Who We Are - Adrian
Adrian Williamson has worked as a customer relationship manager in the Address Management Unit (AMU) since 2008 – and after 37 years with Royal Mail, can still remember his first day with the business.
Our Who We Are campaign celebrates our key workers - connecting communities, before and during the Covid-19 pandemic – and beyond as well. We’re recognising people at the heart of our business, across the pipeline, as they describe who they are in their own words.
We want to receive nominations from around the Group for deserving colleagues to be recognised in this way. Send yours to communications@royalmail.com.
‘I began working for Royal Mail when I was 17 as a part-time postie in Market Drayton in 1983,’ said Adrian. ‘I can clearly remember my first day at Royal Mail – it was raining! I had the first of three days instruction before going solo on a town cycle delivery.
‘I didn’t have any expectations as such, as I’d not long left school when I joined the business. I capitalised on the opportunities that came my way and I’m still ambitious and strive to develop and improve my performance year on year.
Our AMU comprises a team of around 70 colleagues responsible for the management of Royal Mail’s address database - the Postcode Address File (PAF), which is the UK’s most up-to-date and widely used address database.
‘I’m one of a team of three field-based relationship managers,’ said Adrian. ‘I’m responsible for delivering core revenue from a global portfolio of more than 250 solution providers that incorporate our addressing data in multiple products. I work closely with key contacts to understand their data requirements and encourage wider use of our datasets. On a day-to-day basis I respond to enquiries and ensure compliance with our data licence contractual obligations.
‘There’s a great deal of variety in my role and it’s why I enjoy it so much. Most of the contact I have is with solution providers and their end users. I also manage the relationship with our external auditors.
‘I could be hosting an 8am conference call to discuss data products with the CEO of one of my European accounts, catching up on an audit report or answering licence query emails from across the account portfolio. It’s both challenging and brilliant. No two days are alike.
‘I’m fortunate in that the nature of this role involved periods working from home prior to the pandemic. Customer face-to-face meetings have now become customer Microsoft “Teams” calls. During the first few months of Covid-19, I went back to the office where I began my career with Royal Mail and volunteered to support Operational colleagues at my local delivery office in Market Drayton. While out on delivery, I witnessed first-hand the exponential growth in parcel traffic during this period.
‘I’ve been happily married for 29 years and have two boys. My eldest works locally while the youngest is at university and has applied to work for the business over the Christmas period - although I’m not sure he’ll be following in my footsteps!’
