Royal Mail To Change Its Business Plan And Strategies Business Essay

princely put up To Change Its subscriber line Plan And Strategies ancestry Essay proud chain air HRM Strategies an Overview (2005-2010)AbstractThe rapid growth in the Digital Communication applications such as internet, fax, e harness, online shopping, and the spaceal Service put to work (2000), liberalization of merchandise, drives kingly light to wobble its patronage plan and strategies to survive in the authorized dynamic completivepostal commercialise and in a broader way its future communication channel is uncertain. This essay aims to depictthe empurpled send out Human Re get-go heed (HRM) policies and strategies, and mainlyfocused for the period of 2005-2010. It as well covers how princely place is dealing withcompetition from the new entrants, and how it hided the recent extension crunch and itsimpact on the proud beam short letter.IntroductionIn recent prison terms, this separate has been confronting with various problems. The crowd reportedlo ses for several quarters. So, the governing body had asked the postal regulatory body PostalService Commission (Postcomm1) to liberalize the postal market place. Initially, in 2003 attestwere allotted to private company to handle the bulk spot. In 2006, the markets were fullyliberalized and the mathematical group loses its monopoly2 placement. All the licensed operators were sufficient todeliver mails to both the residential and rail line guests.Postal Service in the UK1 An Independent regulatory body set p up in the year 2000, to regulate the postal service in UK2 A dominant player in the postal service market with full assert over the market.3 http//www.royalmail.com.In spite of the increase in the communication methods like internet, email and former(a)electronic message options, battalion argon trusting on postal service for move parcel andletters and grammatical constituenticularly in elderly, disabled, and the low income groups, and the small line of products s ectors. Every week the group serves 20 one thousand thousand customers3 by means of its intercommunicate ofaround 12000 post part branches and deliver some 400 million parcels a year through and throughgeneral logistics systems and parcel persuasiveness .The frequent service and the uniform pricing are the two alpha attri providedes of the kingly turn on postal service. Based on these attributes only the Universal Service4 province (USO)was formed. As per the USO, the cost of delivering the letter is same irrespective of thelocation. To regulate the postal service in the UK, the Postal Service Act was put in placewith the Postcomm. The main task of the Postcomm includes,4Delivery any working day to every premises regardless of price and location , some exceptionalconditions permitted by UK and Europe Union law.5 Handling with customers complaints in the postal plump and monitoring the standards and qualityof the services provided by the gallant military post.. Grant li cense to some early on(a) companies.. Provisioning the uniform pricing and universal service.. Controlling proud ship pricing outline and its quality of services.. Advising the government on the development in the post services.To watch dog the Royal stake quality services, an self-supporting formation Post Watch 5 wasformed to monitor and control the quality standards.Royal Mail Group HistoryRoyal Mail was established by Henry VIII, in 1516 under a crustal plate of Post . Royal Mail wasavailable to in the public eye(predicate) in1635, with postage universe paid by the recipient. In 1660, Charles IIofficially established the command Post Office (GPO). Telegraph services was introduced in1840 by Royal Mail, and in 1912 the group started the telephone service.Post code was introduced in 1959. In 1969, the GPO became a public corporation from itsexisting government department. The post office make acquisition and union withGerman parcel, Katipos and TNT post group to ent er into international market. In 2000, thecompany reported losses and it continue for several quarters. In 2001, the post office wasrenamed Consignia. In 2002, Consignia was renamed as Royal Mail group plc.The Royal Mail Group lost its monopoly status when the 2006 liberalization was introduced.In 2007, government proposed to privatize the group but the election, change in thegovernment and the recent financial turmoil is the key computes for the hold of theproposal without any further date.Literature ReviewOver the years, it is ostensible that organic laws are considering Human ResourceManagement policies as the key factor to succeed in the business. HR department is actingas a strategic business partner within the organization to make the effectual strategicbusiness and human resource policies to achieve the organization goals and objectives, sort of than managing the employees and payroll, as was conventionally the case. Senior HRpractitioners and experts are more in demand in the today s corporate world.Through the years, in that respect is lot of organizational level studies and research crosswise thebusiness sectors manifested measured race between the effective HR executes( recruitment and selection, performance appraisal, rewards and recognitions, training anddevelopment) and business performance. According to Mark Huselid (Huselid, 1995)seminal study related the adoption of HR practices across 968 US companies with theirfinancial performance (controlling for performance in preceding(prenominal) years) .HRM authors such as Becker and Huselid (Becker and Huselid, 2006) emphasize the needfor HR outline to be clearly linked to the business strategy and for the constituent HRPractices to operate in a joined-up way, this being seen as key in club for the strategy to befocused on what matters, avoid duplication and optimize outcomes . Therefore HR functionhas full of life federal agency in mind the stakeholder s business goals, transforming t hose intocommercial business opinion and identifying the challenges and opportunities from theemployee s perspective and address them in their final approach.Combs, et al. (2006) aggregated 92 gigantic scale studies conducted at the organizational levelto produce a robust synopsis across a large sample. This research revealed that on anaverage, having a forward HR system (e.g. objective selection, training, appraisals,employee surveys, etc.) related to an average of 4% risque revenue per employee where fiveor six major HR practices were in place within an organization .Business ModelRoyal Mail Group operates through its subsidiaries Royal Mail, Post Office Limited, GeneralLogistics Systems (GLS) and component part force worldwide. Royal Mail is responsible for collectingand delivering the mail in the UK and handles around 71 millions of letters and mail boats to28 million addresses in every working day, in line with its unique Universal Service agreement(USO). Producing and Designing the stamps and, philatelic products are also taken care byRoyal Mail.The Post LimitedIt has national net work across the UK. Larger post offices in urban area were directlymanaged by the Post office limited and other branches are managed by liberty partners.General Logistic SystemsRoyal Mail acquired the General Logistic Systems in 1999 to enter into the European parcelmarket. GLS was market leader in the integrating parcel distribution and express customerservice in the European market.Parcelforce WorldwideParcelforce Worldwide is responsible for collecting and delivering the parcel and expresspackages throughout the world and in the UK for both the individual and businesscustomers.Royal Mail Competition and ChallengesRoyal mail is approach tough competition in postal market after the full liberalization act, and inparticularly express package business. Its main competitors6 in the package rescue marketare world net, Deutsche Post, TNT, UPS, and other airline which p rovide express packageservices. Most of its key competitors such as UPS, Deutsche Post, and TNT have large scaleof operations, which could put Royal Mail at a warlike disadvantage .6 http//www.datamonitor.comThough the letter market is declining due to the digital communication advancements, RoyalMail s profitability and efficiency is vital for the future of the UK postal sector and it alsoplays a major role in the UK economy and providing and safeguarding millions of jobs in therecent financial down turn, where as all other public and private sector firms are minify itswork force in large numbers.. But Royal Mail faces a lot of challenges. The group has beenreporting looses for several quarters, and its pension famine is widening Modernizationprocess is being very slow and also the tough competition from the new entrants in thedomestic and European markets are constantly increasing.The culture change is one of the biggest challenges Royal Mail has been facing from quitesome time . It required consistent high quality delivery from everyone in the company, comfortfor money. According to, Adam Crozier7, Royal Mail essential have the freedom and flexibility toset the right prices, base on real costs. If that happens, I think the new competitiveenvironment bequeath succeed. Competitors are already targeting profitable business mail. Weneed to compete with them on price as well as service if we are to defy the universalservice8 in business .Improving the Customer Service angiotensin converting enzyme of the main objectives for the Royal Mail was to reach everyone, everywhere, morethan any other business in the UK through its mail, post office, and parcel and packagebusiness services . There were many complaints from customers about loss of letters butafter working with Post Watch, the quality and service standards were improved whencompared to the foregoing years. Price is the predominate factor in the competition. Newentrants are providing higher(prenomina l) value services with the modern technologies. Royal Mail has tooffer high standard services to the customers.IT Initiatives7 The CEO Of Royal mail (2003-2010(June) )8 http//news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4274335.To modernize its services and operations, Royal Mail streamlined its IT departments incollaboration with BT and Xansa. Royal Mail web found customers are evolution vastly, so toimprove the communication with online users. Royal Mail has also implemented the pirate flag9Software to main its sales order and other process. As part its IT initiatives the groupintroduced the recruitment and employment process through online.Financial Crisis Impact on Royal Mail9 SAP Systems, Application and Products in data processing. ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)software to automate the customer and payment details .10 Royal Mail Holdings plc Annual traverse and Financial Statements for the period 0f 2009-2010Royal mail made good ramp up in (2008-2010), when compare on the previous y ear records.Due to the subprime mortgage crisis, all the major economies are suffering from the so-called credit crunch. Royal mail made profit, despite when the world economy in downturnand the mail market is declining in UK and in all part of the globe. Due to the untoughened globalmarket conditions, the group revenue dipped to 9,349 million 10in rootage time in a decade,but all it is four business groups (mail, post office, GLS, parcel force worldwide) made inprofits through their pricing strategy and good customer service. Royal Mail implementedmodernization and efficiency measures to automate the mail processing and the agreementthe made with Communication dressers Union (CWU) also made positive impact among itsemployees.Business unit performance External Revenue Operatingprofit/ injustice*M M2010 2009 2008 2010 2009 2008Royal Mail LettersGLSParcelforce WorldwidePost Office LimitedOther businessesGroup6,5646,7076,83012158(3)1,4871,4951,232112124114399399379171288389089117241 (34)6151368286779,3499,5609,179404321162Source Royal mail financial repotsRoyal Mail HR Approach and StrategiesTo modernize the organization and create world class HR function, McCarthy 11 wasappointed as the director in 2003. According to him, there was lack in coherent HR strategywhich was characterized by disparate spread of HR professional across the group . The groupspent most of its cost on employment. Royal Mail reduced its HR employee strength from3700 to 2400 and saved 57 million in two years span. There were only few HR specialists andexperts in the entire organization. The HR functions were separated and payroll was the onlycentralization team.Profitability, Modernization, efficacy and Employee Relationship are the key words forsuccess of any public limited company. ramp uping the good HR frame work and strategy arevital for the public limited organization like Royal Mail to sustain in the today s globalizedcompetitive postal market.Due to the advancement in the technol ogies, communication industry changed quickly.Internet, fax and other electronic options are dominating the traditional letters. Managingthe huge work force and trade union royal are the challenging task for Royal Mail, inparticular to the HR Managers. With strong HR strategic plans and polices, Royal Mail batchhandle their workforce effectively.Royal Mail HR Metrics11Royal Mail HR director(2005), http//www.personneltoday.com/articles/2005/01/25. People Strategies. Organizational ripening. Shared ServicesThe main goal of the HR team is to produce strong HR strategies and polices to manage andretain the human resources. It includes Recruitment and Selection, Learning, vocationdevelopment, Rewards and Recognition. Organizational Development and effectiveness arethe main objectives to provide the home in tolerance work place and working closely with thebusiness partners and HR directors. The training team conducts the lead, personal andcareer development programs to improve the l eadership qualities and other work relatedtrainings.Royal Mail s people strategy key areas. Creating meaningful, challenging jobs with pliable working structure. Treating customers with value and respect. Building the organization to improve and respond according to the changes in themarket and environment. Recruiting and developing the core effectivenessities to prosper in the decipherable competitivemarket. Recruiting and developing the leadership capabilities to deliver the goals and toretain the talents to contend successfully.Royal Mail HR PracticesRecruitment and SelectionRoyal mail follows equal opportunity as an employer. Employment practices are ground onregardless of age, sex, disability, race, color, religion, and sexual orientation. Royal Mailemploys diverse assortment of people who reflect the communities where we live and work. AtRoyal mail, selection and recruitment goes on for both the experienced professionals andfresh graduates. Different type of jobs are ava ilable permanent, part-time, apprenticeship,and seasonal (Christmas) jobs.Training and DevelopmentRoyal Mail believes in training and development. So, the training team organizes varioustraining programs for their employees which includes from starting inference training to thecustomized individual training suits12 through the on job training, mentoring, e- skill,and coaching. major training programs provided by Royal Mail are12 http//www.royalmail.com/ entre/rm/content1?catId=24400706mediaId=24400710. Information Technology. Health Safety. Communication Skills. feat Management. Project Management. Leadership SkillsThe group also has self learning centers where employees can utilize different packagesaccording to their needs, and Royal Mail is having partnership and link with different localinstitutes to improve the skills of their employees with various external trainings. payment and BenefitsRoyal Mail offers compensation package based on the employees skills and experience. To guide the skilled employees, Royal Mail offers good compensation package based on thetype of the employment status like full time or part time, and Permanent or contract. RoyalMail offers the hobby benefits to all the employees based on their employment type.1313 http//www.royalmail.com/ opening/rm/content1?catId=24500655mediaId=1600017414 http//www.ocp.co.uk/_Attachments/Re http//www.ocp.co.uk/_Attachments/Resources. Health and Welfare. Holiday Entitlement. Basic pay/ adaption. Pension. Time Out. Benefits /discounts/ ongoing discounts. Support for Disabled ApplicantsPerformance ManagementPerformance Management is an effective method to analyze the employees potential andcapabilities, if it is properly implemented. Measuring the performance of the employee is anindicator of the success of the organization.Royal mail introduces new performance management practices14. The objectives of theprograms were to 1.introduce a set of common pass numerical indicators which hadbeen standar dized for similar units/businesses. 2. Apply the Pareto principle and exceptionreporting. 3. construct a focus on looking forward, forecasting improvements ( quite an than abackward-looking pat culture) .Work life Balance (Flexible working)Royal Mail is offering the flexible working option. This includes where employees areallowed to work from home for their personal commitments, leaving early for the child careand compensating the time as per the business needs. It generally gives clean-living support tothe employees and the best way to recruit and retain the talent resources which in turnimprove the productivity.Corporate Social ResponsibilityRoyal Mail strongly believes in serving to society. Royal Mail and its employees playimportant role in serving to the community. Royal Mail s rivalry is to become the leadingorganization in corporate responsibility is a priority of our Chief Executive and every one ofour Managing Directors . Employees also store to the good cause via the ir payroll regularly.Royal Mail also takes part in controlling the climate change using renewable sourceelectricity to make the environment green. It raised 1.8 million15 via charitable donations in2009. As a leader in corporate social responsibility initiatives, the group won the followingawards in the last two years.BITC Example of virtue (Healthy Workplace Award) 2009Shortlisted for Personnel Today Awards2009 Award for Health at WorkRoyal Society for the Prevention of Accidents Awards 2009 Gold Award, SafetyInstitute of Fundraising Awards 2008 Winner, surmount Use of Payroll Giving AwardWinner Quality in Print Media Environmental Award, Quality in Print Awards 2008 .Findings and Suggestions15 ww.royalmailgroup.com/portal/rmg/content1. Prioritizing the HR strategy according to the key business goals and objectives.. Identifying the challenges and opportunities to moving ahead.. Develop and define the HR strategy backed by strong digest with good HR metrics.. Reviewing the defin ed strategies and approaches with stake holders and businesspartners.. Finalize the HR polices and strategies.. Building the right-sized productive work force to achieve the business goals.. modify and standardize the mail process with modern technologies andequipments to compete in the business market with skilled and efficiency workforcewhere the market and environment is changing rapidly.. Analyzing the data with help of employee and customer satisfaction survey, opinionpool and feedback data. rationality the external market environment and competitor strategies is important charm soma the HR policy. HR metrics will vary with each organization depending upontheir vision and mission statements. Metrics should be cover the organization goals,rather than following the best industry practice. Stakeholders and business partnersshould be engaged while framing the strategy, to make the strategy effective.ConclusionDue to the advancement in digital technologies and internet, the posta l industry and marketis changing quickly. Mailing market is declining and online shopping and other commercialactivities through internet are growing speedily. So, Royal Mail has to modernize andrestructure their business strategies to survive in the liberalized competitive market place.As many studies, research, and survives demonstrated the strong relationship between thegood HR strategic policy and the business performance. So, Royal Mail has to develop thestrong HR policies and strategies to streamline the HR practice to achieve the organizationalobjectives and goals. Implementing the effective HR strategies in public organization likeRoyal Mail is very challenging task for HR mangers and, where trade union and pensionproblems are widening year by year. The strong determination from the HR mangers, topmanagement, regulatory bodies, and the government can help the Royal Mail to implementthe HR and business strategies to skeletal frame the UK postal industry and economy and inpar ticularly in the current economic crisis condition where unemployment is already in peak.