BHM – Angela

Throughout Black History Month, we’ll be celebrating our amazing black colleagues by bringing you stories from across the business.

All the colleague profiles we publish on myroyalmail.com will also appear on our dedicated Black History Month homepage. If you know someone who has inspired you as a great role model for others, someone who you think deserves recognition, please send your nomination to groupcommunications@royalmail.com with the heading ‘Black History Month’ in the subject line.

Today, we hear from SHE business partner (Medway), Angela Wood, from Dartford Delivery Office.

‘I joined Royal Mail 17 years ago as a delivery line manager at W1 Delivery Office, which was previously at Rathbone Place in West London.

‘Having worked previously at a company staffed predominantly by women, it was quite terrifying to start a new role managing 65 men in an office, which was around 95 per cent male. I struggled initially with the culture, however after three months, I found my feet and my work was commended. I then saw the opportunity to mentor and train some of the postwomen in the office and I’m proud to see that they’re all now managers in various roles.

‘Within six months, I was promoted to cover a singleton delivery office manager role in West London. This was another challenging role, which I quickly adapted to. I was keen to learn and quickly gained confidence in my position. Being a black woman, I was seen as a go-to person for the BAME colleagues in the office. I helped a lot of people manage difficult situations at work and my achievements and hard work I’m told, helped inspire many BAME colleagues to strive harder.

‘After a year, I was assigned to work with a CWU divisional rep to resolve a major IR issue – a task we successfully completed, which helped improve the safety culture within the unit. This was acknowledged nationally.

‘I returned to Rathbone Place in 2008, to a new role as a buildings manager. Health and safety was my number one priority, and I completed various key tasks such as redesigning and creating a safe car park and loading area and providing space for a staff car parking. I also restricted access to pedestrians in high-risk areas in the yard and managed the safe and smooth migration of administrative staff into the first and fourth floors of Rathbone Place. These actions caught the eye of the national safety director at the time, who was also one of the admin people newly resident at Rathbone Place. I was then head hunted to join the London Safety team, where I completed my professional course and have been working in a safety role ever since.

‘I feel lucky to have had the opportunities to work with a number of directors in various areas, including London, Essex and currently at Medway. I love my role as I get to see the results of my work, and most importantly, I get to improve the mental health and wellbeing of colleagues. I enjoy supporting managers to ensure health and safety policies and guidance are adhered to as it helps to reduce accidents and prevent injuries to colleagues. I also provide training for managers and constantly coach them to ensure their units remain safe and compliant.

‘Determination and enthusiasm are what has helped me to succeed during my time at Royal Mail. Hard work doesn’t go unnoticed. There are lots of very experienced people in the company, who are always willing to help. This makes the business a very attractive place to work.’

Supporting our BAME colleagues

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 the BAME steering group, or volunteer to help out with their activities. You can contact the group by emailing bame@royalmail.com.