Targeted protection for employees

Whether it’s protective screens in branches, hygiene procedures at PostBus or team planning to cover those in quarantine: ensuring universal service provision during the lockdown and second wave was a remarkable achievement – and top priority was always given to protecting employees.

No matter if they were working at the counter, in delivery, in sorting, in passenger transport or from home: modified procedures and protective measures have required a huge effort from Swiss Post employees since March 2020. Many stepped in to do extra shifts because their colleagues were looking after children at home, belonged to at-risk groups or had fallen ill. Others temporarily performed different jobs. “At the beginning of the crisis, it was challenging to find solutions to the barrage of new questions about how to protect our teams,” remarked Philip Pätzold, Head of Delivery at PostMail. “These challenges included distributing the workload.” There was much more to do in parcel delivery, but much less in event organization. Swiss Post quickly set up a jobs site, which was also relaunched during the second wave. This meant that around 100 employees from various units were able to support their colleagues, mainly in acceptance, sorting and delivery.

Physical protection and new procedures

Specially developed solutions were required to protect staff: in the letter centers, Plexiglas screens were installed between consignment preparation workplaces that face each other. Protective screens were fitted at branches with open counters, and floor markings were introduced at all branches. In total, 54,000 litres of disinfectant were distributed between the start of the COVID‑19 pandemic and the end of the year. 

Fulfilling the universal service obligation and protecting employees proved a delicate balancing act.

Delivery personnel practised social distancing and signed for registered items on their hand scanners themselves in the presence of recipients. Procedures were reorganized in parcel post: delivery vans had to be loaded by only one person due to distancing rules. Bulky items that were required to be carried by two people were no longer delivered in pairs. As a precautionary measure owing to quarantine cases, many teams in Operations were also split.

PostBus also had to restructure its processes: as well as extensive changes to the timetable on all 900 routes, new hygiene measures had to be implemented. To protect drivers, the door at the front of the bus was kept closed and the first row of seats blocked off. And, as all customer zones were closed, PostFinance provided consultations by phone or live support via e-finance and the website.

Sustainable Development Goals