New pilots etc

[comeracing]

The current pilots been scrapped, are the new ones going to be in different offices or the same current pilots offices , are the day off options going to be the same choice 2 in 5 Saturdays off for eg , lots of things very vague from the cwu , not worth asking any manager as all they dream about is spending there ridiculous bonus

[qwerty2]

NOBODY knows what the hell is going on

[hans solo]

Exactly
Why are the initial pilots still running with the same failed ODM
They have dispaced moved and probably made some staff redundent using the failed method
Do these people return
Full operation is haphazard and operating on a winging it solution
Offices are fragmented and running with no objectives or standards
This is having a total negative affect with peoples health especially mental issues
Managers are not interested in running offices properly they no longer care and you cant blame them
Cwu have instigated this situation due to helping the company and not their membership

[claretandblue]

Exactly
Why are the initial pilots still running with the same failed ODM
They have dispaced moved and probably made some staff redundent using the failed method
Do these people return
Full operation is haphazard and operating on a winging it solution
Offices are fragmented and running with no objectives or standards
This is having a total negative affect with peoples health especially mental issues
Managers are not interested in running offices properly they no longer care and you cant blame them
Cwu have instigated this situation due to helping the company and not their membership

Nobody has been made redundant, they're being used to mop up the excess.

[hewittinspain]

I think a few different offices will be used for the new pilots from what I heard. I very much doubt any dramatic changes will come in this year anyway.
I've heard different stories of how the changes will be implemented but I'm guessing it's just hear-say and rumour spreading right now.
Personally I think it will be more on the lines of what we are doing now with limited staff and that is one full walk and 1C/Tracked on the other. Put it this way involving groups to cover duties simply won't work. (3 into 4 / 6 into 8) Etc.

[Mr Rush]

The current pilots been scrapped

Well, we were told this morning that it's full steam ahead with the ODM regardless of whether it works or whether the union declines to co-operate! The deployment team are present and some day soon we'll walk in to find our frames wrapped up, sliced up verticaly, and more than likely f****d up. But this is coming from Captain Crazypants, our former DOM who has ascended to a higher managerial plane, who has a reputation for mis-truthin'.

[Philbag70]

Royal Mail...more new pilots than Easyjet

[tramssirhc]

This was all supposed to be agreed by the 18th July. The CWU are telling members to vote yes to part 2 which clearly states the 18th July. Vote no.

[mr hil.]

A briefing today says the core and combined model works and many pilot offices have had their reviews. A few more tweaks to make it work locally and nationally will be made and once the Union agree to the new ways of working (after resolving all the outstanding issues) It will be rolled out nationally.

The message was the pilot offices have and always were expected to trial the new methods and find workable solutions to flaws as and when they came up. That is the definition of trials and pilots, try the grand plan in real world situations and find solutions to problems that arise. All the talk of failed pilots are misinformation because a pilot/trial cannot fail it can only flag up shortfalls and find workable alternatives. Targets were obviously not met at first but alternative ideas and tweaks were always going to be necessary.

The saying "No plan survives first contact with the enemy" highlights the importance of flexibility and adaptation in the face of unexpected events. It suggests that while planning is essential, it's crucial to be prepared to adjust your approach when things don't go as anticipated.

Sums this up perfectly

[Basildon Bond]

So we (the workers) are the enemy now? I thought we are the bunch of people holding the company together, we care about doing the job to a good standard, we want letters to go out every day (whatever the weather), and for customers to get the service they pay for. We seem to increasing get painted as being nothing more than thorns in the side of the company and who seem to revel in "standing in the way of progress". When we decide not to deliver a letter and bring it back to the van and throw it on the dash we must individually check ourselves and ensure we're aren't becoming judge and jury of what is important; and the company should check itself too.

Anyway, as far as recent past trials...Bench merging was trialed and died a death - as it should. Therefore I'd like to think RM don't just push ahead despite major issues hitting them in the face.

I think they should give the ODM trials a fair shake and see if they can make them work. Tweak the idea as required and let the process evolve as required. If however the new method increases workload and adds a ton of pressure then it should not be rolled out until those things are addressed.

I'd like RM to be open, honest, and up front with the issues. However, I feel they prefer to quietly kill something off (like bench merging) if it fails and pretend it never happened. Pressing on even when major problems have presented themselves because a spreadsheet or graphs shows how much money will be saved is not going to end well for their reputation (which they don't seem to care much for at the moment).

[hewittinspain]

If the trials are going ahead it's up to RM to make them work, not us. We just get to do as we are told and if the work load is unachievable then you simply don't take the extra work out.
No one can force me to work past my time and no one can force me to start earlier. If mail starts to pile up in the offices then the managers are paid to deal with that and get it cleared some other way.
I won't ever work any different to what I do now, what I mean is I won't run around duties to try and get done. Let them set themselves up, the onus is on them if they want to railroad something that doesn't seem any better than what we are doing now.

[postslippete]

So we (the workers) are the enemy now? I thought we are the bunch of people holding the company together, we care about doing the job to a good standard, we want letters to go out every day (whatever the weather), and for customers to get the service they pay for. We seem to increasing get painted as being nothing more than thorns in the side of the company and who seem to revel in "standing in the way of progress". When we decide not to deliver a letter and bring it back to the van and throw it on the dash we must individually check ourselves and ensure we're aren't becoming judge and jury of what is important; and the company should check itself too.

Anyway, as far as recent past trials...Bench merging was trialed and died a death - as it should. Therefore I'd like to think RM don't just push ahead despite major issues hitting them in the face.

I think they should give the ODM trials a fair shake and see if they can make them work. Tweak the idea as required and let the process evolve as required. If however the new method increases workload and adds a ton of pressure then it should not be rolled out until those things are addressed.

I'd like RM to be open, honest, and up front with the issues. However, I feel they prefer to quietly kill something off (like bench merging) if it fails and pretend it never happened. Pressing on even when major problems have presented themselves because a spreadsheet or graphs shows how much money will be saved is not going to end well for their reputation (which they don't seem to care much for at the moment).

Pride in the service is what kept the RM brand strong for decades. However, the corporate focus now leans so heavily on "efficiency" i.e. cost-cutting, that those values are now treated as obstacles. Your point on reputation is key and every time they press ahead with something that doesn't visibly work on the shop floor, they are burning the trust with the very people who are supposed to deliver it. And in the long run that is probably more damaging than any saving on a spreadsheet.

[scotchy1962]

Although i am no longer part of the process my belief is that there's a need for change, as well as the USO change there's a need for change on the posties part as well.
Posties have to accept that the values we all had in the past and the service we delivered on a regular basis for centuries has been tossed in the bin, all in the name of progress and modernisation.
Sounds awful and in my opinion is awful, but that appears the direction that modern society wants to move in. Says a lot about the problems in society as a whole, they think that they are improving society, instead it has become a worse place for people to live in.
It's a sad day when caring about the service you provide to your customer is eclipsed by business basically saying "feck them this is what you are getting for your money and be thankful we give you any service".
The union could be stronger and stand their ground to aid the workforce, the company don't care and society will complain about the service but do nothing about it.
Hmmm modern society, perhaps not as great as it thinks it is?

[Hyrrokkin]

If the trials are going ahead it's up to RM to make them work, not us. We just get to do as we are told and if the work load is unachievable then you simply don't take the extra work out.
No one can force me to work past my time and no one can force me to start earlier. If mail starts to pile up in the offices then the managers are paid to deal with that and get it cleared some other way.
I won't ever work any different to what I do now, what I mean is I won't run around duties to try and get done. Let them set themselves up, the onus is on them if they want to railroad something that doesn't seem any better than what we are doing now.

[Mr Rush]

Therefore I'd like to think RM don't just push ahead despite major issues hitting them in the face.

I had previously speculated that Ofcom approving the reduction to spec had in actuality been agreed before EP Group completed their takeover, probably as a precondition of EP Group purchasing IDS/RM and probably with the then-new government eager to keep the service off the state budget regardless (Business buddy with a hostile state? Sale approved!). Such drive to implement the ODM against all odds further convinces me this was a done-deal quite some time ago.