MIDDLESEX DELIVERS ROYAL MAIL TRAINING

[TrueBlueTerrier]

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Delivering mail to the public is something Royal Mail has been doing for nearly 400 years but when it came to delivering a training programme for its managers, the group needed help from Middlesex.

The owner of Parcelforce and the Post Office wanted to increase business effectiveness within the organisation and felt one way of achieving this would be to provide training for its middle managers.

Business challenge

Royal Mail wanted a programme that would make managers more proficient, enabling them to manage in different styles, delegate work effectively and maximise productivity.

“We wanted more rounded and professional managers who were able to consider management principles on a wider spectrum,” says Gary Miller, Royal Mail’s Management Development Trainer.

With a university accredited programme, Royal Mail felt employees could enhance their professional skills but also realise their full potential academically. The group felt the process would help managers meet their key performance indicators (KPIs) and add value to their CVs.

Royal Mail had already approached a private company to provide management training but it wanted a programme that used some of the training methods but was also academically relevant - and that is where Middlesex came in.

How Middlesex helped

After checking a number of other institutions, Royal Mail opted for Middlesex “because of their reputation and our previous positive experience of working with them,” says Gary Miller.

So Middlesex worked in partnership with Royal Mail to develop a higher education award – the Higher Education Certificate in Management Practice.

Royal Mail had very strong ideas on how the programme should look like but Middlesex’s advice and guidance was critical in shaping it into a deliverable programme, says Gary Miller.

Different teams from the University’s Business School and Work Based Learning (WBL) department collaborated to deliver the programme. “We developed a curriculum infrastructure around the training that was provided by the private company,” says Tracey White, senior learning developer at Middlesex University.

“Royal Mail is getting to grips with a lot of higher education skills. We get the students to undertake informal presentations, group presentations, referencing, report writing, individual reflective pieces and peer assessment,” adds Tracey White.

The course has already helped Royal Mail increase the base of professionalism amongst its management population, says Gary Miller. “It will also create and encourage a new approach to the development of our managers by moving the culture of the organisation from one of “delivered training” to self directed learning,” he adds.
Results summary

Course helping staff and Royal Mail. “Royal Mail employees are benefitting both personally and professionally. Royal Mail itself will see a cultural change in how management takes place, as it will not just be about training but also one of higher level learning, analysis, reflection and critical thinking,” says Tracey White.

Royal Mail getting support from Middlesex. “Middlesex provided the work based learning expertise covering things such as support materials and learning outcomes, assessment formats, formative and summative feedback, student admin, learning support and a great amount of advice and guidance,” says Gary Miller.

Success of programme encouraging more students. There are currently 84 students undertaking the programme. Royal Mail envisages there will be 200 going through the programme each year. The course has been very popular and Royal Mail is constantly getting high levels of feedback and pass rates, says Gary Miller.

[POSTMAN]

Middle managers? Are theses the ones that bully their managers under them that ''if it don't get done then you're out'',who then bully their.......You get it dont ya.

[Lincox]

They should have started at the top tiers of management as they havent, got any frigging clue at all.

[Dee Plish]

"The course has already helped Royal Mail increase the base of professionalism amongst its management population"

Looking around us, in the real sorting office world, this jargon driven bulls**t course is doing a fantastic job in ensuring the customer gets a much worse service. Is that what "professionalism" means in Royal Mail today? Like "modernisation" means "let's not resource properly and leave tens of thousands of items undelivered instead".

[blue1873]

Blind leading the blind .............. as usual!!!