Exemplary personnel policies at Deutsche Post DHL win multiple awards

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Deutsche Post DHL has just received two awards for its human-resources policies. The Group’s diversity management was honored with the first-ever German Diversity Award 2011, which was presented under the motto of “Thinking, Talking, Acting and Working Together – Diversity as an Opportunity.” The award was sponsored by the German business magazine Wirtschaftswoche, the consultancy McKinsey&Company and the consumer business Henkel.The price was awarded in four categories to companies, individuals and innovative projects that encourage a working environment characterized by diversity in Germany.

Crossing borders

Deutsche Post DHL also received this year’s award given by the Human Capital Club e.V., a group established in 2001 that includes many partner organizations in German-speaking regions, including the German Association of Human Resources Management and the German Network of Business Ethics. Here  Deutsche Post DHL was awarded as the DAX company with the most-transparent personnel policies.

“Deutsche Post DHL’s core business is all about crossing borders and facilitating exchange and communication. We can do our job only if our employees work together hand in hand,” says Walter Scheurle, Board Member for Personnel of Deutsche Post DHL. “We view the diversity that has arisen over the years as a true competitive edge. After all, we as a multicultural company have an opportunity to learn from one another every day.”

Respect and results

The commitment of Deutsche Post DHL to human resources is reflected in its Group Strategy 2015, the guiding principle of “Respect and Results,” and the effort to become the employer of choice in the mail and logistics industry and its “People Strategy.” Here, diversity management has been given a clear role: Against the backdrop of demographic change and the transformation of the job market, the company plans to consciously promote diversity in its workforce and the formation of multicultural and heterogeneous teams. Deutsche Post DHL is also determined to fill as many job vacancies as possible with applicants who have diverse backgrounds.

The company uses a number of measures and initiatives to put its diversity management into practice. These steps range from a partnership with Teach First Germany and “UPstairs,” a scholarship program for employees’ children, to a concept called MIDEAL (a German acronym that stands for living with each other at work) that the company uses to actively oppose discrimination and violence. To promote diversity in the Group, Deutsche Post DHL also supports the RainbowNet, an internal network for lesbian, homosexual, bisexual and transsexual employees.

“The intensive discussions among many colleagues with various experiences, languages, religions and cultural and ethnic backgrounds really enrich our company. But it can work only on the basis of tolerance and mutual respect,” Scheurle says.

Transparency

As a labor-intensive company, Deutsche Post DHL needs to retain experienced, loyal experts and executives and recruit talented people. With its Sustainability Report, its information on the Internet and its award-winning online career portal, the Group gives the general public a number of opportunities to learn about its human-resources policies and its commitment to corporate social responsibility. This high level of transparency has now been recognized with the Human Capital Club Award.

The best DAX company was determined on the basis of the Human Capital Transparency Monitor (HCTM) of the Human Capital Club e.V. in cooperation with Professor Dr. Ingo Weller of the Institute of Human Capital Management at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. Deutsche Post DHL scored particularly high regarding information about training positions, the age structure of the company’s workforce, women in the company, the employee survey, talent management, recruitment, the Global Compact and the Global Reporting Initiative.

“Transparency in human-resources policies polishes a company’s image and creates trust – among employees, customers and potential applicants,” Scheurle says. “As a result, diversity and transparency are the prerequisite for successful human-resources policies and contribute significantly to the company’s long-range development.”Deutsche Post DHL also set standards regarding its employees’ health: For the second consecutive year, the company has received the Corporate Health Award 2011 in the category of transport/logistics. The award was presented at the beginning of November by the German business newspaper Handelsblatt, TÜV SÜD Life Services and EuPD Research. The award-winning health-management system at Deutsche Post DHL was recognized this year for its model integration of health management into all company processes and company policies.