ISSU

E 64

S

EPTE

MBER

201

6

Expanding our presence in the HAL market

Herculean effort

3WRIGHTSTUFFMeet our Chairman's Award winner

7ON THE

TUBEA new idea to

make handling easier

12EVERYBODY

COUNTSDepot focus heads

to Nottingham

PFW News September 2016 03

One of our brightest stars in Birmingham has flown the flag for Parcelforce at this year’s Royal Mail Group Chairman’s Awards for Excellence.

Devon Wright was awarded the prestigious Customer Excellence award for his commitment to ensuring that every customer is given the best possible service.

He only joined the Parcelforce team just over a year ago, but it has not taken long for his attitude and commitment to shine through. Judges praised him for his willingness to go the extra mile and take on extra work. They said he is a credit to his team and a real asset to the depot.

“Parcelforce is a great business to work for and I just help all our customers wherever I can,” Devon said. “I treat every parcel as I’d want my own parcel treated. You just need to talk to people in the right way and explain what we’re doing and it makes them stay with our business instead of our competitors.”

Customers have recognised Devon’s commitment. One customer wrote to Parcelforce to say how delighted they had been with Devon’s professionalism and support when sorting out an issue. The customer said that were it not for Devon, they would have taken their business elsewhere.

Devon’s talents don’t just extend to delivering for customers. He has been instrumental in developing new starters at his depot, and he’s now responsible for training new recruits in delivery and collection processes.

PENSION BENEFIT ILLUSTRATION Are you a member of the Royal Mail Pension Plan? If so, look out for your personalised annual benefit illustration.

The plan’s trustee is sending this

to your home during September. It will show your benefits in the plan up until 31 March 2016, based on your pensionable pay at 31 March 2016.

For more information, visit

www.royalmailpensionplan.co.uk Throughout September, you’ll also be able to find a list of frequently asked questions on the website about the benefit illustration.

Customer champion

PFW News September 201602

MY VIEW

Gary Simpson, managing director, Parcelforce Worldwide

I know it’s still the summer, but we’re already deep in preparations for our peak period. It’s the time when we’re most under the spotlight and when our reputation can be made or broken.

In recent years, we’ve done well, and I know you will all do your best to ensure we once again deliver a fantastic service. But unlike other years, our competitors have also done well. Nobody fell down last Christmas.

In previous years, we had the opportunity to win business from the unhappy customers of our rivals. This year we didn’t. It makes it even more important that we get every stage of every delivery right. We are a premium parcels carrier and we have to earn that every day.

Our competitors have also announced a number of innovations. They are developing their services –and adapting their pricing – to win more business. I have to be honest; it makes an already very competitive market even tougher for us. But we continue to succeed.

We’re not standing still. The systems and products that we are developing will help us ensure we remain the carrier of choice for our customers – both existing and those we win in the future. We’re going to be talking more about this in the coming weeks and months.

One very exciting innovation this summer has been the expansion of our heavy and large capability.

There’s more about it later in this issue, but it’s a real opportunity for us to win good business at a good price. It will only succeed with the commitment of everybody in the business, so I urge you to support this important service.

Finally, I’d like to congratulate Devon Wright, who was awarded the Customer Excellence Award at this year’s Chairman’s Awards for Excellence.

In his relatively short time at Parcelforce, he has become an invaluable and popular member of a team, and has driven the depot’s focus on customer service to new heights. Thank you for your contribution to the business.

You can check the share

price any time the stock

market is open at myroyalmail.com

WE WANT YOUR STORIES! Just let us know the basic details of the story and a contact name and number. Freephone: 0800 083 9155. Email: samantha.payne@beetroot.co.uk Write: PFW News, beetroot, 68 Leonard Street, London, EC2A 4QX

GET IN TOUCH Contact Moya through Just Say It. Email: justsayit@royalmail.com or write to Just Say It, Freepost

EXCITINGINNOVATION

The price and value of securities can go

down as well as up. Past performance is not

a guide to future performance. Information

published in PFW News cannot be relied

upon as a guide to future performance.

522.50pper share when the market

closed on 23 August 2016

GIANT DELIVERY

As a sponsor of The BFG film, Parcelforce has wrapped 10 of its single deck trailers with images to celebrate its release in the UK. It forms part of the ‘Giant Care’ campaign. These trailers will certainly

brighten up motorways up and down the

country this summer, and reinforce Parcelforce’s role in delivering dreams for people on a daily basis. Driver Arthur Grainger from

Milton Keynes depot won tickets to see The

BFG premiere after

he was nominated by Andrew Roberts from Discus Group Ltd for his excellent customer service. Andrew said: “When Arthur had a puncture he offered to help with alternative arrangements so we did not let our customers down, giving his mobile and keeping us informed of the situation step by step. Awesome work. Great person on your team.” If you do spot a BFG trailer on your travels and it is safe to take a picture then send it to clare.rowley@parcelforce.co.uk

05PFW News September 2016

BFG trailers brighten up our roads

The winner of our BFG prize draw...

...is Heather Stokes,

a customer service

adviser based at the

International Hub in

Coventry. She receives

a BFG goody bag.

Slips, trips and falls account for 20 per cent of all reported accidents in Parcelforce – and a third of all the lost time accidents in the business are a result of these types of incidents.

In the last 12 months this is equivalent to just over one slip, trip, fall-related lost time

accident a week. And, in the last four months, three Parcelforce colleagues have sustained bone fractures related to slips, trips and falls.

The PFW senior management team will be covering slips, trips and falls in their engagement visits, and in October the company will be holding a focus week on the subject as part of the severe weather preparation work we do in our sites every year.

Eligible employees will soon receive their invitation to take part in the Share Incentive Plan (SIP) 2016 Free Shares Offer

THE AWARD IS MADE UP OF TWO PARTS:

• In October 2015, the Government sold its remaining stake in Royal Mail. It also set aside 1% of shares in Royal Mail (10 million shares) for eligible employees, to be awarded in 2016. The Government transferred these shares to the SIP Trust in March 2016.

• As the SIP 2016 Free Shares had not been given to eligible employees by the time the final dividend 2015-16 was paid (on 29 July 2016), the SIP Trustee will use the dividend due on these shares to buy more shares (likely to be around 300,000 shares).

The last 1% of company shares, and the shares bought with the final dividend 2015-16, make up the SIP 2016 Free Shares Offer.

HOW MANY SHARES?It is expected that all eligible full-time employees will be given around 75 SIP 2016 Free Shares. They will receive the same number of shares, regardless of their grade.

Eligible part-time employees will be given a proportionate (pro-rata) number of Free Shares. This will be based on their paid hours between 2 May 2016 and 31 July 2016. If this number is less than 10, their SIP 2016 Free Share award will be rounded up to 10 Free Shares.

AM I ELIGIBLE?Most of Royal Mail Group Limited’s employees in the UK, including Parcelforce Worldwide employees, are eligible to be given SIP 2016 Free Shares. The full eligibility criteria will be included in your invitation mailing. This will land at eligible employees’ homes from 2 September.

We expect that SIP 2016 Free Shares will be awarded on 6 October 2016. If you want to take part in the SIP 2016 Free Shares Offer, you do not need to do anything. You will automatically be given your Free Shares through the SIP.

Overall, trading in the three months ended 26 June 2016 was in line with our expectations, with no material change in overall trends.

Chief executive officer Moya Greene said: “We continue to face the challenges caused by the current low inflationary environment and our highly competitive markets.

“We remain, however, very focused on operational and financial efficiency, and delivering a high quality service for all our customers.”

The money earned as a Group was up 1 per cent* on the same period last year. The money earned by the UK business was down 1 per cent. GLS continues to perform well, with volumes up 13 per cent and money earned grew by 13 per cent.

In UK parcels, volumes grew 2 per cent, driven by import and account parcels. The money earned also grew 2 per cent. Parcelforce Worldwide volumes were up 2 per cent, due to a very strong prior period.

In letters, addressed letter volumes were down 2 per cent, due to the return of direct delivery volumes, and certain EU referendum mailings. Excluding these one-off impacts, volumes were down around 4 per cent. The money we earned was down 3 per cent.

OUTLOOKMovements in GDP (the monetary value of the goods and services produced within a country in a given period of time), are drivers for letter and business-to-business parcel volumes. We continue to closely monitor GDP. We remain focused on operational and financial efficiency, and delivering a high quality service for customers.

SIP 2016 FREE SHARES

DON’T FALL FOR IT

SAFETY STEPS:■ Wear appropriate footwear with a good amount of tread –

boots provide more ankle support (check the tread regularly)■ Look where you’re putting your feet – keep to designated

walkways and paths■ Be aware of your surroundings – avoiding slip, trip or fall

hazards (keep the work area tidy – report hazards)■ Use handrails when changing level – steps, stairs, vehicle

access/exit■ Don’t rush or allow yourself to be distracted – no mobile phones

or reading whilst walking.

FOOTNOTE* Movements in revenue and volume are on an underlying basis, unless otherwise stated. Underlying change is calculated after adjusting for working days in UKPIL, foreign exchange movements and ASM in GLS, and other one-off items that distort the Group’s underlying performance. For volumes, underlying movements are adjusted for working days in UKPIL and ASM in GLS and exclude political parties' election mailings in letter volumes. In the first three months of 2016-17 there were 75.6 working days in UKPIL (3M of 2015-16 – 74.8 working days). We estimate that the impact of working days in UKPIL will be around £65m for the full year (2016-17 305.6; 2015-16 303). For comparison purposes all underlying adjustments are made to the prior period.

ROYAL MAIL GROUP TRADING UPDATE

04 PFW News September 2016

06 PFW News September 2016

York has become the winning depot for Leads to Success in 2015-16.

It has raised an impressive £124,506 in revenue thanks to its front line people submitting good quality leads for the business.

Operations manager Lawrence Cieslik said: “This is absolutely fantastic news for us and proves in our case that sometimes quality is much better than quantity.

“A third of our workforce submitted 356 leads, so that is something to be proud of.

“We also incentivised people to take part in the scheme during our Worktime

Learning sessions by holding prize draws for colleagues who submitted at least three leads in a quarter.”

Tim Lund, collection co-ordinator, generated £16,000 in revenue for Parcelforce after persuading Michael Lupton Associates to open an account with them.

He said: “I’ve used my vouchers to help buy a new kitchen at B&Q. My other lead was Barbara Blaze Ltd, which is opening a new warehouse in Hull.

“More people should get involved to help generate revenue for the business as it is so easy to do.”

Other 2015-16 winners

included Annette Laing for most qualified leads (405) from Deeside depot, Wayne Fish from Coventry for most revenue and John Reed, from Liverpool, for international revenue.

Every qualified lead submitted over the summer will be entered into a prize draw to win a special BFG goody bag and a family cinema voucher.

Customer spendNew spotter initial bonusQualified lead £100 International spend £500£1,000 £5,000 £10,000 £25,000 £50,000 Total

LEADS TO SUCCESS – HOW IT WORKS…

Customer spendNew spotter initial bonusQualified lead £100International spend £500£1,000 £5,000 £10,000 £25,000 £50,000 Total

LEADS TO SUCCESS – HOW IT WORKS…Your reward1,000 pts (worth £10)1,000 pts (worth £10)10,000 pts (worth £100)10,000 pts (worth £100)10,000 pts (worth £100)10,000 pts (worth £100)15,000 pts (worth £15025,000 pts (worth £250)35,000 pts (worth £350)£1,170

Leading the way

Some of the York team from left to right: Oliver Holmes, York admin, Amy Casey, field account manager, Tess Smith, desk based account manager, Andrew Millward, L2S champion, Jason Sharpe, collection manager

PFW News September 2016 07

CAP-TASTICIDEA

A new idea which could make things easier for colleagues has been developed in partnership with a long-standing Parcelforce customer.

Known as an Anti-Roll Option (ARO) cap, the triangular object can be attached to tubes, allowing them to be automatically handled through conveyor systems.

It is the brainchild of packaging firm Defendapack, which has worked alongside Parcelforce to test the product at the national hub in Coventry.

“We ran tests at the hub to ensure it went through the system and it worked seamlessly compared to other cylindrical items, which have to be manually handled,” said Adam Wall, sales director.

“In a market where automatic sortation increases efficiency and reduces costs, we are extremely happy with the product. One of our

youngest employees Daniel Clark put a lot of work into it. The ARO cap is a win-win situation for everybody concerned.”

Zoie McCarthy, Parcelforce field account manager, said: “Tubes normally cause us a headache as they roll around and have to be manually handled. Sales people tend to shy away from quoting due to the handling cost. But the new end cap makes it much easier for us to handle tubes and, by becoming an automated item, it will keep the price down. This should give us a much more competitive price in the marketplace. I have already been discussing them with my customers in the hope of gaining some additional traffic without affecting the price they pay.”

ARO caps are due to go on sale in early September.

08 PFW News September 2016 PFW News September 2016 09

Great British delivery goes largeas Parcelforce sets its sights on abigger slice of the HAL market

Greek hero Hercules was famed for his

incredible strength.

That’s why the legend's name has

been tied to an exciting new project at

Parcelforce.

A new Manual Processing Centre (main

picture) will be opening in Coventry

in October to handle more parcels of

different shapes and sizes, known as

heavy, awkward and large (HAL). This

will be supported by the National Hub

and the North West Processing Centre.

We already offer this service, but

in the past we capped the amounts of

HAL items we accepted. That cap is now

being removed and we are also actively

seeking more HAL business.

It will give us an edge over our

competitors whose automated

operations are better suited to sorting

standard-sized parcels than HAL

packages.

By 2020 it is hoped we will be

processing more than double the

number of larger and more awkward

parcels than we do today.

ONE-STOP SHOPHead of strategic programmes Clive

Francis, leader of Project Hercules, said:

“Unlike our competitors who see their

future in the standard parcel market and

are investing in automation to efficiently

handle regularly sized parcels, we see an

exciting opening to increase our share in

a market where 62 million HAL parcels

are sent annually in the UK.

We’ll be a one-stop shop for existing

customers, who won’t need to use

multiple carriers for their traffic and we’ll be

able to attract new business.”

The HAL market is made up of

manufacturing and wholesale sectors,

areas in which Parcelforce already has a

significant presence. Items range from

sports goods and toys to gardening

equipment and car parts. The maximum

weight of parcels remains 30kg with

dimensions up to 2.5m long and 5m length

and girth combined. Parcelforce is not

changing existing dimension restrictions,

just accepting more of this type of business.

Sales teams have begun selling the

additional HAL service on express48large

(a two-day parcel delivery) with plans afoot

to launch a next day service soon, and

a 'by noon' product next year. This puts

Parcelforce in a strong position in a market

where customers are looking for a reliable

service they can trust for all their parcels.

OPERATION CAPACITYA strong project team has been put

together from across many business

areas and their work will include talking

to local depots to understand their

current capacity and to address any

concerns raised.

“We won’t be building any additional

depots at this stage,” Clive added. “But

as volumes begin to grow, we will be

investing in more routes, drivers and

vehicles, indoor staff and handling

equipment. We have just agreed to

hold working groups with the CWU

as the project evolves so that we can

share our plans and listen to ideas on

how we can make the operation as safe

and efficient as possible. There is also

an email address available for people

so that they can give their feedback on

Project Hercules and we would be keen

to answer any queries.

“The important thing to remember

is that we are already shipping four

million HAL parcels a year so it’s not

a brand new business to us. We are

building on what we are currently doing

as a premium quality carrier within

the courier express market – with the

added bonus of now being able to offer

customers the opportunity to carry all

their traffic.”

Have a question you want the HAL team to answer? Have an idea for how we can make our HAL service better? Email us at Hercules@parcelforce.co.uk

TOP FACTS■ 30 kg is maximum weight

■ Maximum dimensions 2.5m long, 5m length and girth combined

■ The opening of the MPC is expected to coincide with our launch of next day HAL deliveries

■ HAL parcels will also be processed at the National Hub and NWPC

■ The HAL service is currently offered on express48large but we’re looking to introduce further services soon

BIGGERAND BETTER

HERMES is paying some of its self-employed contractors less than £6 per hour, which is below the national living wage, according to an investigation by The Guardian. Hermes does not need to pay its workers the £7.20 per hour living wage that was introduced in April because they are self-employed. The arrangement is legal and is approved by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. (Source – The Guardian)

DPD in the UK has launched its new innovative Precise service in conjunction with online fashion retailer ASOS, which allows customers to select a one-hour delivery slot on the day of their choice. It’s the first time a UK-based carrier has offered such a service. (Source – PostalTechnologyInternational.com)

YODEL is being inundated with Twitter complaints about rudeness and damaged goods, reported The Times. It found that the company was still struggling to resolve many of its problems following an undercover TV investigation. (Source – The Times)

COLLECTPLUS has launched a UK-wide in-store shipment label printing service for people who do have access to a home or office printer. It will be available in almost of all the 5,800-plus local convenience stores and petrol stations. (Source – Post and Parcel)

We keep an eye onthe competition

Want to know more? Go to the competitor page on the Parcelforce intranet under sales

PFW News September 201610

Alistair, what have been yourfirst impressions of Parcelforce?

Of course I’ve known Parcelforce by reputation throughout my career. Once I joined the company, I was impressed with the strength of our people. Their knowledge and length of service speaks volumes. Our people have committed to the business for many years and they’ve been instrumental in helping us grow.

Everyone has been very welcoming to me, they’ve been prepared to share with me and to guide me. And I am very grateful for that.

What do you think our strengths and weaknesses are?

Our strengths far outweigh our weaknesses. Our brand, our geographical reach, our people, and the way we go about what we do set us apart from our competition.

We do need to focus more on the customer and ensure better compliance with our key processes – we are not always aligned. One example is proof of delivery. Some of the manual PODs are not entered by the end of the day. The customer sees this and it means we end up getting a lot of calls that can be avoided if we simply carried out the correct processes.

What do you feel you can bringto the business?

I have a wealth of experience in parcels. I’ve been in the industry for 27 years, starting as a sales

executive and making my way up to managing director. So I understand all the different parts of the business, and the challenges they face.

What are your priorities for the business?

My first priority will never change. It’s to ensure that all of our people return home from work in the same condition that they arrived. Safety will always be number one, as it must be for everyone in the business.

I want to ensure higher compliance with our standard processes. What we do in Edinburgh should be done the same way in Birmingham, Portsmouth and everywhere else.

I also want to make sure our people are equipped with the tools they need to deliver the best possible service. Whether that’s new technology, such as PDAs, or the right training, we need to support you properly.

We hear a lot about efficiency.Why is it so important?

Parcelforce works in an extremely competitive market. Price is at a premium. If we achieve our efficiency targets, we can be more competitive. If we don’t, it could mean our prices have to be higher than those of our competitors.

But we need to balance efficiency with our quality of service. We need to be more efficient but we must ensure our quality doesn’t suffer.

We have a big focus on our newHAL proposition elsewhere inthis issue. How important is itgoing to be to our business?

We already handle this type of parcel. It’s about carrying more of them. It gives us a great opportunity to be a one stop shop. And that will be a unique selling point for us – our competitors don’t play in this space. Customer feedback has been exceptionally good so far.

I know there’s a concern in the business about the impact on depots but we have a strong focus on this and I want to reassure people that we will be supporting depots where appropriate.

We’re getting close to our peakperiod. What do you expect to seein the coming months?

We have very robust plans for the entire network, including resourcing up. We have to remember that our peak customers are also our customers for the rest of the year so they have rightly come to expect a high level of service from us and that must continue, even at our busiest times.

Finally, do you have a messagefor our people?

I want to thank everyone for the welcome I have received to the business. I could not have asked for more. I also want to thank you for all that you do for the business. Listening to your thoughts and ideas show how important you are to the continued success of Parcelforce Worldwide.

Alistair Cochrane, our new operations director, tells PFW News his thoughts on the company, and his priorities for the future

OUR CUSTOMERS,OUR PRIORITY

11PFW News September 2016

13PFW News September 201612 PFW News September 2016

IN NUMBERS

115 Members of staff

85 Vehicles

9,500 Average daily deliveries

6,500 Average daily collections

DEPOT FOCUS

NOTTINGHAMNottingham depot has increased its employee

engagement level significantly over the last year

MARK COSTIN, RESERVE DRIVER

“I have been a reserve driver at Parcelforce for two and half years and I recently won employee of the month. I enjoy meeting new customers every week. I mainly work from 6.30am to 4.30pm. I like the freedom of the job and the trust you receive from management to do the job properly.”

KARL HALLAM, DELIVERYAND COLLECTION DRIVER

“I have worked at the depot for eight years and cover areas such as Cropwell Bishop, Keyworth and Kinoulton. I handle a lot of parcels and handle between 80 to 100 drops per day. I have a good relationship with customers, which makes my job easier. My motto in life is to treat people how you want to be treated in return.”

DAVID MCLEOD, DRIVER “I started as a reserve driver but I now look after delivery routes in Sherwood, Arnold and Daybrook, and Woodthorpe. At the weekends I work with offenders and I help steer them in the right direction. They take part in community projects such as gardening for the elderly. I like my job at Parcelforce because it is a challenge every day and I get to meet new people too.”

JAY ‘JJ’ PRAKASH,LATE SHIFT SUPERVISOR

“I worked at the national hub for two years as a sorter before I joined Nottingham in 2003. I start at 12.30pm every day to check the conveyor systems are working properly and then supervise our 65 collection vans. I have to make sure that they are unloaded properly and put onto the trailer for Coventry. I like my job, it gives me satisfaction.”

DARREN OLIVER, SUPERVISOR

“I’ve been with the company for 23 years. I started off as a driver before moving into management. I oversee the depot when Chris Wilde, the DCM, is on leave. I also look after the owner drivers and make sure their invoices are correct and deal with any concerns that they may have.”

NICK ANSCOMBE, LATE SHIFT MANAGER

“Part of my role is liaising with sales for new contracts and setting up new collections. I visit new customers to generate any new business. I’m also responsible for dealing with health and safety issues at the depot, making sure we are complying with regulations on a daily basis. The work is a constant challenge, you never know what to expect when you come through the door.”

ANDY PURDIE,OPERATIONS MANAGER

“We’ve put a new structure in place which has given us stability over the past year. We’ve also set up a new annual leave system, allowing employees to book leave up to two years in advance, which has given us a great work-life balance. Other successes include reducing our sick leave rate during the first quarter to 2.89 per cent and beating our unit cost by 5p per parcel for this year. I’d like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you and well done to everyone here for their hard work and dedication.”

Prize Sudoku Congratulations to Paul Terrey from Nottingham depot who won last issue’s Sudoku competition. Love2shop vouchers worth £50 are again up for grabs, so to be in with a chance of winning, send your completed puzzle to: PFW News Sudoku, beetroot, 68 Leonard Street, London, EC2A 4QX. The closing date for entries is 23 September 2016, with the winner decided by a draw.

Name:

Work location:

Address:

Tel no:

Email:

9 73 4

25

35

62

9 18

4

41

83 9

4 851

873 5

7 423 9PFW News September 2016 15

LONG SERVERS

PFW News September 201614

40 YEARSBERNARD JOHN FOSTER, Liverpool

30 YEARSPAUL ADRIAN SINCLAIR, North Essex ROSEMARY CROSS, Coventry CHRIS COMBEN, London East KIERAN MAGUIRE, Belfast AKSHAY PATEL, London West EUGENE REYNOLDS, Milton Keynes

20 YEARSWINSLOW CASIWAN, London Central

IAN DANIELS, Deeside AMANDA ALLBRIGHTON, Wakefield HAYDEN MORRISON, London Central SURJEET SINGH TAKHAR, National Hub

10 YEARSJAMES LOVETT, Norwich WAYNE MOORMAN, Solent DAVID RAWSON, York DANIEL MITCHELL, Rotherham ANTHONY WILLIAMS, Deeside TOMASZ PIERUCKI, Gatwick ANDREW BLOOMFIELD, Ipswich QUINTEN HUNT, Manchester

TERRY FELL, Milton Keynes RICHARD WILKINS, Oxford PATSON MAGANGA, Wakefield JONATHAN HINCHCLIFFE, Wakefield NEIL CROFT, Exeter RICHARD ALBON, Welwyn Garden City MICHAEL BENNETT, London Central GED CARSTAIRS, Edinburgh NICOLAS TILLER, London South East GARY CAMPBELL, Belfast MARC JAMES, Swansea TOM TURLEY, Newport ANDREW ARTHURS, Leeds

Congratulations to everyone who recently achieved a long service milestone

Trekking up a mountain is a feat in itself but one brave employee pulled off a hat trick by climbing up three in 24 hours.

Claims appeals manager Richard Broadley completed the National 3 Peaks Challenge on 25 and 26 June and raised £320 for the Stroke Association.

He climbed Ben Nevis in Scotland, Scafell in England and Snowdon in Wales, covering a distance of 27 miles.

Richard said: “It was

surreal to be heading up a mountain in the middle of the night with thousands of other people – it was like a massive festival of torches. I did think at one point, hang on what am I doing? My feet were killing and the thought of climbing another mountain after Ben Nevis seemed daunting, but when I came down Scafell, the sun was rising and I was confident I could do Snowdon. I’d recommend it to anyone – it’s a brilliant experience.”

Teeing off for a good cause paid off for a group of Parcelforce colleagues.

Andy Spencer, Steve Sturges, Colin Hopkins and David Evans, aka the Four Forces, competed in Macmillan’s Longest Day Golf Challenge at the Westgate and Birchington Golf Club in June. It involved playing four rounds of golf in a day, equivalent to 72 holes.

Despite the rain the team scored numerous birdies and ended up achieving 15th place in the competition, raising over £2,000 for the charity.

“The weather was not great

when we started playing the first 18 holes,” said David, area commercial manager South Central. “Drizzle soon turned into rain and we were completely soaked after two rounds. But following a complete change of clothes and lunch, the third and fourth rounds were played in much better conditions and even the sun came out for the final round. We finally completed the challenge at 9.50pm after more than 12 hours of play and were pleased with our final score.”

Birdie good Triple action

Left to right: Andy Spencer, national account manager business indirect channel, Steve Sturges, business development manager London, Colin Hopkins, head of telesales, David Evans, area commercial manager South Central

JULYSOLUTION

9 5 26 8 7

2 7 83 1 6

7 6 41 5 3

8 1 32 4 9

4 3 65 9 7

5 9 14 2 8

3 7 29 8 5

6 4 52 7 1

8 9 14 6 3

5 4 98 1 26 3 7

1 3 49 2 87 5 6

7 2 53 8 91 6 4

Richard Broadley on his trek

I was in the BritishArmed Forces for eight years… before I joined Parcelforce. I started as a driver in Wiltshirewith the 9 Supply Regimentbefore moving to Germanyand running physical trainingprogrammes for troops.I was posted to Iraq in 2001under Operation Telic and wasresponsible for escorting civilian tankers in and out of Basra.My last posting was with the3 Logistic Support Regiment inAbingdon as a Lance Corporaland fitness instructor.

I am a delivery andcollection managerassistant at Oxforddepot…I started off as an agency driverbefore I became a permanentstaff member. I have sincecompleted the LAYGO (Learn AsYou Go) management course anddo a lot of training with driversto ensure their matrix is up-to-date, and offer training on manual handling. I also attendhealth and safety meetings andknow how to carry out riskassessments. I’m always kept on my toes!

I manage the under10s team for Barton United…including my son Jacob who was recently selected byArsenal scouts to join theirtraining academy. He is abig Arsenal fan so he wasover the moon to be chosen.He’s a really good striker,so hopefully, fingers crossedI’ll be able to have an earlyretirement someday soon!

I will be cycling 200miles from Oxfordto Plymouth in September...to raise money for theStroke Association and forBarton United’s tournament in Cornwall next year. I’mused to cycling long distances, having once cycled from Lands’ End to John O’Groats in aid of my nephew who suffers withcerebral palsy. I also do boxingtwice a week at the Oxford Boxing Academy to keep myfitness levels up.

Rescuing civilians in Iraq or raising money for charity is part and parcel of what makes DCM assistant Martyn Walder unique

ON THE SPOT

Fightingfit