DHL Express: M otivated employees the recipe for superior service

In a network business like DHL Express, it is imperative that a culture of motivation is inculcated among employees so they will deliver superior service to our customers. The annual DHL Employee Appreciation Week is one such employee engagement initiative. This year, this Africa-wide initiative was run in the month of June in over 50 countries impacting over 4 000 employees.

“Special meals, give­aways, fun team activities and long service awards are just few of the ways we are celebrating, recognizing and rewarding our employees across the continent,” says Paul Clegg, Vice President, Human Resources, DHL Express Sub Saharan Africa.

“While the focus is on fun, the initiative is meant to recognize and reward our teams across Africa who make it possible for us to deliver excellence to our customers. One of Deutsche Post DHL Group's three bottom lines is to be the 'Employer of Choice', so our efforts are focused on creating a great place to work. We believe how we think influences what we say and do and the only way to maintain our 'Insanely Customer Centric Culture' is if we have highly motivated, well-trained, emotionally-engaged and happy employees.”

In Deloitte's 2017 Global Human Capital Trends, it is shown that while employee engagement is increasingly being recognized across the globe as an integral component to business success, relatively few companies have begun to build programmes, strategies and teams that understand and continuously improve employee engagement.

On top of recommending taking a proactive role in understanding and improving employee experience in the company, especially those that operate in competitive global economies - like DHL Express - the study also suggests that pushing out these engagement programs and strategies is becoming increasingly vital to business bottom-lines. This is because when companies succeed in attracting and retaining skilled employees, these employees will in turn provide excellent customer experiences.



STRATEGIC PLANNING

“It's easy to say that employees are at the heart of your business – but it still comes down to strategic planning and programme implementation. Companies should have a robust employee engagement programme in order to get the best out of their teams,” Clegg adds.

“At DHL Express, we have a full scope of supporting programmes, such as Certified International Specialist (CIS), a cultural change programme that all employees across sub-Saharan Africa go through, along with regular reinforcement training and our Certified International Manager program, which focuses on ensuring that leaders have the right leadership and social skills to support and develop their teams. We also have an annual, independent Employee Opinion Survey and regular recognition schemes, such as Employee Appreciation Week and Employee of the Quarter/ Year. I believe a large part of our success lies in the fact that our leaders are measured on ­employee engagement as part of their performance criteria – this ensures that it remains top of mind.”

“While recognition of employees remains a key element, it is increasingly important to train and retain talent, especially in emerging markets; employees need to be continually engaged and developed in order to thrive. The transition from 'Africa Rising' to 'Africa Thriving' can only be achieved through the retention, recognition and development of talent on this continent,” concludes Clegg.

DHL Express Sub Sahara Africa's “Top Employer Africa 2017” certification for the third year running also reaffirms the company's commitment to providing exceptional employee conditions on the continent.