‘Loving my role’

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 area leader team support manager, Kelly Adam.

‘I am now only in my 12th week with Royal Mail as area leader team support manager for the Thames Valley region and absolutely loving my role,’ said Kelly. ‘Having said that, it’s fair to say that things have changed quite a bit since I joined!

‘My initial onboarding was brilliant; I had a great four-week training plan in place, meeting key people and learning about the business, different functions and how my team and I supported the Thames Valley region. Then the pandemic hit, and from week four, I was suddenly working from home with a completely different set of roles and responsibilities as the business adapted to the impact of the virus.

‘Initially, I felt pretty isolated and worried that without my great team and colleagues around me my learning and effectiveness would suffer. I very quickly adapted to this new way of working and I think this challenge has probably accelerated my learning curve and made me more resilient. I also started to appreciate the peace and quiet you get working from home, and the very short commute from bedroom to dining room!

‘I generally enjoy being well organised and pro-active in my approach – factors that were becoming increasingly difficult as our priorities changed, sometimes on an hourly basis! I’m now more comfortable working in this re-active way in order to support my region with what they need.

‘Ensuring that colleagues in our region remained well stocked with protective equipment and that consistent cleaning services were in place was a big priority for me as well as ensuring our managers were well communicated to. I produce a huddle note each day for our manager population, which enables them to be armed with what they need to cascade to their teams (while of course adhering to the social distancing rules!) It’s also really important for me to be super-responsive to the queries I receive from our manager population as they’re the ones, who are at the sharp end and anything I can do to assist them quickly helps make their jobs slightly easier.

‘My main observation during this initial 12-week period is the quality of our people all across Royal Mail and how everyone I have been in contact with is knowledgeable, friendly, and willing and able to help me. This has been really appreciated and has left me with a great impression of this company. I’m looking forward to my role getting back to more “business as usual” and I can see this starting to happen - hopefully in the near future!‘