Founder: Turnaround Talk
On Monday last week, we discussed the current challenges that are faced by the South African Post Office as it tries to implement its turnaround plan.
You will be excused if you are experiencing significant déjà vu. We have heard and seen this song and dance before. We have a struggling State-Owned Enterprise which has faced years of maladministration and mismanagement which is now struggling to find its place in a world where the operational business models of even the best companies are being disrupted. Oh, did I forget to mention that the Post Office is facing significant financial challenges to implement is turnaround strategy? Again, a serious case of déjà vu.
But at least they have a plan. Below are the strategic objectives that form the corner stone of the company’s turnaround plan. These objectives form part of a report that was presented to Government. The report is downloadable below.
Strategic Objective 1: Efficient Systems and Processes
This strategic objective focuses on improving the effectiveness of the Post Office’s business processes and operational environment supported by the required enabling IT systems. Process improvement initiatives with the aim of identifying and eliminating process duplications and redundancies have commenced and will be completed. Where feasible, manual processes will be automated and IT systems applied to repetitive tasks.
Productivity improvements and adherence to high services standards will be prioritised across business functions throughout the organisation. The modernisation of operating procedures is an important outcome of this objective.
Another key element of this strategic objective is the implementation of an integrated, real-time management reporting tool. This tool will enable management to become more proactive in the monitoring of productivity levels.
Strategic Objective 2: Asset and Infrastructure Optimisation
This objective highlights four outcomes for the Post Office:
- utilise the Post Office’s owned infrastructure to create new revenue streams;
- implement workplace maintenance plan;
- automation of processes in mail centres; and
- optimisation of the Mail & Logistics Distribution Network.
To achieve these goals, a Post Office Properties company will be established in due course. The property company will leverage its asset base to provide sustainable returns and ensure that compliance in the workplace environment is improved. This will be achieved through ongoing maintenance programs. Modern workplace trends will also be introduced where feasible.
An operationally efficient Distribution Network is critical in controlling operating expenditure whilst ensuring operational efficiency. The SA Post Office has already commenced with an assessment on the optimisation and consolidation of its Distribution Network.
Photo By: Canva
Strategic Objective 3: Diversify Funding and Revenue
The Post Office is an entity that can increase government access to its citizens. The Post Office has commenced working towards becoming the “face of Government”. Infrastructure will be modernised to include digital services that complement its physical products and services.
The Post Office will focus on establishing its eCommerce capabilities, enabling and developing the South African small and medium business sector (SMMEs) by providing national access to an online marketplace, warehousing – and distribution networks.
The Post Office will be required to strengthen its market intelligence and data analytics competencies to further enhance its product/services portfolio, collaborate with customers to develop customised service offerings ensuring that the Post Office evolves in line with market trends.
The possibility of securing Investment Partners via Public Private Partnerships either on an organisational level will be investigated to ensure financial sustainability of the Post Office.
Strategic Objective 4: Future Products and Services
The Post Office is to encourage a culture of innovation throughout the organisation, supported by a Research and Development policy and framework to be implemented. In driving the organisation to attaining the “South African Post Office 2030 Vision”, partnerships will be identified, culminating in relevant products and services that enable the Post Office to regain, retain and grow its customer base.
Core to this is proactive market intelligence, ensuring agility in a changing operating environment. A greater emphasis and focus on new product and service development is required and is to be accommodated in the organisational structure.
The Post Office will develop an integrated service delivery platform, accessible to all.
Strategic Objective 5: Customers and Communities First
The Post Office will remain, at its core, a government entity that primarily exists to serve the citizens of South Africa. The Post Office has been tasked with a social mandate and will remain committed to delivering much needed services to customers and communities throughout South Africa.
Training of staff to support this strategic objective will be required, together with the introduction of a Customer Relationship Management System, agile and responsive to customer requirements.
During the strategic cycle, the Post Office will work on improving the quality of its data, particularly within the Postal and Logistics areas of its business. This will enable the Post Office to strategically deploy social mandate services to areas where it is needed the most.
A strategic deliverable will be the introduction of digital services to outlying communities. As part of the strategic objective, the Post Office will make available its physical infrastructure to potential broadband partners with the view of increasing access to SA’s growing digital economy to communities.
Photo By: Canva
Strategic Objective 6: Culture of Excellence
The Post Office will develop an organisational culture that strives for excellence in all we do, where each employee is a brand ambassador who will attract and retain customers.
Key elements that will impact on this will be; a decent and conducive working environment; ensuring the right person, with the right skills, in the right position, at the right time and cost. Growing capability and skills that will ensure an effective succession planning process to attract, retain and grow talent, which will be recognised and rewarded appropriately.
As the most important leverage element; leadership behaviour will be developed and aligned to build organisation resilience and embed culture.
Continued patience?
It Is interesting to take note that a month ago, key decision makers within the African National Congress made media statements about moving away from a State-Owned Entity business model because they believe that the model is effectively dead. The used the Post Office as a an example to substantiate their thought process.
It is then interesting that Acting Deputy Chairperson of the Post Office Board, Sipho Majombozi pleaded with Government for more time and money to implement its strategy. If Government truly feels that the SOE model is effectively dead and that the Post Office is an example of this death, it will do well to remember the statements made by Finance Ministers in the past about not offering any more bailout money to ailing institutions.
Until South Africa bridges the digital divide where the whole country has access to online connectivity, there will always be a place for the Post Office. It is just a case of finding the right funder or funding mechanism to bankroll the implementation of the strategy.
The question still remains, how long can SOEs expect the tax payer to have patience with a company that is showing no signs of addressing historical and future challenges?
