Interview with Yves-André Jeandupeux

“Our employees are motivated and productive”

Swiss Post is successful when its employees are motivated to put the corporate strategy to practical use in their daily work. That requires a progressive human resources policy and an appreciative corporate culture.

Mr Jeandupeux, what are the thrusts of Swiss Post's human resources strategy?

We are strengthening our employees' performance and market-oriented activities with needs-based, socially responsible and industry-specific employment conditions. This directly supports the Group's strategy and ensures Swiss Post's competitiveness. We have approximately 62,000 employees from more than 140 countries in more than 100 different occupations, and they help keep our company on a successful path.

How does HR promote motivation and productivity among employees?

With the HR strategy, we provide the framework that allows employees to feel comfortable at their workplace, because motivation cannot be prescribed. We take a positive view of human nature, focus on appreciation and exemplary employment conditions, and provide employees with opportunities for development. Our management is continually expanding its leadership skills, leading on the principles of confidence in other people, responsibility and flexibility. This means for example providing constructive feedback, or being able to inspire a team to be enthusiastic about change.

How do you measure the commitment of Swiss Post's employees?

We use our employee satisfaction survey each year to measure how our employees feel, how satisfied they are with their working environment, and whether they have understood the strategy and have confidence in the leadership. The high response rate of almost 80 percent shows that employees appreciate the opportunity to contribute their opinion. Employees are very happy working for Swiss Post, rating their commitment at 82 out of a possible 100 points. Another indicator is the annual customer satisfaction survey, which shows the extent to which our employees are appreciated by the public as ambassadors of Swiss Post. Both surveys give us a good picture of the exact areas where there is potential for improvement.

The HR strategy encourages market-oriented activity. What does that mean exactly?

Market orientation is about keeping productivity high, being open and helping to shape change with a focus on the customer. Our employees are 45 years old on average, and this trend is set to continue. We must therefore ensure that they remain productive and innovative as they get older. In an increasingly digital world, our customers' requirements and habits are changing rapidly. We have to keep pace.

What do you currently see as the biggest challenges for HR at Swiss Post?

In the short term, the successful agreement of a new collective employment contract is certainly an important goal. Another is to recruit the talented people on the labour market we need to implement our strategy. Here, we place great emphasis on diversity. Mixed teams are more innovative and reflect our customers' diversity, and these create unique competitive advantages for us. These factors contribute directly to Swiss Post's competitiveness.