Bridging the Gap between Postmasters and Post Office

Q: Tell us about yourself and your role at Post Office Limited.
A: In my current role as Postmaster Experience Director at The Post Office, in many ways I act as an intermediary between postmasters and the organisation. My goal is to create stronger connections, open communication channels, and ensure that postmasters have a voice within Post Office. It’s a two-way street—I'm bringing postmaster perspectives to Post Office while also helping postmasters understand the inner workings of the organisation. It’s an exciting, challenging role, and I’m dedicated to building a better future for Postmasters and Post Office.

After 20 years in corporate retail I decided to make a significant life change and we decided to buy a village shop in Norfolk that had seen better days but equally had enormous potential to take it from being an ‘inconvenience store’ to a modern, vibrant multi-purpose community convenience store. Today we operate two convenience stores, a tearoom, 2 Post Offices and a Mobile Post Office which takes crucial Post Office services into the heart of 18 different communities every week. Running this business along with the Post Offices, was and is a steep learning curve, but it reignited my passion for business and community service. Over time, we’ve transformed it from a small operation to a thriving business, employing over 30 staff. Owning my Post Office has been the best 6 years of my life and taking on the role of Postmaster Experience Director for the last 8 months has been the best 8 months of my corporate career. It’s not all plain sailing, we have had many issues to overcome, not least of which – the pandemic, an energy crisis and of course keeping control of the rapid growth curve have all tested me along the way but investing in our teams development and skills and our investment to customer service have truly helped us embed the growth we have seen. To be in this position in this moment of Post Office’s journey, bringing hope and belief to those that need it most both internally and externally - it’s a privilege. If I can continue to amplify the voices of postmasters and bring them into the heart of decision-making at Post Office, then I believe we can achieve great things together. 

Q: What does a typical day look like for you?
A: Typically it’s an early start and a late finish…! Usually, my day is a real blend of activities, and no day is ever the same. I might be involved in meetings with different stakeholders, spending time with the communications team working on how we structure our messaging to postmasters, and attending events like the internal 10@10, which are really valuable. These sessions have allowed postmasters to share their experiences directly with Post Office colleagues, which has been incredibly impactful. My role is about creating space for postmasters’ voices to be heard and turning their input into tangible changes within Post Office. Every day feels like an opportunity to make a positive difference, even though it can be challenging at times.

I also spend a great deal of time upskilling my team back home in Norfolk although I think they would prefer I left them to it most of the time! I take that as a complement, because I lead with autonomy and my fab teams have definitely taken that opportunity and now running the business better than I ever did or could! We have implemented a management structure across our convenience stores, tearooms and Post Offices. This has given me the headspace to fully immerse myself in my role at Post Office whilst knowing things back at the shop are being managed effectively. I’m getting such a buzz out of it—it really puts fire in your belly and motivates you to do more and work harder. The feedback from postmasters has been great, and that fuels my desire to leave a lasting legacy. I’m eight months into a two-year tenure, and it’s flown by, but I can start to see the shape of that legacy forming now. I am fired up and ready to go for the next 16 months!

Q: How do you bring the postmaster’s concerns into the day-to-day running of Post Office?
A: I see myself as an intermediary—a two-way street if you like. My role is to pick up what I hear from postmasters and turn it into something tangible within Post Office. My approach has been to build relationships between postmasters and Post Office, and since I started the role I have been working to create more opportunities for postmasters to be involved in that decision making. We've had some great successes so far. Postmasters have always been a core part of the business, but this is about genuinely hearing, seeing, and conversing with postmasters, and really tuning into their individual experiences and learning from them. We’re working on expanding this, and there’s already appetite to create a postmaster version of 10@10, where we can roll out team briefings to postmasters across the UK on a weekly basis.

For example, I’ve recently been co-chairing live Q&A sessions with postmasters during the internal colleague 10@10 sessions on Wednesdays. This has given postmasters a platform to share their passion and entrepreneurship directly with Post Office leadership. One particularly emotional moment was hearing from Gurpreet Dhillon, a postmaster who faced significant challenges but remained incredibly positive. Her story resonated with everyone at Post Office and started conversations that continued long after the event. It's moments like these that help Post Office colleagues understand postmasters in a more personal way.

The feedback from these sessions has been fantastic, and it’s prompted us to explore new ways to expand on this communication in a structured, ongoing way. It’s all about creating stronger connections and ensuring that postmasters feel seen and heard. 

Q: What changes or opportunities do you hope to see more of in the future for postmasters?
A: One of my goals is to expand initiatives like the postmaster experience forum and the new briefings we’re working on. We’ve seen so much success with these types of initiatives because they allow postmasters to be part of the conversation in a meaningful way. I’d love to see more open days for postmasters where they can visit Post Office headquarters, meet with colleagues, and better understand the work that goes on behind the scenes. 

Q: what cultural changes within Post Office have postmasters appreciated the most?
A: The biggest change has been the shift in internal dialogue. We have always considered postmasters to be a core part of the business, but now I’m seeing that sentiment lived and breathed more genuinely. In the past, it was not always the case that postmasters were brought into discussions or decision-making, but that’s starting to change.

Now, more and more, postmasters are being included in discussions about the future of the business. We’re working on bringing postmasters into decision-making circles so that their experiences directly influence the direction of Post Office. There’s a real appetite for collaboration, and that’s a significant cultural shift that I believe has landed well with postmasters. It’s been a joy to see how that collaboration is evolving. There is so much more to do but we will take every forward step to the future together.