How DHL dealt with the corona crisis

How did the international transportation company DHL deal with the coronavirus crisis? We asked Thomas Erni, HR Director at DHL Switzerland, how the crisis affected and continues to affect them, what measures they have taken, what their next steps are and what tips they can give other companies.

Great place to work: How is the corona crisis affecting you?

Thomas: As a reliable delivery company, the coronavirus crisis is naturally having a major impact on us. We want to deliver reliably to our customers while maintaining our high quality standards. But in the transport business, constant contact between people is essential. We were therefore forced to act quickly and adapt our external and internal processes to the current circumstances and FOPH regulations as quickly as possible - in order to protect the health of our employees and customers at all times.

Great Place To Work: What measures have you already taken to protect employees from the coronavirus?

Thomas: We had to react very quickly and proactively - which also included transparent communication with our employees. People who belong to the risk group were sent home immediately and informed directly that they would receive their full salary until further notice (although this had not yet been clearly defined by the FOPH). Employees who are able to work from home were sent to the home office a week before the federal government issued its instructions. Employees who are unable to do their job from home - around two-thirds of our employees - continue to do their work subject to clear protective measures.

"The risk of infection can only be stopped as a functioning community in which everyone adheres to the new rules."

Thomas Erni, HR Director of DHL Switzerland

Great Place To WorkWhat are your next steps?

Thomas: First of all, I would like to thank all our employees who continue to come to work every day and remain fully committed to their job under difficult conditions, thereby ensuring that we can deliver all consignments on time. For us, only a considered and gradual reduction of staff from the home office is an option, as the protection of our employees and customers is our top priority. To ensure a safe process, we strictly adhere to the guidelines and recommendations of SUVA, SECO and the FOPH. Based on this, we have drawn up an internal guideline that is communicated transparently and in detail to all locations. We do not see a complete repatriation of staff as realistic and feasible until June 8, 2020. We do not want to take any risks at this point by bringing our employees back into the business too quickly, because it is our responsibility to take care of our employees and protect them from COVID-19 in the best possible way.

Great Place To WorkWhat tips can you derive from your experience and give to other companies?

Thomas: Above all, proactive and forward-looking action and communication is highly recommended - to sensitize everyone involved with our company, whether employees, customers or suppliers, to the issue. After all, the risk of infection can only be stopped as a functioning community in which everyone adheres to the new rules of the game. Here in Switzerland, we have once again felt the benefits of a global company during this crisis. Countries such as Italy, which were affected by the coronavirus crisis much earlier, shared their internally developed guidelines and standards with us and other DHL countries in a timely manner. As a result, we were prepared quickly and at an early stage and were able to react proactively to the crisis much faster than other companies.

DHL has implemented the following measures:

• Home office for all office staff
• Transparent communication and weekly updates to all employees (since the end of February)
• Installation of partitions and art glass at our DHL ServicePoint and the instruction that only one customer may be at the counter at a time.
• Floor markings to ensure a minimum distance of two meters between employees during sorting, loading and unloading, etc.
• Marked buffer zones have been set up between sorting and loading
• Contactless delivery with compliance with the 2 meter distance requirement and with delivery confirmation without signature for private recipients.
• Cash on delivery deliveries are temporarily suspended and customs duties are collected by invoice and not by cash collection.
• Tables and chairs in the cafeterias have been removed and a maximum of two people may be in the room at the same time, taking into account the corresponding floor markings.
• Equipment and devices such as scanners are disinfected several times a day.

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