Collaborative NBIT development
Postmaster Engagement
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Built by Postmasters for Postmasters
Postmasters have provided us with useful feedback on why sentiment might be low,
and we are focusing on these key areas to drive action and improvement. From
postmaster listening groups over the last 18 months, we are seeing a positive reaction
to new approaches and therefore fully expect the underlying sentiment to improve.
The action plan for 2024 has been built in collaboration with 20 postmasters generating ideas
to improve against the key themes highlighted in the survey.
Although we have made annual increases to remuneration, with a commitment to increase
variable remuneration as a % of variable income, remuneration remains the top priority for
postmaster — it is spontaneously mentioned as the main improvement postmasters would like
to see and is the poorest performing of the top priority areas in terms of perceived
improvements.
We plan to continue to hold listening sessions, as well as other ongoing engagement initiatives,
ensuring a continuous feedback loop to ensure we understand postmaster’s concerns
throughout the year, such as Adopt an Area, Regional Forums, working groups and the
Postmaster Experience Forum.
The next Postmaster pulse survey is planned for October 2024.
Strategic Partner gore
Survey Results
Internal Use Only
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Strategic Partner Survey Summary
Overview:
+ This year’s annual Strategic Partner Engagement Survey ran between 26'" February — 15" March 2024
* — It reflects the views of 70+ individual senior contacts from across 26 partner companies.
+ There was representation from across 83% of our partners, including 100% representation from our Tier 1 partners.
Key headlines:
* — All metrics have slightly improved since our last full survey in March 2023
* Our partners highly rate the engagement they receive from Post Office (scoring an average of 4.2 out of 5)
* They rate the engagement they receive from Post Office as slightly better than other partners they work with
+ They continue to value our Strategic Partner Quarterly Forums, citing them as a valuable source of inspiring/honest information
* — Anew metric was introduced to measure the level of faceto-face engagement resulting in a score of 3.9 out of 5
Key positive themes include: Nov Marois oi Marehio PHASER ZA
Vv Well-informed via business comms and updates/forums — open and Bee 2021 2023 2024 March '23
transparent engagement from POL Senior Leadership Partner Representation! 75% 80% 83% +3
v Engagement levels exceeds that from other corporate partners
Overall Engagement
Y Supportive, collaborative relationships and engagement Satisfaction 3SoutofS I 4toutofs I 42 outofs +04
High quality Account Management with regular meetings/touchpoints Compared to Other 3.1 out of 5 3.4 out ofS 3.9 out of 5 +05
Partners
Constructive themes/areas for consideration include: Usefulness of SP 40outof5 I 4.0outofS I 4.1outofs 40.1
Quarterly Forums
* — Improved forward planning of communications e.g. product launches
* — Room to enhance consistency between POL field team messaging & SP team
* Work to be done to provide simpler, clearer reporting
+ Wider business focused on Independent Postmasters — consideration needed at a business level of B2B requirements
Strategic Partnerships
Strategic Partnerships (2B)
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Strategic Partner Survey Performance
&
83%
+3% YoY
AS)
Level YoY Level YoY
Response Rate Partner Companies Represented
EQ iT
79%
Individual Partner Contacts Views
+9% YoY
Pieces of Qual Feedback
Positive Constructive
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Strategic Partner Survey Key Ratings
All previously measured ratings in March 2024 slightly improved vs 2023.
Overall satisfaction with the
level of engagement they
receive from POL } \ ,
4.2 Average Rating vs 2023 (4.1)
How they rate the
engagement they receive
from POL vs other external
partners
How useful they feel our
Strategic Partner
Quarterly Forums are
How happy they are A. ~<aeh ses us ~
with the level of face-to- = I a \ j
face engagement . i
3.9 Average Rating (New metric)
Strategic Partnerships
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Strategic Partner Survey Action Plan
‘ll
Make improvements Ensure consistent
to SP reporting to approach from POL
enable simpler and when dealing with
ese
rN
Review partner comms and
service delivery to address
concerns and deliver using
one consistent approach
that is on time
Continue to evolve F2F
engagement, forum
content and other
engagement initiatives to
keep the landscape fresh
and relevant
more effective reports partners at B2B level
and dashboards. considering PM and
Partner requirements
Colleague
Survey Results
Internal Use Only
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Colleague Survey Headlines
86% overall completion rate, this is +21pts from the 2023 Pulse (65%) and +50%
from the 2022 Engagement Survey (36%).
Colleague engagement is down 11% to 57%.
This is driven by colleague pride being down 22% to 43%.
Colleagues are still more motivated to do their best at Post Office than employees in
other businesses.
58% of colleagues intend to stay longer than 5 years.
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Colleague Survey Key Takeaways
43% of comments from colleagues on improving their experience at Post Office related to
communications. Communications issues are undermining colleagues’ confidence in the business
and in senior leaders.
Colleagues are asking for a refreshed strategic intent beyond 2025 to be communicated.
Tech is less of a barrier for colleagues than it was previously, dropping by 17%, and colleagues’
experience of their Line Manager has improved in 6 of 7 measures.
SLP and Band 4 colleagues describe Post Office as ‘bureaucratic’ and ‘political’ and are the most
‘under strain’ at 81% and 77%. Compared to Admin colleagues who describe Post Office as ‘friendly’
and ‘supportive’ and only feel 34% under strain.
Colleagues with a disability are least likely to feel included at Post Office, diverse ethnic background
colleagues are less likely to be positive about career progression, and senior women are the most
likely group to have received an unwanted comment.
Colleague Survey Action Plan
Survey question
The senior leadership
have communicated a
vision for 2025 and
strategic priorities for
Post Office
Post Office is investing
in its people
Any major barriers at
work are effectively
managed in order to
allow me to do my job
well
Multiple questions
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32% positive
42% neutral
26% negative
40% positive
36% neutral
24% negative
59% positive
24% neutral
17% negative
N/A
Action title
Capability:
Post Office vision and
strategy
Capability:
Investing in people,
including a wellbeing
focus
Colleague experience:
Removing barriers
Inclusion:
Specific action plans for
colleagues with different
experiences of working
at Post Office
Action description
The business to share the outcome
of the Strategic Review when
ready and allow teams to work
their plans into the overall
strategy.
Line Managers will work with
colleagues to build out on these
plans such as create PDPs, access
to L&D resources and succession
plans as required.
Teams across Post Office will be
reviewing existing policies,
processes and systems and
auditing them during the review to
improve them.
Specific action plans developed
focusing on inclusion for colleagues
with disabilities, career
progression for ethnic minority
colleagues, and strain for senior
leaders
Target result(s)
Target:
62% positive
(in line with UK norms)
Leading indicator:
Strategic review outputs shared
Target:
44% positive
Leading indicator:
PDP completion rate TBD
Target:
65% positive
Various — outlined in the specific
Inclusion plans
By date
March 2025
November 2024
March 2025
November 2024
March 2025
March 2025
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Lead
Business led — CEO
owned
Business led — CEO
owned
Business led — CEO
owned
SEG Sponsors:
Sarah Gray
cP
Karen McEwan
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Culture Indicators
Why
¢ Culture change is critical to the success of Post Office
* The Executive and the Board want better oversight of culture in Post Office
What
* Asingle scorecard of indicators
How
The indicators were developed with the Institute of Business Ethics (IBE) to bring Post Office in line with best practice
ethical culture reporting
An updated scorecard of the indicators will be provided to the Executive every 2 months
Board will get updates on culture twice per year. This will incorporate:
* The culture indicators scorecard and trends
* Updates from Postmaster and Strategic Partner Engagement or Pulse Surveys
* Updates from Employee Engagement or Pulse Surveys
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Leadership Indicators
Source Frequency Benchmark/Target Commentary
Leadership
confidence in the leadership of the business is at 35% following the Colleague
survey in February. This was down 5% from 40% in the 2023 Pulse Survey. This
metric has been measured since 2021 and has remained broadly static over the
last 3 years although the trend now is down with the highest level of confidence
recorded in 2021 when the measure was at 41%.
confidence in _I have confidence in the Senior .
leadership Leadership of PO Bi-Annual 35%
Senior Leaders lead by example scored 38% in the Colleague survey in February
12024, which was down 6% from 44% from Pulse survey November 2023, which
Iwas the highest score in the three years that it has been measured. This metric
lhas been measured since 2021 and measured 43% in the culture survey in 2021,
land has remained broadly static since.
Senior Leaders lead by example
land behave in line with our ways I Bi-Annual I 38%
lof working
Leadership
lbehaviours
Culture Indicators
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Control Environment Indicators
Metrics Source Frequency Actual Trend Benchmark/Target Commentary
Control Environment
e have identified an increase in the residual risk against the following risks:
I) Moving the network from copper to fibre risk increased due to failing to install
ates remain high, due largely to a recognised gap in Postmaster communications
cross the programme portfolio, supplier communication issues, and site-specific
hallenges due to prior site assessments not being funded.
None li) Branches unable to process Paystation transactions There is a Second Device
lproject which will replace Paystations with the Second Device supporting a bespoke
lEnterprise & intermediate
Irisks outside of tolerance
ith supporting remediation [7"UP Risk Monthly I 23
plans lsoftware solution also providing legacy pre-paid bill payment products. Funding has
been agreed until June 2024 to purchase hardware and continued to development,
he project delivery status is currently rated red. Concerns that the remediation
bpian will be achieved by March 2025.
[Overdue internal audit internal Audit Every 60) 4) None lLast month was 14, dropped to 12 out of 75.
lactions >60 days days
peak up matters lAssurance and Complex Investigations Monthly I a1 [The volume of Speak Up reports has remained fairly stable for the last 4 months.
roup Mandatory Learning
Mandatory training “Janti-Money Laundering 85.4%
ompletion People Monthly I 94.1% IModern Slavery 98.8%
Post Office Scandal 97.9%
ini [Branch Learning
Mandatory trainin .
ory 8 IBranch compliance Monthly I 94.9% Anti Money Laundering: 94.9% (this was only mandatory module completed over
ompletion ay)
i here I work, people are held accountable for 7 here was a 4% increase between the November Pulse and and a 25% increase on
[Accountability ° Annual I 63% ; Me °
heir performance and behaviours ‘ he 2022 survey in the 2024 Engagement Survey. This is 1bp behind UK norms
ere was a 2% fallin colleague's perceptions of consistency with the purpose,
[Alignment to Purpose, [The way PO does businessis always consistent I 4) I apeg alues and strategy. This isin line with the falls in the scores for the demonstration
Kstrategy & Values ith our purpose, values, & strategy lof Ways of Working from leaders and across the business. There were also verbatim
-omments asking for a refreshed strategy beyond 2025.
Culture Indicators
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Postmaster Indicators
IMetries Source Frequency Benchmark/Target Commentary
Postmasters
Overall Postmaster sentiment he top 2 box scores fell 4% from 26% to 22% since the Pulse Survey in 2023.
here was, however, improvement in the top box score - up 6% from 10% to
116%. At the bottom end of the scale, many more Postmasters are describing the
relationship with Post Office as a subordinate business partner relationship, with
29% now in the bottom 2 box scores - up 12% from 17% in the Pulse Survey in
2023.
How would you describe the
relationship you have with I Bi-Annual I 22%
IPO? [top 2 box scores}
hilst the top 2 box scores fell from 31% of responses in the Pulse Survey in
2023, the percentage of respondents giving the top box score increased from
/12% to 18%. This polarisation is also evident at the bottom of the scale, with the
number rating the support they recieve from Post Office as the lowest 2 box
scores - 23% of responses were the lowest 2 scores versus 15% in the Pulse
urvey with majority of the growth coming in the bottom box score.
[How supported, or not, do
jou feel by PO? [top 2box I Bi-Annual I 29%
cores]
eee "The public's perception of Postmasters being treated fairly is at its highest point
IBrand Tracker (agreement %)I Monthly I 29% 3d ince January 2024. In February 2024, this was 25%, in March 28% and in April
I : 26%.
[831 complaints created for P2. 87.2% Resolved within the SLA of 82%. Top 3
omplaints categories were 1. Parcelforce, 2. Royal Mail, 3 Incorrect opening
hours advertised.
Postmasters treated fairly
(public perception)
Postmaster complaint resolutionIBranch Support Monthly I 87.20%
IMay P2 figures: Variable remuneration as a percentage of variable revenue in P2
is 50.2%, 0.3% up YoY despite the exit of Lottery, which accounted for ~1% of last
ears value, and is inline with budget.
Postmaster remuneration as a
Ihare of PO income [Finance Monthly I 50%
Culture Indicators
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People Indicators
Source Frequency Trend Benchmark/Target Commentary
People
e have seen a significant decrease of 11% in colleagues recommending Post
Office as a great place to work in the 2024 Engagement Survey (56%) versus
he Pulse survey in November 2023 (67%).
here has been a declining trend in Colleague NPS. It was-8 in the 2021
ulture Survey, -14 in the 2022 Engagement Survey and is now-25 in the 2024
Engagement Survey.
IThere had been a progressive improvement in the recognition of the
demonstration of the Ways of Working since it began to be measured in 2021.
None However, for the first time we have seen the positivity score decrease by 5%
ollowing the 2024 Engagement Survey with the score now 53%, down from
58%.
[The business has seen 51 leavers and 31 new starters in the month of May
[2024 leading to a 0.5% increase in turnover.
112.9% of all absences were caused by stress. Over 70% of employees absent
Idue to stress have been absent from the business for 15 days. People Team
are currently investigating issues with the previous months’ data to identify
rends.
Daw =6
IGrievance = 3
IDaW appeals = nil
Grievance appeals = 3
Tithere was a 4% increase between the November Pulse and and a 25%
_ jincrease on the 2022 survey in the 2024 Engagement Survey. This is 1bp
behind UK norms.
Advocacy - NPS Ii would recommend PO as a great place to work Bi-Annual
I see the ways of working being demonstated every
Behaviours
lday
Bi-Annual I 53%
[Turnover People - Overall Turnover Monthly I 8.0% None
Stress related
labsence People Monthly I 12.9%
None
Grievances _IGrievances & dignity at work case volume Monthly I 12 None
here I work, people are held accountable for their
[Oversight performance and behaviours
Annual 63%
Culture Indicators
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Employee Psychological Safety and Inclusivity Indicators
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Metrics
Source
Employee Psychological Safety & inclusivity
Frequency
Actual
Benchmark/Target
Commentary
Psychological ren {This metric remains static from the Colleague survey in 2022 to
here I work, people can share their opinions, ideas, feedback , i
Safety Index ithout fear of negati Annual I 74% he Colleague survey in February 2024 with the positivity score
lor concerns without fear of negative consequences emaining at 74%, 4bps ahead of UK norms.
his metric has decreased slightly in the 2024 Collegaue survey
here I work, people are treated fairly Annual I 73% 10 73% from 75% in the 2022 survey. When measured in 2021
he starting position was 46%.
I believe my views are genuinely listened to when I share my his metric has slightly increased in the 2024 survey to 71% fromI
Annual I 71% 1
lopinon (0% in the 2022 survey.
here I work, when mistakes happen, they are treated as an Annual I 689% his metric has increased 3% in the 2024 survey to 68% from
jopportunity to learn rather than an opportunity to blame 65% in the 2022 survey.
EDI target here has been an increase in the proportion of women in SLP
achievement _ [Senior Leadership inclusivity - Gender SLP Quarterly I 38.8% roles over the last quarter. It remains below the benchmark set
in the Post Office ED& strategy.
[There has been an increase in the proportion of colleagues from
. vi “ci ethnic minority backgrounds in SLP roles over the last quarter. It
lSenior Leadership inclusivity - Ethnicity SLP Quarterly I 11.9% remains below the benchmark set in the Post Office ED&I
Itrategy.
Culture Indicators
Customer Indicator
Source Frequency
Customer
laverage weekly customer
Monthly
sessions sessions
Actual
Benchmark/Target
None
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Commentary
Customer sessions fell from 47,359,979 in P1 to 36,466,443 in P2.
Culture Indicators
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