Interview
“We’re looking for employees who want to keep learning”
Finding skilled workers, promoting diversity and reinforcing good health: these are issues Swiss Post works particularly hard to address. Swiss Post uses its recruitment to ensure that its workforce is diverse, as Head of Human Resources Valérie Schelker explains in this interview.
Valérie Schelker, what is Swiss Post doing to tackle the shortage of skilled workers?
In 2022, we advertised almost 3,800 jobs and, not including apprentices, handled around 62,000 applications. There are around 11,000 to 12,000 new positions that need to be filled by 2026. Our approach is to communicate our “Paint the future yellow” message actively in the labour market, to show that Swiss Post offers a wide range of opportunities across more than 100 different job profiles. We hire people whose potential we believe in, even if they don’t satisfy every aspect of a particular profile. We also invest heavily in basic and advanced training for our employees, with a view to ensuring that they are prepared for the demands of today’s working world.
Employees can develop their careers at Swiss Post.
What was achieved last year in terms of diversity?
We are moving forward step by step. By 2024, all management levels, including all management roles under the CEC, should be composed of at least 30 percent women and 20 percent non-German-speaking staff. The shortlist for management positions must be balanced in relation to gender and national language, and we formulate our job advertisements accordingly. With SmartWork, we have created the framework for time- and location-independent work practices. We are also offering growing numbers of part-time, job-sharing or top-sharing positions – all factors that promote diversity. At present, we already have around 70 pairs of managers in place at Swiss Post who share managerial responsibility.
How does Swiss Post protect and reinforce its employees’ health?
In sorting and delivery, for example, we have created around 500 new jobs in the last two years in order to spread the workload out across more people. Swiss Post offers a wide range of services for occupational health and safety protection. We work to raise awareness of both health and prevention issues, particularly among managers.
What are your priorities for 2023?
We will stay on top of the issues already mentioned. One focus will be the issue of healthy management. After all, leaders can make an enormous difference. This includes the reintegration of people into work processes after an illness or accident.