1 Royal Mail focused on an assessment of their own business environment and evidence of what worked in job design, employee relations and mechanisation of work. Why might this approach be thought to be more advantageous than adopting a ‘universal’ best-

practice approach? The Royal Mail, the government-

owned UK postal operator, operates in an increasingly challenging marketplace. The liberalisation of postal services in the UK led to increased competition from international postal operators. In addition, the rise of email and the growth of the internet reduced the quantity of letters posted, while the parcel business grew significantly.

Unlike other operators in the UK, Royal Mail is required by law to deliver mail six days a week. The rise of new threats and opportunities required Royal Mail to reformulate its strategic approach to build an efficient and productive workforce to compete against operators who work at lower costs per item of mail handled. Royal Mail embarked upon an overhaul of its HR strategy in order to align HR with the broader business strategy (Pollitt, 2010).

The HR department reviewed existing strategic operations and business plans, drawing on both financial and operational performance data as well as employee assessments.

This review led to HR practices designed to standardise processes and job design in line with greater mechanisation, develop new products to expand into new markets, increase employee engagement and manage headcount in keeping with trade union agreements. As one senior manager put it (quoted in Pollitt, 2010):

This clear focus on how the HR strategy would enable the achievement of business goals was important in building confidence in the executive team. Since this time, execution of the HR strategy has helped the business to become more profitable, benefit from improved industrial relations, support the delivery of increased efficiency and successfully pursue new opportunities for growth.