Private Consultants & Royal Mail

[fmrPOSTIE]

I can't say that I saw any private consultants brought in during my time at RM but would it not make sense to bring people in from outside? I'm thinking of what Gerry Robinson did with the NHS.

From recollection he had 6 months and made some decent changes in what was a very beauracratic system. What ya reckon?

[BELIAL]

:mfo

[TrueBlueTerrier]

The last private consultants that were brought into Royal Mail was :lfo . Sorry my mistake he is a "Privatisation Consultant" different kettle of fish.


What your suggestion though is already happening under the auspices of the Hooper report so all we need to do is wait and see what he suggests.

[fmrPOSTIE]

We've heard all this before though!!!!

Remember the (Lord) Sawyer Report back in 2001? To give you a few quotes; Post office managers were blasted for their autocratic approach, and fostering of a "them and us culture". On the union side they found "automatic opposition to management proposals and an attitude characterised as "old-fashioned class war". Postal workers felt undervalued and were not respected.

So whats f'ing changed? Every year we have a press release from Royal Mail saying its going through a period of "transformation" which its never seen before, and rougly every 5 years RM comes back to the Govt saying it needs £bn's of investment otherwise it cannot compete.

If RM cannot turn itself around after having approx £5bn, yes £5bn! thrown at it there is no hope.

I have always been a strong supporter of Royal Mail and opposed to private involvement, but aint it about time it got sorted?

[Martin Walsh]

The truth is that Royal Mail have used private consultants on every major project for years,Including the creating out future project (cof ) and must of wasted millions on people who dont know the bussiness and have never produced any radical recommendations whcih would assist our members.

[janitor]

This is the problem RM keep bringing in people who have totally no understanding of the business, who bring in ideas that staff and lower management know wont work, pump billions into implementing it to find out what the staff said was right. Then we struggle on with these kack handed plans till another one comes along. How many upper management jobs in the last few years have gone to someone from the mail industry.

[janitor]

This is the problem RM keep bringing in people who have totally no understanding of the business, who bring in ideas that staff and lower management know wont work, pump billions into implementing it to find out what the staff said was right. Then we struggle on with these kack handed plans till another one comes along. How many upper management jobs in the last few years have gone to someone from the mail industry.

[Martin Walsh]

Your right Janitor and when they bring in the managers from outside it takes them about 6 months to understand the industry and three months to cock it up and then get sacked. Look at the list elmar tolme , tony mcarthy, kevin green, alan barrie, ninean wilson to list a few.

They now only have a couple of managers above GM level who have any operational background and thats the territoral directors.

[norbert]

Your right Janitor and when they bring in the managers from outside it takes them about 6 months to understand the industry and three months to cock it up and then get sacked. Look at the list elmar tolme , tony mcarthy, kevin green, alan barrie, ninean wilson to list a few.

They now only have a couple of managers above GM level who have any operational background and thats the territoral directors.

Management Consultants are viewed as parasites - they are usually brought in at great expense to tell the existing managers - the blindingly obvious - or to do some one's dirty work - or that the existing managers can't manage - sometimes it's all three at the same time !

[norbert]

I can't say that I saw any private consultants brought in during my time at RM but would it not make sense to bring people in from outside? I'm thinking of what Gerry Robinson did with the NHS.

From recollection he had 6 months and made some decent changes in what was a very beauracratic system. What ya reckon?

Some of it with the NHS ,was problems with the old NHS beauracratic system , then the Internal Market idea from the last Major Tory government , then New Labour's meddling amateurs with their target and excessive paperwork culture as "public sector reforms " on top of the Tory system , basically the worst of all three .

The other problem with New Labour is going for these " personalty " super managers " - that may well have been a success in some fields but woefully lacking outside it - millions wasted on IT Projects and New Labour cock-ups with PFI and outsourcing - it also means when these "super-managers " are sent for , that the Ministers aren't up to their jobs .

The one thing that Gerry Robinson had going for him was that he didn't go for the RM Autocratic Top Down approach , he spoke to the girls on the wards etc , and he noticed that there was managers that couldn't really manage / didn't manage - however the system was very inefficient as the NHS had been split into all those pieces so some managers didn't really have much control and there was too much politics .

Gerry Robinson's record isn't that good , ITV Digital went bust - they were paying a lot of money to championship clubs which went in wages on the players to screen matches which were not exactly a Box Office Draw - outside parts of Lancashire and Hertfordshire who wants to see Preston North End v Watford ? - the bars might have done a roaring trade locally but that's about it .

When ITV Digital went bust , the Championship Clubs had to tighten their belts and they had to let players go - some had to go back to the real world and work outside football as they couldn't always find clubs to pay for them to play - or go non -league / part -time and work in the day .

[fmrPOSTIE]

The trouble with RM is virtually every major decision has to go through the Union who are, on the whole very resistant. Yes they have a right to defend workers to some extent but managers need to be able to make decisions locally without being dragged down into agreements/threats of walkouts.

I dont work there anymore but posties need to realise that it must improve, i.e. make a decent profit, remember the days of £600m? I dont buy Croziers argument that it cant raise cash to invest, this is nonsense as the PO was made a GovCo Plc in order to raise private capital.

Royal Mail could well be in the last chance saloon with regards the next Govt (Tory??) - CVC have been circling the business for a long time!

None of us want to see it privatised.

[k979aaa]

The trouble with RM is virtually every major decision has to go through the Union who are, on the whole very resistant. Yes they have a right to defend workers to some extent but managers need to be able to make decisions locally without being dragged down into agreements/threats of walkouts.

I dont work there anymore but posties need to realise that it must improve, i.e. make a decent profit, remember the days of £600m? I dont buy Croziers argument that it cant raise cash to invest, this is nonsense as the PO was made a GovCo Plc in order to raise private capital.

Royal Mail could well be in the last chance saloon with regards the next Govt (Tory??) - CVC have been circling the business for a long time!

None of us want to see it privatised.

Got news for you buddy 90% of royalmail staff are in the union and long may it remain so!. So what's wrong in talking or should royalmail railroad it through and see what happens!. Would you like your neighbour to take a swim in your pool or help him self too your wife without asking or should he at least ask you first!.

[DGP1]

The trouble with RM is virtually every major decision has to go through the Union who are, on the whole very resistant. Yes they have a right to defend workers to some extent but managers need to be able to make decisions locally without being dragged down into agreements/threats of walkouts.

I dont work there anymore but posties need to realise that it must improve, i.e. make a decent profit, remember the days of £600m? I dont buy Croziers argument that it cant raise cash to invest, this is nonsense as the PO was made a GovCo Plc in order to raise private capital.

Royal Mail could well be in the last chance saloon with regards the next Govt (Tory??) - CVC have been circling the business for a long time!

None of us want to see it privatised.

Got news for you buddy 90% of royalmail staff are in the union and long may it remain so!. So what's wrong in talking or should royalmail railroad it through and see what happens!. Would you like your neighbour to take a swim in your pool or help him self too your wife without asking or should he at least ask you first!.

TBH he can have her I'm in soooooooo much trouble whenever my wife reads this.............................after she stops having sex with the neighbour