A psychologist, a postmaster, and a family legacy are shaping the future of a Hampshire post office.
Romsey Post Office has joined the South Coast Retail network, operated by postmaster Liam Searle, who has taken over eight former Directly Managed Branches (DMBs) this year across Devon, Cornwall, Hampshire, and Dorset.
Mr Searle, who has already managed branches in Dorset and has been a postmaster since 2019, took on the expanded franchise with the support of his partner, Dr Siobhan Neave, a chartered psychologist who left her role at the Ministry of Justice to help build teams for each new location.
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Dr Neave said: “We were fortunate with the calibre of people applying to work in our branches.
"Some had experience of working in other Post Offices or had transferrable skills from working for other organisations. We looked at the needs of the whole team to ensure that we had the right fit.
“We had people who were staying at our branches and we needed to look at the skills, personalities and work culture of applicants.
"We thought about who would work well as a team based on any existing staff and the range of applicants.
"Sometimes we took on less experienced people, but, who we believed had the right personality, and would be keen to learn and were motivated.
"So, we looked at the bigger picture for each location, which is better for customers and makes for a happy workplace.”
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Mr Searle brings operational experience and a family connection to the Post Office, as he is the third generation in his family to work in the network.
Both his grandmother and father worked as counter clerks in DMB branches, with his father later becoming an area manager and eventually running the Swanage branch, which Mr Searle took over in 2019.
He said: "We are a tight-knit company. Before the franchise announcements, we had 50 employees and have needed to scale up the number of employees, but we wanted to retain that family-feel to the business."
The couple said they are proud of the positive feedback and increased footfall at some branches.
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