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Is it too much to have competent professional managers?

Postal workers discussion forum. Discuss the day to day life in a Blue Shirt.
highbury67
MAIL CENTRES/PROCESSING
Posts: 61
Joined: 03 Aug 2011, 00:11
Gender: Male

Is it too much to have competent professional managers?

Post by highbury67 »

This seems a pattern across at least my current Mail Centre. A lack of professionalism amongst many managers in dealing with and approaching people. They are not trained properly.

Have managers come in, or trained up, a number seem to have little idea on how to speak to people properly, talking to you like you were a dog, like you didn't know anything. I wager, lot of us, know a lot more on life then such people.

Is it too much to ask to have professional management? Its not rocket science. Keep on pissing off and aggravating key workers, and you will get less from them and demotivate them. It doesn't take much common sense to realise that.

Once a manager pisses me off, I don't have too much to do with them in regard to being chatty with them.
DirtyHarry
Posts: 5051
Joined: 13 May 2007, 23:16
Gender: Male
Location: London

Re: Is it too much to have competent professional managers?

Post by DirtyHarry »

For this company, I'm afraid it is too much to ask.
Employees will be spoken to like shite, and generally treated like shite, if they are unable, then therefore won't, do the impossible.
Royal Mail ethos today.
norris9
Posts: 2681
Joined: 27 Feb 2019, 17:32
Gender: Female

Re: Is it too much to have competent professional managers?

Post by norris9 »

Managers barely lift a finger, they are mostly twiddling their thumbs. They tell us to take lapsing when we have 2 day's mail, always pushing us to take more. We go out there and do a hard physical day's work and all they do is say 'take lapsing on job 105' then go and get a cookie and a cup of coffee and sit down for the rest of the day.

A complete waste of money. Get them out on delivery too.
panzer4
EX ROYAL MAIL
Posts: 173
Joined: 25 Jul 2015, 10:58
Gender: Male

Re: Is it too much to have competent professional managers?

Post by panzer4 »

When you look at the “competent professional “ leader of Royal Mail it’s a miracle any minion manager can read and write :dance
yubin282
Posts: 990
Joined: 25 Jul 2014, 19:18
Gender: Male

Re: Is it too much to have competent professional managers?

Post by yubin282 »

But "training" then to be nice, is still false nice.
Woody Guthrie
Posts: 5166
Joined: 29 Sep 2018, 20:47
Gender: Male

Re: Is it too much to have competent professional managers?

Post by Woody Guthrie »

The problem with management recruitment is that like the role of union rep it can attract all the wrong kind of people for all the wrong kind of reasons.

Anyone who actively wants to become a manager should immediately be banned from the role starting with the most enthusiastic.
Only dead fish follow the current
crazyshrew
Posts: 584
Joined: 19 Jun 2011, 16:58
Gender: Female
Location: Coastal, South West

Re: Is it too much to have competent professional managers?

Post by crazyshrew »

Woody Guthrie wrote:
18 Feb 2023, 15:09
The problem with management recruitment is that like the role of union rep it can attract all the wrong kind of people for all the wrong kind of reasons.

Anyone who actively wants to become a manager should immediately be banned from the role starting with the most enthusiastic.
My mother has always said the the same thing about MPs and particularly PMs.

"Anyone stupid enough to actually want the job is far too stupid to be trusted to do the job"
Mr Rush
Posts: 3302
Joined: 05 Aug 2011, 14:27
Gender: Male

Re: Is it too much to have competent professional managers?

Post by Mr Rush »

highbury67 wrote:
18 Feb 2023, 08:06
Have managers come in, or trained up, a number seem to have little idea on how to speak to people properly, talking to you like you were a dog, like you didn't know anything. I wager, lot of us, know a lot more on life then such people.
I do expect everyone, including managers, to conduct themselves professionally. However, several times now I've seen colleagues barely in the door two years jump ship to management where their temperament and tone when dealing with OPGs was wholly inappropriate. Had I been on the receiving end I would have filed a grievance. They seem to promote people who will raise their voices first, who will escalate tensions instead of defuse them - presumably in order to engineer suspensions and dismissals.
The machine stops.
Eduardo
Posts: 182
Joined: 14 Sep 2016, 08:27
Gender: Male

Re: Is it too much to have competent professional managers?

Post by Eduardo »

Yes it is too much to ask.
Simples.
Under Siege
mark.cup
Posts: 303
Joined: 14 Mar 2010, 20:54
Gender: Male

Re: Is it too much to have competent professional managers?

Post by mark.cup »

I reckon you could get decent managers if you paid them twice what a postman earns for half a day's work..... 🙈🤬
Splappy_McSplap
Posts: 227
Joined: 02 Sep 2009, 13:55
Gender: Male

Re: Is it too much to have competent professional managers?

Post by Splappy_McSplap »

Mr Rush wrote:
18 Feb 2023, 17:38
They seem to promote people who will raise their voices first, who will escalate tensions instead of defuse them - presumably in order to engineer suspensions and dismissals.
I have been saying this for years. Those are the basic two types of managers. Escalators and defusers. No one with a spine will budge an inch for an escalator, but (speaking for myself) will be prepared to go a little extra for a "nice" manager.
Mr Rush
Posts: 3302
Joined: 05 Aug 2011, 14:27
Gender: Male

Re: Is it too much to have competent professional managers?

Post by Mr Rush »

Splappy_McSplap wrote:
19 Feb 2023, 12:15
I have been saying this for years. Those are the basic two types of managers. Escalators and defusers. No one with a spine will budge an inch for an escalator, but (speaking for myself) will be prepared to go a little extra for a "nice" manager.
I had the most respect for a former manager who trusted me to tell him the truth if I said I didn't have time for lapsing. Naturally he was pushed out of the job by the DOM.
The machine stops.
fb1969
EX ROYAL MAIL
Posts: 1693
Joined: 29 Aug 2012, 08:38
Gender: Male
Location: hiding on the backstreets

Re: Is it too much to have competent professional managers?

Post by fb1969 »

I managed nearly 10 years at RM, probably about 50-60 managers or line managers in my time there. Plenty of workload managers but I could count the number of managers who could manage people on the fingers of one hand. I recall one decent one and three or four who were mainly ok. The rest weren't managers, they were either useless or borderline (who actual) bullies who spoke but never listened.
Royal Mail
failing the workforce, failing the public and deliberately failing mail on a daily basis for too many years.
Eduardo
Posts: 182
Joined: 14 Sep 2016, 08:27
Gender: Male

Re: Is it too much to have competent professional managers?

Post by Eduardo »

Anyway they're not managers.
They are work area supervisors and even that title is too complimentary for most of them.
Under Siege
Andy51
Posts: 91
Joined: 08 Jan 2013, 15:45
Gender: Male

Re: Is it too much to have competent professional managers?

Post by Andy51 »

In over 40 years working for Royal Mail these mangers having got a clue how to manger I wager most have never done a delivery or come through the ranks I’ve not got long left but the future of Royal Mail withe these people in charge is not looking good