wcm re-instated by union?

[Brain Fury]

I don't know if or when I will be leaving yet. I'd probably be interested if VR came up but there are also likely to be some new opportunities and because of my skills and experience and because my input is valued I may not get the opportunity to go. So I wouldn't start the collection just yet. There's no chance I'd qualify as a hard liner but if some think I am then it's no wonder there is so much complaining about B&H.

Bri let me put your mind at rest, you'll be going sooner or later, these new initiatives on productivity will include team leaders and expensive managers will not be part of Royal Mails plan even though there's an overarching agreement to avoid compulsory redundancies, it is only to avoid it and we all know how RM are at sticking to agreements. Still you don't have the protection of the CWU - well maybe that's a good thing

Wishful thinking presented as knowledge or fact is really no basis for an argument but if it makes you feel better then carry on.

[dvbuk55]

Wishful thinking presented as knowledge or fact is really no basis for an argument but if it makes you feel better then carry on.

C'mon Bri, deep down you know it's true but all is not lost you could always step down a notch and become a delivery officer, well it's better than McDonalds I suppose.

[pcb]

Fishtank: the arguement over WCM is that it will not go away and to stand by whilst members are put at risk with the blame game and there is no union involvement until the member is already on the CC is NOT representing our members in the correct way. In my MC the WCM project has gone forward without union involvement (as per national instruction) with some members and non members jumping on board because it gets them off the floor. Changes are being presented every few weeks and I am having to threaten with disagreement to stop implementation. However the plans are still there waiting to be put forward. So at some stage they will be BECAUSE ITS A NO BRAINER! RM are not going to stop so I can't understand your instance that somehow the union is going to stop WCM when the shareholders will be asking for profit. Are you seriously suggesting that RM will suddenly decide that streamlining processes which generate savings is not the way they want to go?
The members vote in the next month will show that the members are now more interested in bonuses and the next pay cheque than trying to stop modernisation. So WCM is used as the main driver for savings and we the union are outside looking in! Bloody intelligent strategy.
Ps don't assume I am a lackey of management. Not nice!

[Brain Fury]

The union needs to get involved to ensure a level playing field where possible. We are 2 years behind and losing ground so we need to get started. No point standing outside looking in.

Where have you been?
We tried getting involved with WCM,we even have the agreements to prove it.
It was a dismal failure because at the heart of WCM is continuous improvement which as well as being theoretically impossible is basically just another word for job cuts and how stupid did the union look endorsing job cuts?

If the union gets involved with WCM the membership's perception would be that the union was actively engaged in undermining its own members job security.
What would the alternative be?...the union gets involved to actively derail WCM?
A nice idea but I don't think RM will let that fly.If you want to be a WCM poster boy go ahead pcb but don't pretend you're doing it for anyone else but yourself.

Have you ever been involved let alone trained in WCM? Because either you really don't understand it or are using the classic argumentum in terrorem. I suspect the latter but I could be wrong.

"Continuous improvement is theoretically impossible?" Theoretically impossible? And that means WCM is doomed to failure? Is that the best you can do? You might argue that infinite improvement is impossible but leaving aside such a philosophical debate do you think that anybody working for the business now will live long enough to see all its problems resolved and 100% performance achieved? In fact one of the key tasks in WCM is prioritise which problems are going to be addressed simply because there is not enough time or resources to tackle them all.

"It's basically just another word for job cuts". Do you really mean that every project in each of the 10 WCM pillars has as its aim job cuts? Or that if even one project might in theory result in the loss of a job the whole concept of WCM should be opposed?

[Brain Fury]

Wishful thinking presented as knowledge or fact is really no basis for an argument but if it makes you feel better then carry on.

C'mon Bri, deep down you know it's true but all is not lost you could always step down a notch and become a delivery officer, well it's better than McDonalds I suppose.

A notch?

[dvbuk55]

Wishful thinking presented as knowledge or fact is really no basis for an argument but if it makes you feel better then carry on.

C'mon Bri, deep down you know it's true but all is not lost you could always step down a notch and become a delivery officer, well it's better than McDonalds I suppose.

A notch?

Of course! Do you consider yourself so far above the common man Bri, tut tut.

[dvbuk55]

What I really don't understand is the likes of Bri, pcb and the CWU embracing all this codswallop of WCM with its attendant jargon as though its of any concern of theirs. Is it a question of being with the in crowd, you know - they go where the in crowd go, a question of feeling important or simply just following the diktat of Royal Mail because it is the buzz scheme at the moment.

[markis]

WCM is out, the union issued a notice a few months ago as they percieved that the coaches who were involved in WCM were going to be "managers in uniform". When the coaching role was rolled out it was about dealing with new entrants, refresher training for staff, etc; then last year WCM came in and the WPC's were told to get involved and implement WCM practices in the DO's. As mentioned the union could see what was happening and pulled its support, now the principles of WCM are still there and won't be going away,but will be put in DO's as "good practices" after all you can't call it WCM anymore. There will also be more coaches in DO's and mail centers, 1 to every 25 staff, RM don't want to bring in 1 to every 8 yet as it would be too obvious and they want too see how it works first of all , this is to gradually change the role of a WPC to a team-leader, who will have more and more responsibilities to do for his /her coaching allowance of £30 per week, in other words the team-leader will be doing a management role and saving RM monies as you can get four WPC/Team-leaders for the price of one managers weekly allowance and you can also get rid of managers.

[Brain Fury]

What I really don't understand is the likes of Bri, pcb and the CWU embracing all this codswallop of WCM with its attendant jargon as though its of any concern of theirs. Is it a question of being with the in crowd, you know - they go where the in crowd go, a question of feeling important or simply just following the diktat of Royal Mail because it is the buzz scheme at the moment.

Of course it's a concern of mine. It's been decided that WCM is going to be at the centre of how the business works and I work for the business. It's not because of any of the rather silly "reasons" you suggest.

"Following the diktat of Royal Mail ..." is a ludicrous way of expressing a perfectly simple truth; Royal Mail pays me to do the things they want me to do not to do the things I want to do. Opposing it makes no more sense than saying I don't want to use a computer. Your comments just demonstrate the all too common view that you should have a veto over business decisions. Personally I think all the talk about "consultation" and "involvement" encourage that view amongst some people but again, it's a business decision so ultimately it doesn't matter what I think.

I don't know the motivations of the CWU but I'd like to think that they would support WCM because it gives it's membership the opportunity to be involved in the way things are done where they work. Something that people frequently complain that they want. Of course you are free not to take part if you choose but it won't go away. Trying to encourage a blanket ban, denigrating your colleagues that choose to take part and trying to demonise WCM because it uses jargon (Heaven forbid - jargon in Royal Mail!) just makes me wonder what you're frightened of.

And Markis statement that the term WCM is going to disappear - not a chance.

[Brain Fury]

Wishful thinking presented as knowledge or fact is really no basis for an argument but if it makes you feel better then carry on.

C'mon Bri, deep down you know it's true but all is not lost you could always step down a notch and become a delivery officer, well it's better than McDonalds I suppose.

A notch?

Of course! Do you consider yourself so far above the common man Bri, tut tut.

I'm surprised you choose to call it a step down - isn't that rather disrespectful of your colleagues. I might have thought to become a postie once but not now - it's a young man's job.

[borders]

I can honestly say , working in Distribution as I do , I have not received any WTL with regards to WCM . when entering my MC I get confused as to whether I am at work or at my little girls primary school . lots of graphs , pictures and nice colouring.
as a 50 year old adult, what I want when a go to work , is to know what I have to do and if i have a problem be it work or home related , I want an experienced manager that can deal with this in a fair and reasonable manner . if I don't agree with his verdict as a union member , I have recourse and can seek my Reps advice.
So what do I get at work these days ?
Managers that have not had proper training and are thrown in at the deep end. their jobs are impossible , so they resort to turning a blind eye to their mates, intimidating others to go way and beyond their 318's, unable to follow guidelines and rules etc because they either don't know them or are too stressed out doing postmen's work.
we have Union Reps who frankly spend more time holding these so called managers hands and now think it is down to them to help run the place . " you just as well be a manager " is quite a common reference heard.
Posties who suddenly think they have become the " Chosen One " because they have been asked to sit on a WCM panel. its a stepping stone to the holy grail that is management I am told .....
WCM is bullshit it greys all the areas . frankly I don't care about elastic bands and whether I have placed my plastic cup in the right bin. is it gonna save RM, the world ? my City centre is a shithole, litter , rubbish everywhere. check out the slums in India , Brazil etc . what is RM and WCM doing about that lot ?
what I want at work , just work , is Respect on all sides
Managers that man manage
Workers that work , be it processing , delivery or distribution
Cleaners that clean etc etc.

[dvbuk55]

I don't know the motivations of the CWU but I'd like to think that they would support WCM because it gives it's membership the opportunity to be involved in the way things are done where they work. Something that people frequently complain that they want. Of course you are free not to take part if you choose but it won't go away. Trying to encourage a blanket ban, denigrating your colleagues that choose to take part and trying to demonise WCM because it uses jargon (Heaven forbid - jargon in Royal Mail!) just makes me wonder what you're frightened of.

And Markis statement that the term WCM is going to disappear - not a chance.

I'm not frightened of WCM Bri, drawing pictures on the board and being taught how to walk upstairs holds no fears for anyone - but the wider implications......well if I was a manager I would be concerned that my hiviz would be changed to "WCM Champion" with a commensurate cut in wages. I can understand why you want to be involved Bri because as a manager you would be obliged to toe the line regardless of how stupid it all sounds.

[fishtank]

Have you ever been involved let alone trained in WCM? Because either you really don't understand it or are using the classic argumentum in terrorem. I suspect the latter but I could be wrong.

I've seen Royal Mail's interpretation and implementation of World Class Manufacturing at various sites and to be completely honest it's a pathetic shambles.

The first problem is the initial recruitment process which appears to me to consist of gathering together various waifs and strays from the management side who were either graduates with little work experience or previous managers shunted out of their last role through non-ops redundancy or operational poor performance.
This is laughingly the bedrock of the whole process.

The next problem is the recruitment of non-managerial employee roles which by the very nature of the initiative attracts the kind of people who would rather be paid to think about work than actually do any.I've spoken to many and most appear to be very inexperienced, even one who hadn't completed their trial period.

The next problem concerns the lack of a joined up approach to the whole process no doubt caused by that weak initial recruitment which has led to most of the WCM sites simply re-inventing the same wheel at great cost to the business,Surely if one site has a truly great idea it's a bit stupid to pump in vast resources at another site and hope they come up with the same idea?,This idiotic process has cost the business millions but nobody wants to be the one to point to the elephant in the room because that would mean an end to the gravy train which brings me to the last problem...continuous improvement.

The problem with this is simple and since you started the Latin I'll add my own Ceteris paribus or the law of diminishing returns,Every World Class Mail project follows the same distinct path,week one-some great ideas,week two-some good ideas,week three-some half decent ideas,week four-some silly ideas and by week five we're starting to make s**t up.If you don't reduce the cost of World Class Mail right from day one on an exponential decay curve you are basically burning money.

The ultimate problem for units though is that the majority of cost savings from WCM are theoretical and are very difficult to transfer into real savings for the business,they are based on seeing potential non-value time as something that can be permanently removed from the process.

That might work in a rigid manufacturing environment like a car plant but in a delivery office where there is very little ability to predict or measure input and most of the work is done by the human element with varying degrees of performance not machines that can be calibrated it's a pointless paper exercise.The unfortunate thing is that manager's budgets and resourcing will be influenced by this initiative and unable to realise the projected savings and unwilling to report that the savings are in fact unachievable in reality they will most likely resort to the age old method of blaming the lowest common denominator.

[dvbuk55]

blaming the lowest common denominator.

That would be me then. Should I apologise now or wait until it totally collapses.

[Billy Ray]

Surely now as the majority of staff are now shareholders we can oppose this load of crap wcm, never seen so much money wasted in all my days. The brown nose lazy pr**s who are and were involved have absolutely no respect among other workers. As for any rep who gets involved they should have to resign from their position or get someone else to run against them. If rm are stupid enough to keep wcm going wasting millions with no return then were all doomed.