Logistics company DHL has started a community initiative in the UK that
allows its employees to share their expertise and skills with partner
charities.
The Skills in Motion programme is going ahead after a
successful pilot with the children’s disability charity Whizz-Kidz,
which has a two-year partnership with DHL.
Staff from both
organizations held three monthly meetings during the pilot to share
ideas and then began work together on four projects ranging from
improving the charity’s customer services practices to establishing the
training needs of staff at the charity’s new mobility centre in
Birmingham.
Evaluation of the pilot by the Maplecroft consultancy found the
scheme brought significant improvements in teamwork, planning and
organizational skills at Whizz-Kidz.
In turn, DHL staff learnt
new management and organizational skills from the charity and had their
work formally recognized through a performance and appraisal system.
DHL,
which has also partnered with a children’s disability group in Ireland,
will continue its skills sharing programme with Whizz-Kidz and is now
seeking other participants. Allison Murray, corporate responsibility
manager for DHL UK, said the project had needed months of careful
planning to work effectively, but had ‘taken off’ thanks to the
employees’ enthusiasm.
‘It’s been very rewarding to see Whizz-Kidz
projects benefit and to see the long-term skills and friendships that
have been developed as a result,’ she added.
DHL, which is owned by Deutsche Post World Net, employs 18,000 people in the UK.
