Anything is possible
Throughout this week we’ll be sharing stories from around the business to highlight our inclusion campaign - Altogether Different.
Deputy manager, Manjit Kang, from our Heathrow Worldwide distribution centre (HWDC), is a member of our BAME steering group.
Manjit was working as a professional freelance wedding photographer in 2005 when one of her friends, who was working at HWDC at the time, told her that Royal Mail needed temporary staff over the Christmas period.
‘This wasn’t something I initially imagined myself doing, however, I am always someone who enjoys a new challenge so I applied,’ said Manjit. ‘I really enjoyed the experience and the vast diverse community under one roof. The plant was huge - I had never seen such a large operation.
‘I met some great people along the way and at the end of the contract I was asked if I would continue working as a super-temp and help recruit 50 six-month contracts. I agreed to manage the applications process and perform the five-year criminal record checks. Working alongside the night shift managers we completed the process over a four-week period. After successfully applying myself, I started on the night shift as a postwoman.
‘Soon afterwards, I was recruited into the HWDC security team to update and renew colleague aviation ID passes. Eventually this role was merged with the receptionist front of house and I was trained to undertake all the additional duties they perform. After a couple of years in this role, I heard that HWDC were looking for an artist in residence and entered the competition to design a World Class Mail (WCM) logo. I won the competition and was asked to join the People Development Pillar. This was the first step of the WCM journey, which would eventually lead HWDC to achieving the first Gold award in Royal Mail - something I’m very proud that I was a part of.
‘I joined WCM as an artist, photographer and videographer and used my skillset and experience in Adobe Photoshop. Working with our internal communications team I became the official in-house photographer when our former CEO Moya Greene, visited the plant. I created a collage which was sent to Moya’s PA, who recognised and complimented me on my work.’
Manjit has done a huge amount of work helping to organise and support fundraising events at HWDC, including a Race for Life run, in which £14,000 was raised for various charities, including Cancer Research UK.
‘All this got me huge recognition and I was nominated twice to attend the Chairman’s Awards,’ she said. ‘The second time around, I was in the national top five category and nominated for the Community Champion award, ending up as the runner-up. It was a real privilege and pleasure to be recognised in this manner.
‘After completing the Springboard programme, I met the Central Planning & Programmes support manager, Julia Ffloulkes who gave me the confidence to apply for the deputy manager role in Operations. I have been performing this role for more than four years now and have managed various areas on both the early and late shifts.
‘The job is rewarding but also very challenging and target-based as every day I’m faced with something different. What I love about working at HWDC is the environment and the diversity of our people. This is definitely one of the main reasons why it’s such a great place to work.
‘I like to encourage all my female colleagues to be positive and never think that they can’t live up to their hopes and ambitions. I would encourage anyone reading this, to never stop believing in themselves. We all have the ability to achieve our dreams, but we must first believe it’s possible. I believe in life-long learning, supporting others and empowering women to break through the noise of societal conditioning and boundaries so that they can live their true, beautiful and authentic selves.’
Watch our video below to hear more on what it feels like to be included.
Supporting BAME colleagues
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Making our business a place where black, Asian and minority ethnic colleagues can achieve their potential remains a priority.
Career progression is a key focus as we work towards improving the representation of colleagues from BAME backgrounds across all levels of the business. We need to build greater awareness that the network exists and is there to support our people and shine a light on all the positive things we are doing across the business.
If you are thinking about holding a BAME cultural event in your unit, and need some help please reach out to us. To contact the BAME steering group, or volunteer to help out with their activities, please email bame@royalmail.com.
