Network Change Training Conference (3)

Last week, Postwatch held a Network Change Training Conference. This was addressed by Paula Vennells who is Network Director at Post Office Ltd and a newcomer to POL coming from Whitbread. Her presentation had as its central aim to put the closure programme in the much wider context of fundamental restructuring and repositioning of POL in order to make it profitable by 2011 (taking account of the Government's Social Network Payment) – a clear requirement of Government.

This wider five-year programme goes by the name of “five2eleven” although, since we are now one year into the programme, it is now billed as “four2eleven”.

She set out the five reasons for business change:

• customer visits are falling: 28M to 24M a week
  
• the customer experience is worst than competitors
  
• the decline in government services
  
• new business areas so competitive
  
• costs and losses are unsustainable
  

Then she set out the five key aims:

• a clear brand and customer proposition
  
• focus on four product pillars*
  
• other modern and relevant channels
  
• streamlining of operations
  
• make the Post Office a great place to work
  

*mails & retail, financial services, telephony, Government services