Power to the people

As our People App celebrates its second birthday, product manager Lee Woodhouse reflects on its evolution – and how it’s all about simplifying our lives.

South Wales

and

South

West regional operations director Lee Martin on the benefits of the People App

I’ve been involved with the People App steering group from its inception and I’m incredibly proud of what the team’s achieved. Our colleagues can now see their wage slips almost 36 hours earlier than before. This means any mistakes can be spotted earlier and addressed. We can now request ad hoc annual leave through the app, which is a fantastic step forward – as well as having full control of personal data and being able to update it ourselves. The People App’s helped reduce managerial tasks and queries, with so many teams having early visibility of wages. It’s had a positive impact on the time managers spend on day-to-day ad hoc requests and allows them to spend more time on the floor with their team. It’s been a huge success and I can’t wait to see what else the People App can bring for our people.

Just two years ago, we launched a pilot app to gauge demand for a system providing our colleagues with all their personal information in one place. Within weeks, there were more than 30,000 registered users – the app had gone ‘viral’. The popularity of the People App took us by surprise. We know people are using their smartphones for more things, more often. But the uptake proved they’re happy to switch to technology if it means a more streamlined, user-friendly experience.

The original app launched with five basic features. Today, there are 25 features and more than 110,000 registered users. Our colleagues want instant information that can be accessed from the one platform on their smartphone. The People App allows you direct access to use and manage many features –from viewing current and historic payslips to browsing My Bundle+ benefits and joining the conversation on Workplace. We’re continually working on developing and improving its functions for an enhanced user experience. Much of our work’s based on colleagues telling us how we can deliver a more robust, feature-rich app, including the support users receive when they encounter an issue.

Over the past year, we’ve rolled out a number of new features, such as access to local Trust scores, holiday pay payments, digital P60s and the most popular request: the ability to submit annual leave requests. We’re planning to launch more new features during 2023 – so hit the Workplace tile to keep in the know

Round Trip

A 1974 Commer postbus on its journey from Llangurig to Llanidloes in Wales. Royal Mail operated a network of postbuses across the UK from 1967 to 2017. The twice-daily service combined the delivery and collection of mail with the transport of passengers in remote locations, such as isolated Scottish islands and rural communities. During the 1970s, the network was expanded to more than 200 routes across Wales, Scotland and England. A passenger could hail a postbus at any point on the driver’s delivery route. On 19 August 2017, the only remaining postbus, carrying just three passengers a week between Lairg and Tongue in Scotland, was terminated. Discover more about the history of this unique service and explore a postbus up close at The Postal Museum. Entry for Royal Mail Group colleagues is just £1. Visit postalmuseum.org