It’s good to talk

In the run up to this year’s employee survey, which opens on 25 February, we’re highlighting what teams across the business have been doing over the last year to help make Royal Mail an even better place to work.

At Barnard Castle delivery office, the team had the second highest engagement score across all delivery offices in last year’s survey, at 92%.

Delivery office manager, John Small, who has been in position for five years, puts this great score down to constant communication, listening to colleagues and being flexible. He’s aiming for the top spot in this year’s survey.

“We’re a small office and so I can have one-to-ones with each team member,” he says. “We talk all the time, which really helps when we’re sorting out problems or rolling out changes. There has to be give and take on both sides. I ask a lot of the team and in return I always try to be flexible with any requests they may have.”  

This year John asked the team to write anonymous comments saying what they like about working at Barnard Castle. He’s posted them up on a new board, in addition to the action planning board, to celebrate the positive things about their workplace.

“The comments on the new board and the employee survey results really make me proud to be leading this team. I’ve worked across many units in my 28 years at Royal Mail and this is definitely one of the best places I’ve worked.”

Postman, Mark Ibbotson, said, “I have done many jobs but find this one fantastic. I love my colleagues and it’s a pleasure to come to work.”