Message from Sue Whalley to Operations colleagues,

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Message from Sue Whalley



15 April 2014



Operations colleagues,

Following the recent communication outlining the refreshed top level organisational structures, I wanted to share my thoughts on what this means for Operations and give further detail on the appointments.

Geographies
As Moya said, we are reducing the number of geographies from five to three. At the Operations and Modernisation Conference, I talked about how we are too siloed with our regional structure. Reducing the geographies will ensure that the Operation is more streamlined. The new regions are North, East and West, with Rob Jenson, Tony Fox and Geoff Braden the respective operations directors. They will report to deputy chief operations officer Stuart Simpson.

In the North, Rob will be supported by;
• Process and collections director – Ricky McAulay
• Logistics director – Cathy Way
• Delivery directors – Gerry McAuley, Adrian Fielding, Gary Milne, Mark Wilkinson, Tony Bicknell, and Deborah Rodger
• Michael Kennedy will be the director of Northern Ireland operations, taking on the plant manager responsibility as well as operational external relations matters.

In the East, Tony will be supported by;
• Process and collections director – Ian Songhurst
• Logistics director – Andy Downes
• Delivery directors – Steve Selby, Chas Basra, Richard Simpson, Mike Devanny, Steve Molloy, Gary Yard, Doug Neal, Orla Flynn and Kam McKinley.

In the West, Geoff will be supported by;
• Process and collections director – Phil Lund
• Delivery directors – Tony Baxter, Alan Gairns, Karen English, Eddie Phipps, Jonathan Pain, Estelle Baillie and Shiona Rolfe
• The logistics director position in the West is still to be filled.

As you know, Gerry O’Rourke will be leaving the business. Gerry has done a great job as operations director for the North, leading the region through the conclusion of the transformation programme. Before that he also played a key role in the London infrastructure programme.

Euan McMurdo will continue in his role as logistics director, reporting to Stuart. Euan will be supported by:
• Processing and MDEC director – Wayne Jay
• Fleet director – Paul Gatti
• Network operations director – Phil Murphy.

Integrated pipeline and consistency
You’ll have seen that Steve Cameron has been appointed operations strategy director, making sure that we look at the Operation as one integrated pipeline. I can now confirm some further appointments in the new Operations Strategy team, working to Steve.

Simon Barker will continue to lead the central Processing, Collections and Engineering team, responsible for driving excellence and standards across our processing pipeline.

Paul O’Keefe continues as production control director, with the central Production Control function transferring from Logistics into Operations Strategy.

Being the best, consistently
I talked a lot at the Operations and Modernisation Conference about the importance of being the best. We need to be more consistent everywhere in how we do things, in the procedures we deploy and standards we deliver.

To that end, I have appointed Gary Burgess and Simon Haben as delivery excellence director and operational excellence director respectively. Gary will drive forward the next wave of initiatives in Delivery, including the role of the DOM, working closely with our unions to ensure we treat our people fairly as we make further changes to resourcing to reflect our changing workload. Simon will be accountable for pulling together and driving the approach for our overall architecture of core standards and continuous improvement to deliver our values and metrics.

We cannot underestimate the importance of consistency in raising our standards. The best companies are consistent. Anton Harding has been appointed performance 100 director, reporting to Stuart. It’s critical in our business that the best get better and the worst move up to the average.

Jane Hooper has been appointed quality and customer director, while Mark Follows will be moving to a senior role, supporting Operations. He will be working on a part-time basis for personal reasons. Charles Towns will continue to provide expert advice and guidance on World Class Mail.

Ian Jones has been appointed my chief of staff and Helen Diksa as HR director, while Richard Travers continues as finance operations director.

Next steps
I know this is a tough time for everyone. But these changes put us in a strong position to take the company to the next level. We have to be the best, and I know we will be by working together on any challenges and opportunities.

Subject to the ongoing consultation, we expect overall team structures to be made available tomorrow (Wednesday, April 16).

Don’t forget that you can find more information on our intranet site, via your line manager or by contacting the dedicated HR helpdesk on: 0845 6026811 / 0114 241 4738 / 5456 4738.

I’ll continue to keep you updated on the latest activity. In the meantime, thank you for your continued support.

Sue Whalley
Chief Operations Officer

[Straight4ward]

How to blag your way to a top managerial role:
Use “management speak” - an essential tool to confuse your audience and make it appear that you are some kind of managerial guru who can dispense wisdom at the drop of a hat.

refreshed top level organisational structures

reducing the number of geographies from five to three

too siloed with our regional structure

pulling together and driving the approach for our overall architecture of core standards and continuous improvement to deliver our values and metrics

WTF?

Impressive stuff, Sue!

[Brain Fury]

How to blag your way to a top managerial role:
Use “management speak” - an essential tool to confuse your audience and make it appear that you are some kind of managerial guru who can dispense wisdom at the drop of a hat.

refreshed top level organisational structures

reducing the number of geographies from five to three

too siloed with our regional structure

pulling together and driving the approach for our overall architecture of core standards and continuous improvement to deliver our values and metrics

WTF?

Impressive stuff, Sue!

Those words confuse you?

[trythat]

Message from Sue Whalley

To that end, I have appointed Gary Burgess and Simon Haben as delivery excellence director and operational excellence director respectively. Gary will drive forward the next wave of initiatives in Delivery, including the role of the DOM, working closely with our unions to ensure we treat our people fairly as we make further changes to resourcing to reflect our changing workload.
r

It will be intresting to see what they are proposing, as so far since we've signed the new agreement, I've seen badly designed initiatives in our office, I still can't get RM to make OPG use trolleys etc, so I still have staff complaining to me about the way they are being treated.

As a rep I'm not sure how they expect me to actually have much say, I don't have all the tools DOMs do, I tend to have to be reactive rather than having information given to me in a timely fashion. Again it's all talk and no action - as usual.

[Red Robbo]

That's why members are being asked to attend a meeting next week with Tony Fox, to help decipher the management speak.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Read through the management speak and 3 things jump out at me.

1. Less managers higher up the ladder mean less lower down- this is a pre-warning for more management jobs to go, and this time in operations.

2. The line that has me most concerned is this

including the role of the DOM, working closely with our unions

sounds like the transformation of the Union in to a management resource is going ahead as planned - at least from a RM point of view.

3. Also there is a warning of job losses and more transformations hidden in the letter, it looks as though we are heading if not to a period of industrial unrest, then at least insecurity in hours and attendance times.


Anything else anyone can decrypt.

[rainbowwarrior72]

Its nice to know we the workers are always the last to know. Interesting as of this morning nothing of this on myroyalmail.com. So that was what they were talking about at the managers day with Moya last week. Moya never mentioned any of these changes during her Presentation

[24601]

As well as getting me to look up the word 'siloed' I love the sentence that says 'It’s critical in our business that the best get better and the worst move up to the average.' Management speak blah blah at its best !!!!

[Glenno]

Subject to the ongoing consultation, we expect overall team structures to be made available tomorrow (Wednesday, April 16).

Add this to LTB 257/14, and it does make you wonder, AFG is .....................

[Lincox]

As well as getting me to look up the word 'siloed' I love the sentence that says 'It’s critical in our business that the best get better and the worst move up to the average.' Management speak blah blah at its best !!!!

So if the worst move up to the average, does that not mean that some of the average or better have moved down to below average, because the term average means that they are sat in the centre of the top and bottom tiers.

[Brain Fury]

As well as getting me to look up the word 'siloed' I love the sentence that says 'It’s critical in our business that the best get better and the worst move up to the average.' Management speak blah blah at its best !!!!

So if the worst move up to the average, does that not mean that some of the average or better have moved down to below average, because the term average means that they are sat in the centre of the top and bottom tiers.

Exactly and why not?

[Budfrog]

As well as getting me to look up the word 'siloed' I love the sentence that says 'It’s critical in our business that the best get better and the worst move up to the average.' Management speak blah blah at its best !!!!

So if the worst move up to the average, does that not mean that some of the average or better have moved down to below average, because the term average means that they are sat in the centre of the top and bottom tiers.

Well someone has to move down to satisfy the maths of the equation.

One of the aims of the RM Performance Development Review system is to encourage the poorest performing managers to either improve or to leave but as it is based on forced distribution the goalposts never remain constant. While it is promoted as an objective and fair system ... it is riddled with subjective misjudgements and outright bias with fair appraisals often being overridden to satisfy the distribution curve. It is a corrupt system that often penalises the honest/fair manager who treats his staff with dignity and respect.

[axeman]

Pity sue hasn't used some of her money on a make over and to sort out the lank hair do .... but there again royal fail have taught her to use buzz words so hired a buzz guru no doubt

[mark_e]

Sue Hatchet Whalley ;-)

[dodger162]

Would it be fair to say that a helicopter view was taken across the piece and functional forthcoming was found and we now need to hit the ground running and act smarter in order to ring fence double digit growth?