Street life
As part of our ongoing series of blogs from throughout the business, we’ll continue to bring you stories from colleagues, who are doing their bit right across the operation, on how things have changed during the current crisis.
Today, we hear from head of campaigns, Mark Street.
‘I think it’s fair to say that we’ve all been trying to find our feet in the lockdown and build a “new normal” out of all this strangeness,’ said Mark. ‘Like everyone else, I and my family are working hard on being normal in these unprecedented times. And like everyone else, we’re finding it a challenge. If we’re being honest, it’s hard enough being normal in the normal times!
‘Since the coronavirus pandemic first struck in its full enormity, the Royal Mail communications team has been inundated with requests for information from all kinds of media outlets. International news organisations, national newspapers, national TV stations, national radio stations and regional broadcasters all want to know what’s happening at Royal Mail and how the pandemic is impacting the daily delivery.
‘We are also providing the media with a lot of positive stories about how our colleagues are helping to keep the UK connected in these challenging times. We have organised opportunities across the media including BBC Breakfast, The Daily Mirror, Jazz FM and even the fashion bible Vogue magazine to show how our people are stepping up to the challenge. This includes stories about colleagues helping people in the community and dressing up in fancy dress simply to raise a smile. We are doing the same for social media too. This work is really heartening and makes you feel very proud of what Royal Mail is doing for the nation at this time of uncertainty.
‘Typically, our team works in the same office, so we have had to adapt very quickly to working from home on a highly dispersed basis. To maintain a sense of team coherence, we have a call every morning to check in with each other and make sure we are all aware of the emerging issues in the media. We’re also all making good use of the excellent Skype systems we have in place to ensure that we’re all aware of Royal Mail’s evolving response to the virus, so we’re able to provide the media with the very latest and most accurate information.
‘I live in Kent with my wife and 13-year-old daughter, so there are big changes at home too. For my home office, I have requisitioned the dining room, which I share with my daughter, who is currently home schooling. It’s way too easy to keep working late into the evening, so I’m trying to be very disciplined about ensuring that once I’m off work - I’m off work. But it’s not as easy as it sounds, given the unpredictable nature of my role. The media never sleeps unfortunately. However, we have helped to manage this challenge by ensuring that we have a really effective on-call rota set up across the team, which helps share the load.
‘I make sure that I go for a run at the end of every day to clear my head and keep some form of physical fitness. We’ve also invested in a table football table, which means we have some great tournaments as a family in the front room. We ensure we take some time out from each other every day as it’s important to have your own sense of space when you’re spending so much time together – no matter how much you love one another!
‘If there’s something good to come out of all this bad, it’s the fact that we’re spending much more time together as a family, talking a lot more to one and another and really enjoying our family meals and walks together. We are playing more games together and enjoying the beauty of nature. In some ways, this has brought us even closer together as a family. But we never lose sight of the suffering and pain this crisis is causing among our close friends as well as the nation, as a whole.’
