Last night Nina joined Andy Crane on the Channel M Business Review. Nina and Andy discussed the business stories of the day including interest rates, Royal Mail and the success of our friends PZ Cussons.
If you missed Nina catch up here.
Posts Tagged ‘Royal Mail’
Nina Talks About Royal Mail
Last night Nina joined Richard Fenton on Channel M’s business review. The business review covers topical news items and yesterday focused on Royal Mail, a topic that has been debated at length in the news over recent weeks and one that Cheeky Monkey have covered in their blog.
If you missed her appearance you can catch up here.
Change is Inevitable
Yesterday we witnessed a huge vote of ‘no confidence’ in the Royal Mail’s ability to manage change, 67% of postal workers turned out to deliver a 76% ‘yes’ vote to support further strike action. A clear sign that Royal Mail management are failing, and a clearer sign that Royal Mail are failing.
I can’t help but think that the constant threat of strike action, especially as they approach the busy Christmas period can only be compared to a ritual of self-harm.
Change is Necessary
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has agreed that ‘change is necessary’ – So what’s the problem?
In short they would like…
- Job security
- No redundancies
- Higher pay
- Shorter working week
- More quality time
- More say in job roles
I wonder, during this time of economic recovery, how many other businesses are maintaining the status quo?
Unfortunately the reality is there will be a price to pay for modernisation whether that is job cuts due to automation, higher prices to customers or privatisation.
Royal Mail has a lot to live up to, they are a ‘British institution’, and both employee and customer will have a perception of what this means. Has our relationship with Royal Mail forced them to hold back on radical modernisation? Or did it make them complacent?
Is it too Late?
The price of a stamp is a bargain, for 39p you can send a standard letter 1st class to anywhere in the UK, it’s incredible that they have been able to offer this service for so long. Personally I would like it to continue and would be happy to take a price rise on the chin if I knew that my letter would arrive when I needed it to. Solutions are rarely this simple, the postman is still delivering my mail but the envelopes are marked ‘UK Mail’, they offer the same service for just 32p.
It seems all are agreed on the fact that change is inevitable, for Royal Mail and their competitors this is ‘consumer led’ and as a result ultimately needs to lead to increasing customer satisfaction. For Royal Mail it’s a game of catch-up, will they do or die?
“He who rejects change is the architect of decay. The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery.” – Harold Wilson
