Who We Are – Richard

Senior service manager, Richard Bramley, works at Rowland Hill House in Chesterfield, an area he describes as ‘friendly, collaborative, and busy,’ writes Zoe Walker.

Who We Are 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.

‘I have worked for Royal Mail for more than 25 years, mostly in one role or another in Technology,’ said Richard. ‘Royal Mail has been my employer for the majority of my adult life – it has provided me with many challenges and opportunities, and I have made some fantastic friends. 

‘I feel proud to work for a company which has such a long history and tradition and provides such a vital service to so many people.’

In line with everyone else across the business, Richard’s ways of working have changed since the start of the pandemic.

He said: ‘Since March I have been working from home, which involves sitting at the dining room table. I do miss the interaction with colleagues and being remote can be challenging.   

‘As a senior service manager working as part of the Service Delivery Technology team, I look after the Operations and Parcels Portfolios, which cover a number of services critical for the operation, including the PDA service, MEARS service for the automated sortation of mail items, Event Processing System and many more. My primary goal is to “keep the lights on”. 

‘My day-to-day job is quite varied. I deal with escalations and technology issues raised by customers. Every day is different. My priority, however, is always to resolve technology service issues as quickly as possible - which means I have to reprioritise accordingly. So, no matter what I have planned, things can change at a moment’s notice.  

‘Whilst nobody likes it when we experience IT issues, they do happen, and helping to get these issues resolved and our colleagues up and running again as quickly as possible is what brings me the most satisfaction.

‘During Peak, there’s a lot of time dedicated to ensuring plans are in place to deliver stability for our critical services for Operations and Parcels.   

‘The main qualities for my role are flexibility – you never know what might need to be given top priority – and staying calm under pressure. When a major incident occurs, it’s essential to remain calm and not get flustered. Knowing the business is also important. In order to understand the IT implications, it is essential to know what the impact is, or could be, to my customers.  

‘Working for Royal Mail has exceeded my expectations many times over. I have had lots of great opportunities and worked with many fantastic people, which really makes this business what it is.’