Sharing the joy

Today, our Bradford blogger and postman, Chris Robbins talks about improving the way we work, and how we help to bring joy into people’s lives….

I’ve been a postman for seven years now. I’m not breaking any records for the longest time served obviously, but I think I’ve been around long enough to know how it all works.

At the end of the day, we bring people joy. We bring them that new piece of equipment they’ve been waiting for. We bring them their Euros so they can spend some money on holiday. We also deliver their toilet roll from time to time, which is clearly important too!

For us to deliver that joy however, we can’t afford to be distracted. We’re currently going through a tough period in the history of Royal Mail, and with everything going on, it’s hard not to get distracted.

We need to approach the job with a smile on our face, but sometimes it’s not that easy. We’re constantly pushed for time: worrying about 1pm Special Deliveries, worrying about picking up our kids from school and worrying about getting finished on time.

As times change, and businesses change, and technology changes, we need to adapt – as colleagues, and as people. Royal Mail needs to do the same. I will give our senior leaders credit; they are trying. But I think they would do better to listen to us a little more – the face of Royal Mail, the final link in the chain.

I’m sure most of us have ideas on how we could improve the way we work. Take automation. We know it needs to happen, and it is happening. How could we speed up the progress? Something as simple as a clock in/clock out machine would make a hugely positive impact.

Our experience using PDAs should also be considered. We know better than many what works and what could be improved. We should be used to guide development and make them the tools they could be. We all know there’s work to be done, and I hope we’ll see change that we all desperately need.