Delay Second-class Mail Delivery - Essay Example

?Delay second mail delivery and its loss in most cases: Saudi Post Introduction Any type of mail delivery system becomes effective only if it is efficient and is able to deliver the consignments on time. In order to prioritize mail delivery, many postal services such as the Royal Mail of UK (UK GAO Postal Service, 1993) and Saudi Post have classified the mails as first-class and second-class. Second-class mail services charge less when compared to the first-class mail and they are delivered after the third working day of posting the mail. Saudi Post was established in 1836 and it became a member of the Universal Postal Union in 1929. The general directorate of postal services was transformed into a public foundation. In Saudi Arabia, this system is referred to as ‘Bareed’. Up until a couple of years ago, Saudi Post did not have an addressing system in accordance with the international conventions. To improve efficiency, they decided to use global standards for postal system. Therefore, they created a unified national addressing system and set up postal codes for the entire kingdom. Using Global Information system, they set up an addressing system that is scalable as well as efficient. At present, Saudi Post has a very efficient network that spans across all the cities and villages of the country. It has 478 main post offices and 180 branch post offices. This study aims to look at the delay caused in second-class mail delivery system and the loss of mail of the Saudi Postal System that is also known as Saudi Post. For many years, the users of Saudi Post have battled issues of delayed delivery or loss of mail sent by second-class. This study explores the various methods through which the Human Resources development can improve the efficient of the second-class mail delivery system. It also looks at the various training methods that can be put to use by the HR deport to ensure timely and safe delivery of the second-class mail. Quality Issues Faced by Second-Class Mail Users The different classes of mail delivery system often result in confusion as well as delay in delivery. Even with a revival in the postal system, Saudi post has not yet been able to achieve the desired efficiency in functioning. There could be several reasons for the delay in mail delivery. The priority is always given to the first class mails because of the service promised. However, it is also necessary to understand that the second-class mails also need to be delivered within the stipulated timelines. Therefore, quality of mail delivery should correlate to the service that has been promised to the customers. In addition, postal employees also have a very critical role to play to ensure timely delivery. It is necessary to provide adequate training to make sure that they understand the various aspect of mail delivery in accordance to the services. One key issue that has resulted in causing delays is the lack of training that the employees have and it makes them inefficient. The focus should never be restricted to only first-class mails because the other regular mail is neglected and piled up. This also results in loss of mails for some cases. Another challenge that prevents the timely delivery of mails could be that the employees do not follow up on the second-class mails in time. Role of Human Resources Human Resources or the HR department plays a very important role in contributing to the efficiency, productivity as well as strength of any organization. HR not only helps in building and training a solid workforce, it has the potential to carry out process improvements and build an agile organization that is respected for the way in which can better respond to the demands of the customer or the market. HR also has the potential to provide its employees with strategic tools as well as support system to enable them to perform their work efficiently. Human resource management can be defined as the understanding as well as the application of the different processes, policies as well as methodology that have an impact on the workforce or the employees who are a part of an organization, a team or a work group (Budhwar, 2004). In simple terms, it can be defined as the effective or optimal use of human resources to improve or enhance the performance of any particular organization. Implementation of HR Initiated Changes The Human resources management system has the very critical responsibility of training the workforce to make them equipped in order to make them efficient and productive. Barmley defines training as the systematic development of the attitude, knowledge, skill, behaviour pattern or a combination of these aspects needed by any individual to enable them to perform a given task adequately (Bramley, 1996). One major reason for the inefficiency of Saudi post with regard to delay and loss of mail could be due to employee inefficiency. There are numerous ways through with an organization can approach the idea of training its staff. The theories of learning that are employed by the Human resources depend upon the need of the training. For example, some trainings are to improve job efficiency and provide the necessary skill, where as some others are to improve the employee attitude. As the postal industry has a time sensitive as well as critical role, they require a combination of these trainings to improve the performance of the organization. Finally, it is also very important for the human resource department of an organization to assess the effectiveness of trainings (Santos and Stuart, 2003). One theory is to see the change in efficiency of the system. In addition, surveys and interactive sessions can be very useful in assessing the effectiveness. For any human resource activity to be successful and to serve its purpose, it is necessary that the management approves of it and provides full support. At times, implementing an HR training to bring about a change can face many different challenges at various stages. Training and Learning changes require investment and therefore, may not meet management approval (Tayeb, 2005). In some cases, they stake holders may insist on toning down the various training plans to get investment approval. Additionally, the training as well as revamp has to be carried out in such a manner that the regular work does not get affected in any way. Hence, both the management as well as the HR have to co-ordinate the change process in such a manner that efficiency is not compromised. The attitude of the employees also should be taken into consideration because any drastic change in approach and attempts to totally revamp the way in which they function can have very different consequences from what is expected. Therefore, according to Human Resource researchers, any change should always be carried out in a phased manner where all the stakeholders as well as the employees are looped into the plan and informed ahead (Beardwell & Holden, (1994). It is very important to understand that gradual and systematic revamping has a much higher impact on efficiency in the long term when compared to sudden changes. Before the initiation of any changes in process, the HR should also be equipped to do a research of efficiency system of the postal delivery system of countries like the UK and the US to get a better idea of the difference in approach. Solutions from the HR Perspective to Avoid Delays in Postal Delivery 1. Delay Management – The Human Resources department can be very effective in improving the issue delay management. One key initiative that can be taken by them is to understand the areas that cause the bottleneck (Treen, 2000). For example, in some cases, the sorting process may not be efficient and it causes further delays because it affects the entire supply chain. The identification of this step is the first important process in order to overcome the current state of delayed delivery. Human resources professionals, with their expertise in the field of identification of bottlenecks would be able to efficiently identify any key areas due to which the entire supply chain gets affected. They are very proficient in the areas of supply chain management and are the best resource persons to identify any issues that may have been causing the day. 2. Product / process Understanding – At times, many of loss of email or delay in delivery occur due to lack of process understanding by the staff. The HR professionals have been trained to identify such gaps process understanding that lead to issues related to turn around time and quality service delivery (Warr, Bird and Rackham, 1976 ). There may be certain groups of employees who do not follow the specific process for the first-class and second-class of mail delivery system, which results in confusion as well as delay in the further steps. Hence, before moving on to any aspects related to training, it is critical to see if there are any gaps in process understanding. 3. Trainer and Training Facilitator – Once the issues related to the bottleneck as well as to the gap in process understanding have been identified, the HR will be able to chart a course of action based on the information (Wexley and Latham, 1991). One key area, which always needs improvement, is training. Handling a huge amount of postal inflow is a challenge and cannot be executed efficiently until the staff are well trained and have a good knowledge about how the entire process works. It is the job of the HR to figure out a training plan based on the knowledge gaps to introduce a good trainer. Identifying the trainer alone will not be sufficient, as the skills of the trainer or the learning developer also need to be developed and in tandem with the training programs planned by the HR. Therefore, the HR professionals can be of immense help when it comes to skill development and training. 4. Process Improvement through HRD – Another aspect where the HR can make immense contribution is through process improvement. The regular employees, who carry out the job may not be able to figure out the ways of process improvement due to the aspect of monotony. However, as the HR professionals have been trained to identify areas where process management can be improved to give better results. For example, the process of documenting the mails can be automated instead of using manual methods which are time consuming and which may also result in errors. Automating even a part of the process has a considerable impact on the turnaround time. This will also ensure that the work done is error free. In addition, it also enables ease of reference for any future use. 5. Act as consultants – HR professionals are very good consultants and can be relied on to make ensure that the improvement process is not a one time exercises. For example, postal efficiency depends on many different facts such as volume of posts and types of consignments. Therefore, after the initial guidelines to make process improvements, they can act as consultants to provide constant suggestions that will make sure that process is efficient even in the events of changing trends or changing policies 6. Creative Solutions – To improve the efficiency, it is necessary to be creative. It is true that the regular employees also can come up with creative ideas to improve process. However, the HR professionals are able to bring about an objective attitude to the entire process and hence, contribute to creative solutions. For example, an HR person would be able to effectively identify the need of customer education that can help in time saving. Reflection In order to understand the way in which postal operations work, I attended a three-day training program by which customers could improve their understanding. The sessions were centred around customer education and it focussed on the ways in which the customer can play a role in making the operations run smoothly. The biggest advantage was to learn how to use the appropriate pin numbers or zip codes. A considerable amount of delay is caused because of either lack of these numbers or by incorrect numbers. If the customers are aware of the correct postal codes, the operations work in a much smoother manner. The next benefit that I gained out of it was to understand the ways in which the postal facility can be made use of in a better manner. Many users often get crowded at the main post office, which delays the smooth functioning of the office. Instead, going to the local post office would be more useful as good information would be provided everywhere. In addition, the training also focussed on educating the customer about the various types of postal facilities such as second class, first class, expedited, parcel services and so on. This helps the customer makes more informed choices about the level of services that they want to avail. Summary and Conclusion Human Resources Development can play a big role in improving the efficiency of Saudi Post through different methods. This will improve the chances of timely delivery as well as avoid any situation where the mail gets lost. In addition, employees would benefit from gaining new skills that will help them contribute more to their current roles. The entire process of this transformation cannot happen in one single day and it is a gradual process that needs inputs and recommendations in a continuous manner. Saudi Arabia has only recently adopted the model of international postal standards; hence, the department also should be given some more guidance from the HR to avoid cases of delay or loss of mail. References Beardwell, I. & Holden, L. (1994) Human Resource Management. Pitman Publishing, London. Bramley, P(1996) Evaluating training effectiveness (second edition) , London: McGraw-Hill Budhwar, P.S. (ed.) (2004) Managing Human Resources in Asia Pacific, London, Routledge Santos, A and Stuart, M(2003) ‘Employee perceptions and their influence on training effectiveness’ Human Resource Management Journal, 13(1), 27-45 Tayeb, M.H. (2005) International Human Resource Management, a Multinational Company Perspective, Oxford University Press Treen, D. (2000) Strategic Human Resources Ivey Business Journal, Jan/Feb 2000.Vol.64, U.K. General Accounting Office, Postal Service: Restructuring, Automation, and Ratemaking, GAO/T-GGD- 93-15 (Washington, D.C.: GAO, March 1993). Warr, P, Bird, M. and Rackham, N. (1976). Evaluation of Management Training, London: Gower Press Wexley, K.N and G. Latham(1991) Developing and training human resources in organisations. New York: McGraw-Hill Read More