An international, inclusive, flexible, results-oriented family—that’s how Deutsche Post DHL Group employees describe the German-based logistics company. The leadership mandate—Respect & Results—was a unifying theme that rang loud and clear during our 2019 Catalyst Award review of the organization’s Women in Management initiative.
The initiative is rooted in company-wide research that focused on identifying the main barriers to women’s advancement into management. Based on a global employee survey and employee focus group findings, leaders identified four pillars focused on culture and mindset, flexible work arrangements, women’s career support, and monitoring. From those, robust programming was developed, including regional efforts, all of which prioritize diversity across all dimensions of difference, including gender and nationality.
Highlights of the initiative include:
- Certified training focused on technical and leadership modules to reinforce a culture of consistent values and principles across the company’s divisions.
- Regionally customizable celebratory diversity and inclusion events and activities, including Global Diversity Week (local celebrations and videos), a Diversity Escape Room Toolkit (an entertaining format to showcase diversity’s value in the workplace), Diversity and Inclusion eLearning, Global Women in Management conferences, and internal social media platforms that enable employees to transparently discuss diversity topics and informally share best practices.
- Talent management systems, including the Employee Development Review (EDR) process in which leaders and managers discuss talent and identify future employee growth opportunities with a strong emphasis on high-potential women to ensure a strong pipeline of women talent.
- Flexible work arrangements for women and men, regardless of location, and a flexible mindset that is focused on results—not face time.
- Data monitoring, including an interactive Diversity Dashboard that utilizes leading-edge technology to provide “at a glance” metrics on gender, race/ethnicity, age, and expertise across 26 countries to closely monitor progress.
Since Women in Management launched in 2011, the share of women in management positions increased by nearly 4 percentage points, with 21.5% women managers as of 2017. Also, women comprised 40% of the company’s Supervisory Board as of the end of 2017, up from 35% in 2014 and exceeding the legal requirement in Germany.
About Deutsche Post DHL Group
Deutsche Post DHL Group is the world’s leading mail and logistics company. The Group connects people and markets and is an enabler of global trade. It aspires to be the first choice for customers, employees, and investors worldwide. The Group contributes to the world through responsible business practices, corporate citizenship, and environmental activities. By the year 2050, Deutsche Post DHL Group aims to achieve zero emissions logistics.
Deutsche Post DHL Group is home to two strong brands: Deutsche Post is Europe’s leading postal service provider. DHL offers a comprehensive range of international express, freight transport, and supply chain management services, as well as e-commerce logistics solutions. Deutsche Post DHL Group employs approximately 520,000 people in over 220 countries and territories worldwide. The Group generated revenues of more than 60 billion Euros in 2017.
Die Post für Deutschland. The logistics company for the world.