The majority of Post Office branches – roughly 8,000 – are run on a franchise basis by independent business owners, known as Postmasters.
Our Intent to 2025 is to become a commercially sustainable retailer. Our Postmasters, including strategic partners and our colleagues working in branches, are at the heart of all that we do. Post Office role is here to support them so that they can give their best each and every day to our customers.
This means Postmasters will be listened to, their feedback acted on and their voices heard. And they will be given the support they need to set-up, run and grow a branch in as simple a manner as possible in an increasingly competitive retail market.
We are putting our Postmasters first in everything we do – recognising the fact that, without them, there is no Post Office.
Postmaster Leadership
In 2021, We appointed two serving Postmasters, Saf Ismail and Elliot Jacobs, as our first ever Postmaster Non-Executive Directors to the Post Office Board.
National Postmaster Consultation
In 2021, we launched a nationwide Postmaster Consultation to better understand our Postmasters’ businesses, the challenges they face and the aspirations that drive them. We held ten in-person events while a further 1,700 gave their views in our biggest survey to date. Over 1,200 Postmasters have contributed to further research in January 2022. This research provides the foundation for our business priorities.
Regional forums
Over 100 Postmasters have been selected to join new monthly Regional Forums starting in 2022. Postmasters in the Regional Forums will support with resolving day-to-day issues at a regional level, while complex and strategic issues will be resolved through a National Postmaster Advisory group, which will start in the spring of 2022.
Issues are also raised through other contact points, such as our Area Manager network. These are discussed at a new monthly Voice of the Postmaster meeting, where we find solutions to the issues that matter most to Postmasters.
Postmaster working groups
We have established a number of Postmaster working groups on key issues. For example, the IT Working Group has over 200 Postmasters who are helping with current Horizon improvements, while playing an insightful role in designing future branch IT. We are also working with Postmasters across other key areas, from product development to marketing initiatives.
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