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Royal Mail Group Plc
Overview
Royal Mail Group plc is a public limited company wholly owned by the Government.
What makes them unique?
They reach everyone in the UK through their trusted mails, Post Office® and parcels businesses. They also employ almost 188,000 people in the UK. That’s almost 1% of the working population.
Every working day they collect, process and deliver around 84 million items to 27 million addresses at some of the lowest prices in Europe.
Each week Royal Mail Group serve 28 million customers through a network of some 14,300 Post Office® branches and deliver some 337 million parcels a year through Parcelforce Worldwide and General Logistics Systems, their domestic and European parcels businesses.
Royal Mail Group's vision is to be demonstrably the best and most trusted postal services company in the world.
Motivation
As one of the UK’s largest employers, Royal Mail Group is committed to a diverse workforce.
Diversity is of immense importance to Royal Mail, not just because it is the right thing to do, but because people who feel valued will be more motivated and committed in helping Royal Mail to achieve and exceed its goals.
Royal Mail are focused on helping and supporting every one of their people by promoting diversity in the workplace and believe that, by doing so, they are creating a workplace that protects and develops employees and provides the best service to their customers.
Success in action
Royal Mail Group won the most prestigious workplace awards that recognise exceptional progress in organisations working towards gender equality and diversity for its Gender Strategy.
Their Gender Strategy, which has been endorsed by the Diversity Champions Network, chaired by Adam Crozier (Royal Mail Group Chief Executive) and the Royal Mail Group management board provides focus for the business to support, develop and attract female talent. The gender actions that are featured within the strategy were developed as a result of in-depth Group wide research and focus groups, and further developed by their Senior Women’s Network, so they know that the gender strategy meets the needs of female employees.
As part of their strategy they are focusing on 5 key elements over the next two years that will support women:
1. Flexible Job Design•
- Provide assistance to managers and employees so that they understand the flexible working arrangements available
- Recruitment advertising to include considerations specifically targeted at women and part time employees
2. Work-life Balance
- Improve the assistance offered to employees with childcare responsibilities
- Test different patterns of flexible attendance and work patterns
3. Changing Mindsets• Review all policies, training, and recruitment for bias
- Continue to raise awareness of discrimination and raise respect for all and ensure that where discrimination is found, it is eliminated
- Improve overall people management skills and in particular train managers to cope with the potential complexities of managing a diverse work force, especially in relation to issues such as work-life balance
4. Development and Progression•
- 121s to be sought and provided for all
- Development plans for everyone
- Relevant women only training at both frontline and senior level to boost confidence
- Access to mentors, and mentees as part of their positive action training for women
- All promotions openly resourced and where final candidates are equal in all respects the female candidate to be preferred
5. Dignity and Respect
- Zero tolerance approach to bullying and harassment
It is through the delivery of this strategy that they have and will continue to make Royal Mail Group a great place to work for all of their employees including their female employees.
Impact
Over the course of a year, all employees are surveyed to gather their views on working for Royal Mail. The results drive further improvements and are fed back to managers who then have responsibility for taking action. The results have shown an upward trend of satisfaction in working for the Group over the past few years and it is also apparent that female employees in particular are positive about the business. This was further evidenced in their most recent survey of female employees where 68% of respondents agreed that Royal Mail was a great place to work.
Quite apart from the employee evidence that the group's approach to diversity is successful, the business benefits also cannot be underestimated. The past three years have seen Royal Mail Group make one of the most dramatic business turnarounds of virtually any UK business. In 2003 the company was losing more than £1 million per day; in 2005 it recorded a profit from operations of £537 million. This turnaround it believes has unquestionably been achieved through its people.