MRM.COM : Salford DO 5.8% increase in productivity 58% reduction in sick absence since an award-winning manager took the helm earlier this year.

[POSTMAN]

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Gaynor believes it is important to listen to colleagues and act upon feedback

An underperforming delivery office has made a sharp turnaround after successfully implementing an action plan following the results of our 2017 Employee Survey.

Salford delivery office has seen a 5.8% increase in productivity and a 58% reduction in sick absence since an award-winning manager took the helm earlier this year.

The delivery office sits in an area of urban regeneration, where the many new-build flats and offices make delivery routes difficult. This, combined with unfilled vacancies and low employee engagement, left the team struggling to meet its targets. The task of guiding the office through a revision fell to delivery office manager Gaynor Nevins, who was named Team Leader of the Year at the 2017 Chairman’s Awards for Excellence.

When she joined the team 10 months ago, she made it her mission to listen to colleagues and create an action plan based on their needs using the feedback they gave during our Employee Survey.

‘Their views were the foundation of the action plan, and their goals are the same as mine - to feel happy in the workplace and proud of the work they do,’ she said.

‘Communication was a big factor. They wanted to know what was going on and to have their views included in the revision.

‘I’ve introduced daily huddles where I’ll share what I know. I’ve always been honest with them, and they appreciate that.

‘Another goal was to be more positive. It’s important to say thank you every day; make it clear that you appreciate what they do on a regular basis. It means a lot.’

As part of the action plan, the canteen has now been renovated and repainted. The office courtyard has been transformed into a small garden, funded by donations from regular baking days.

‘The delivery office looks a lot better,’ said postman Chris Hunt. ‘Gaynor has really taken ownership of this place and it has definitely improved 100%.’

Postman Barry Weaver added: ‘There really is a much better atmosphere in the workplace now.

‘There’s much more of a dialogue between colleagues and managers, which is what we wanted.’

[worktotime]

haha , action plan employee survey , whats this ? , listen to the staff , what a joke this is , she should come to our office and see what she can do .

[hans solo]

load of pish
baking days lol
only in her own little world

[Postie45]

maybe all this is true and well done to her. 2 things though -

1. of course a reduction in sick absence correlates to increased productivity who knows the specific reasons why people were off sick, maybe some long term sick returned during that period.
2. "award winning manager" and all the praises worthy of putting into an article, for a mere 5.8% increase in productivity in 10 months where theres huge scope for variance (ie luck / randomness) in such a short time period here. i mean sure well done, its gone up, but not sure its headline news.

Nice to hear that theyve had their office nicely decorated too, so we`ll all be expecting our DOs to be upgraded pretty soon i guess ?

[holly123]

Just goes to show that if she listens to staff and the office improves , postie's should all be the managers and put the bags on there backs

[superports]

The fact that she says "I've always been honest with them" only goes to show that either she or other managers aren't always honest.

[Stunners]

WE had a similar type of manager take over our office , really nice guy , said he wanted to listen to us and be fair and to sort the office morale and problems out. Area manger caught wind and yup you guessed it he has disappeared, weve not seen him for over two months

[Lincox]

Begs the reason why Royal Mail is not firing all of its senior managers. If one person can make an impact based on their own initiative and humility, why do they continue to employ these senior managers who obviously have not got a clue about motivating and caring and demonstrating to their under managers how a harmonious office can achieve results without the bullying, harassment and scaremongering that goes on in many delivery offices.

[Brandy]

The fact that she says "I've always been honest with them" only goes to show that either she or other managers aren't always honest.

Managers are never honest,most of them lie through their teeth,I would never trust one as far as I could through one.

[Brandy]

Begs the reason why Royal Mail is not firing all of its senior managers. If one person can make an impact based on their own initiative and humility, why do they continue to employ these senior managers who obviously have not got a clue about motivating and caring and demonstrating to their under managers how a harmonious office can achieve results without the bullying, harassment and scaremongering that goes on in many delivery offices.

Exactly!

[Celgar]

There are of course exceptions but in my experience the best managers in RM all seem to be female. Most male managers are below average in competence and would rather stand around chatting and drinking tea.

As regards productivity I'm not convinced Postie's in DOs can affect this. If we do in terms of rushing our arses off or working additional time unpaid then we are shooting ourselves in the face. The end result is then that RM jobsworths want more lapsing, absorption, or walks removed completely.

I expect the main reason the above office increased productivity would be that morale improved and 'sickness' was reduced as a result. As a general rule DOs can just clear the mail in their office. It's the RM sales department hopefully trying to get us more contracts to deliver companies mail that increases productivity.

[t3mcIUQWE2]

WE had a similar type of manager take over our office , really nice guy , said he wanted to listen to us and be fair and to sort the office morale and problems out. Area manger caught wind and yup you guessed it he has disappeared, weve not seen him for over two months

Exactly the same in our office. Realised we were massively under staffed. Told area manager and he was gone within a week.

[Celgar]

Area managers and higher up management put a lot of pressure on DOMs and blame them for stuff they have no control over such as extreme weather conditions and other incidents that are not actually the fault of the DOMs. I wouldn't want their job for all the tea in China!

[orlando]

Our manager is absolute scum bag. Wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him , and that's not far.

[Lounge Lizard]

There are of course exceptions but in my experience the best managers in RM all seem to be female. Most male managers are below average in competence and would rather stand around chatting and drinking tea.

As regards productivity I'm not convinced Postie's in DOs can affect this. If we do in terms of rushing our arses off or working additional time unpaid then we are shooting ourselves in the face. The end result is then that RM jobsworths want more lapsing, absorption, or walks removed completely.

I expect the main reason the above office increased productivity would be that morale improved and 'sickness' was reduced as a result. As a general rule DOs can just clear the mail in their office. It's the RM sales department hopefully trying to get us more contracts to deliver companies mail that increases productivity.

Yes, "the best managers in RM all seem to be female" and Moya proves that.
As for "productivity" we all have our way of working and the pace at which we work and I very much doubt if whatever manager we get, and they change often enough, makes the slightest difference whatsoever.