ISSUE ONE 07/19
Welcome to the first edition of your new staff newsletter. Bringing you the latest stories and developments from Jersey Post.
ISSUE ONE 07/19
WELCOME Welcome to the first edition of our new staff newsletter! It has been a busy year already, and we wanted to create a platform to help us all stay better connected throughout the business, as well as providing a platform for everyone to share their ideas, thoughts and concerns. In order to provide the best service to our Jersey customers, we need to begin with providing the best for our Jersey staff. Today, we view ourselves as a ‘global logistics business that delivers mail’ rather than vice versa. However, this change of perspective does not mean that there is a reduced focus on the importance of meeting our obligations to the Island. We continue to make significant investments in systems and processes in Jersey in order to improve competitiveness and, most importantly, to provide more modern, efficient services to the people of Jersey.
BUSINESS UPDATE
With the annual report now published, we can see that 2018 was a mixed year in terms of overall results. We’ve seen continued growth in turnover with an increase of just over 9%, however, the core ‘letter’ market fell by 8% and this, along with increasing pressure on margins, led to a drop in gross profits. The year highlighted the competitive nature of the market place, with the income from Royal Mail business remaining static at 2016 prices whilst costs continue to rise. However, we have seen a further 5% growth in parcels and our relationship with Amazon still represents a sound platform for future growth in a very competitive marketplace. We continue to work hard to meet the customer services measures agreed with CICRA. We met 5/9 targets and a number of the issues relate to working practices within Royal Mail which are difficult, if not impossible, to influence. Given the results of our Island-wide Customer Satisfaction Survey, we may look at proposing to CICRA that this more extensive survey may be a more appropriate performance indicator for us. It is vital to continue to focus on this important area as it forms the basis of our plans to improve competitiveness and, most importantly, to provide enhanced, more modern, services to the people of Jersey. To this end, we have continued to invest significantly in our digital services. This has seen an improved product offering and has produced 3% growth on the previous year. We’re now positioned for future growth both locally and internationally. In addition, the logistics business has shown growth of 11%, though Brexit could negatively impact this.
International now represents 34% of our revenues and this has grown from 7% in 2015. We are on track with the development of the international network and 2019 will be a critical year in embedding the structure and ways of working in order to capitalise on our investment.
” The decline in the traditional letter market is accelerating and the growth in the parcel market is slower than expected.” Whilst the drop in profits is disappointing, it serves to underline the challenges facing the business. The decline in the traditional letter market is accelerating and the growth in the parcel market is slower than expected. This is a difficult ‘equation’ to manage, as much of our fixed costs are necessary to meet the needs of these volatile business streams. However, the growth across the international network that we have developed is encouraging and, although it will require careful management, its success is critical to the future long-term viability of the business. Ultimately, the success of the business depends on the quality and dedication of its people. We added two new non-executive Directors in 2017, and we plan to appoint two new non-executive Directors in 2019. In addition, we’ve restructured the Executive team to ensure that there is both the capability and capacity in place to meet the developing needs of the business. This is part of the continued evolution of the organisation, to ensure that we are able to deliver our objectives into the future.
ISSUE ONE 07/19
BUSINESS NEWS International Earlier this year, we added to our global network with an investment in a specialist Latin American parcel and logistics partner, APG. This extends our network into LATAM countries, providing our existing network partners with services into these areas, and also providing Jersey Post with opportunities to expand in the Americas. Based in Florida, APG International, established by the 2018 merger between Aprisa Express and Pakya, provides a combination of parcel and logistics services focused on the Americas region and operates in both the wholesale and the retail market. This investment is the latest in our international strategy to exploit opportunities outside the finite local market.
Postal The 2019 Customer Satisfaction Survey has recently been completed and the results are in! We received over 5,000 responses with an overwhelmingly positive response.
Digital
Q. How do you rate the retail network? A. 88% very good or good Q. How do you rate your postal worker? A. 94% very good or good Q. How do you rate the overall delivery service? A. 87% very good or good Q. What is your priority for the island’s postal service? A. Keeping costs low Many thanks to all staff who helped throughout all stages of the survey. Philatelic Our stamp collecting initiative is more popular than ever! Year four pupils around the Island have been receiving the latest edition of our Collectables album. This is the fifth year that we have produced the free stamp album and activity book, which is designed to introduce schoolchildren to the traditional hobby of stamp collecting. Over one thousand copies have been gifted to children aged 8 – 9 over the last few weeks, together with free packets of mixed Jersey stamps. The 36-page album explores Jersey Post stamp issues across one year, with themes including dragons, Hornby trains, the Hubble Telescope and Victory & Liberation. There are spaces for children to stick their stamps, as well as fun facts, colourful illustrations and puzzles. A starter packet of 50 stamps is given to each child and the children are encouraged to swap and share with each other to complete their albums.
Digital has become just as vital a part of the Jersey Post Group as both postal and logistics, with digital being one of the fastest growing sectors in Jersey - now equal roughly to the size of tourism! Not only that, but the relationships between our Postal, Digital and International units are more important than ever. Following the launch of Jersey Post Digital last November, we’ve continued to build on our ambitions to grow market share pan island. It has therefore been a very busy start to the year for our Digital department, with the creation and successful launch of Vaiie.com, our new digital branch in Guernsey, at the start of April. We have joined forces with agency TPA in Guernsey to launch this new endeavour, allowing us to offer a full service solution that includes identifying digital opportunities and building the platforms to deliver these services for the benefit of businesses.
Fun fact: did you know that ‘vaiie’ means ‘vision’ in Jèrriais?
MEET THE TEAM Each month we’ll be shining the spotlight on a different team throughout the business. Following the launch of JP Digital and Vaiie, we wanted to start with the Digital team. We asked each member of the team what they bring to their role...
Lee Bosio
DIRECTOR
”The ability to look beyond the surface and unlock people’s true potential.”
Garry Evans
LEAD TECHNICAL DESIGNER
”The ability to stay cool with an ever-expanding workload.”
Nigel Grundy
PRODUCTION & CLIENT SUPPORT
”Incredible attention to detail and the ability to spot and quickly solve errors.”
Andy Mackinnon
LEAD TECHNICAL DEVELOPER
“The ability to go from asleep to ‘fault analysis mode’ in under 2 minutes when I am called as early as 5:30am!”
Matt Bain
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER (GUERNSEY)
“The ability to build a strong personal rapport/relationship with clients whilst discussing business requirements.”
Michael Borowski PRODUCT EXECUTIVE
”The ability to consistently adapt to the changing business environment around me, despite the industry, product or social setting.”
Vic Lindsey
DATA SERVICES MANAGER
“The ability to readily resolve issues and provide support based on the principles digital technology engrained over 40 years.”
Reuben Rushton-Taylor TECHNICAL DEVELOPER
”The ability to calculate statistical results from any data source in the world.”
Edmund Hatton
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
“The iconic ability to go out networking five times a week.”
Craig Marrett
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
”The ability to captivate hearts and minds, taking them on a journey to realise the art of the possible in the digital space.”
ISSUE ONE 07/19
WHAT’S NEW New Starters We’d like to give a warm welcome to our recent new starters: Edmund Hatton
Craig Marrett
Joined our Digital team as Business Development Manager
Joined our Digital team as Product Development Manager
Anthony Hawkins Kay
Simon Chirwa
Joined the CMO team as Project Manager
Joined the Operations team as PM processing Manger
Matt Bain Joined JP Digital Guernsey Ltd (Vaiie) as Business Development Manager GSY
Holly Laurent
Sophie Fernandes Joined the Finance team as our new Finance Officer
Also our new Postal Operatives, Ben Goncalves, Claire De Gruchy and Thomas Boucher.
Joined the IT team as our new ICT Technical Systems Engineer
In-house changes Jochen Henderson Bell
Adam Le Bourgeois
Ray Legg
From Postal Operative to Sales Account Manager
From Postal Operative to International Administration Assistant
From Finance Officer to International Administration Supervisor
Long servers Congratulations to our resident ‘Long Servers’ for the following recent work anniversaries.
Thanks for your many years of hard work.
40
30
20 YEARS
YEARS
David Fallaize
David Hartle
Simon Queree
Scott Kean
YEARS
Operations
YEARS
Operations
Operations
10
Operations
Awards Congratulations to Sonia Ferri and Michael Poole in the Marketing team, who have recently passed their CIM qualifications - Level 6 Diploma in Professional Marketing. Congratulations to our CEO, Tim Brown, who won International Director of the Year at the recent IoD awards.
ECO A sustainable future
The vans have made a significant contribution in our ambition to lower the environmental impact of our fleet and help preserve the beauty of our island, with a reduction of around 95% carbon emissions per vehicle.
With a 115-strong vehicle fleet delivering approximately 80,000 parcels every month, we are conscious of our carbon footprint and our subsequent environmental responsibility. We recognise the importance of positive ecological contribution, and a need to invest in sustainability and a strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We are also keenly aware that our customers, the people of Jersey, are conscious of keeping our environment healthy, both locally and on a grander scale. We are incredibly lucky to live on such a beautiful island, but we all need to play our role in taking care of it.
A greener fleet With the largest vehicle fleet in the Channel Islands, this had to be the first area we addressed. We first began to implement our plans for a Green Fleet in 2013, when we ran a 6-month trial using two electric vehicles. From then, we began further plans to replace our fleet, purchasing 15 Nissan ENV200 models in 2016 and installing the necessary infrastructure for these high-use vehicles at our Head Office. Over the last three years, we have continued to replace our outgoing vans with electric vehicles at the end of their warranties, with a current total of 54 electric vans on the road, plus 12 more on the way to make it 66 - over 50% of our fleet.
Innovating We are continually looking for innovative ways to improve efficiency and service. Switching to electric vehicles to complement the postal workers who cover their rounds by bicycle or on foot provides a complete ecofriendly solution for our collection and delivery operations, and we look forward to the fleet being 100% electric in due course. Beyond our fleet, we are researching the feasibility of solar panels at our Rue des Pres Headquarters, which would be another huge step forward for us. We will continue to look at other eco-friendly switches we can make throughout all areas of the business. The future For us, a low carbon footprint is a reflection of efficient fleet management, as carbon emissions go hand in hand with fuel consumption, miles travelled and fleet size. We want our efforts to stand testament of our love and respect for our island and to set an example to other local businesses to make a difference too.
CSR With the JSPCA as our chosen charity for 2019, the announcement of their Dog House Jersey event was an opportunity too good to miss, and – with a little persuasion – Tim was quickly nominated and earned one of the 12 spaces available at the event. The event took place on Friday 7th June, and each of the contestants were locked inside a kennel, with nothing but a plastic chair and a duvet on the floor for comfort. They were let out for ‘puppy training’ in the morning – a surprise visit from local PTs to do circuit training with the contestants, and later in the afternoon were let out for another walk and to meet some of the JSPCA’s canine residents. The day was a huge success, and thank you to all staff who both donated and got involved with our ‘Free Our CEO’ campaign. We managed to raise over £3,400, awarding Tim second place in the competition for ‘Top Dog’. The event raised over £24,000 in total and we’re thrilled to have been a part of it.
QUIZ For a chance to win a pair of cinema tickets, please send your answers to India Cook in Marketing or email newsletter@jerseypost.com 1. Who is the Patron Saint of postal workers and the post office? 2. Whose postcode is SW1A 1AA? 4. Which Monarch created the Royal Mail? 5. Where was the first post office pillar box erected? 6. What was the world’s first adhesive postal stamp? Good Luck!
GET INVOLVED! Do you have any ideas, achievements or suggestions you’d like to tell us about? Let us know by emailing newsletter@jerseypost.com!