CIVIL servants at Coventry Land Registry spent more than FOUR MONTHS reviewing how they open the post.
Bosses ordered staff to carry out the investigation at the city’s Land Registry office in Tile Hill.
The study into opening envelopes opened up a huge can of worms with documents being leaked to the Telegraph about the whole process, claiming it was a massive waste of time and money.
Union leaders said absolutely nothing had changed as a result of the review at the government department – despite it taking four months to conclude.
The investigation into how best to deal with mail was suggested in response to delays created by handling the volume of post delivered to the office in Torrington Avenue.
Managers originally asked staff how they would tackle the problem, with many suggesting that they just get more people to open the mail.
But the project continued in spite of the simple suggestion – with team members testing manual letter openers, conducting a survey and studying the ergonomics of the post opening area.
When the project was completed it eventually agreed with staff, concluding that more employees should help open the mail in the morning.
Michael Kavanagh, Public & Commercial Services union group president for the Land Registry, said very little had changed as a result of the review.
He said: “Everybody knew this review was taking place. Those who get in earliest in the morning start opening the mail.
“We couldn’t really understand why the review was conducted as the way we opened the post seemed to be the most efficient.
“There has been no fundamental change as a result of the review. We have flexible working hours so those that get in first still open the mail.”
