Second time, good time: after the silver medal during the 2024 edition, PostNL Belgium left the competition behind this year as the winner of the ‘Logistics Employer of the Year’ award. The company took the victory with the new brand story that has been rewritten since the second half of 2023. “For our new Employer Branding, we consciously opted for a bottom-up approach,” says Koen Kempenaers, HR Director at PostNL Belgium. “For example, we created a brand story in which everyone in the company recognizes.”
In the autumn of 2023, PostNL Belgium decided to review its existing brand story. The reason? Since 2020, various factors have provided a solid transformation of the organization. Among other things, strong growth during the corona years, with the opening of two new high-tech sorting centers in ’22 and ’23, the annual increase in e-commerce and the negative media attention in 2021 and 2022, after raids by the labor inspection at various branches and allegations of illegal employment and black work. In September 2024, PostNL was acquitted for this on the entire line.
As a result, the time was more than ripe to reflect on who PostNL Belgium was really as an employer. “That story had to start from what people feel and experience in the workplace,” says K. Kempenaers. “No imposed narrative, but a shared identity that is supported by all colleagues.”
The ‘Employee Value Proposition’ or EVP of this brand story was therefore determined by the employees themselves. K. Kempenaers: “The EVP is what PostNL has to offer its employees in exchange for their work, knowledge, experience and commitment. It goes beyond wages and employment conditions. It is about our culture, identity and values. With our EPP we want to tell potential employees why they should opt for PostNL as an employer. And more importantly: with the brand story we motivate our owners.”
Employees of PostNL Belgium themselves play the leading role in a strong employer branding video.
‘Mixed methods’ research
To create this new brand story, PostNL Belgium opted for a ‘mixed methods’ research in which employees were questioned both in a qualitative and quantitative way. That happened in six focus groups, geographically distributed, with seven employees each. “Within the focus group we provided correct segmentation. In addition to location, we also varied in seniority, status, job title, gender, age, culture, nationality and language. This way we received a correct reflection of the PostNL organization, which is characterized by its diversity.”
A number of important ‘highlights’ emerged from the focus groups:
- At PostNL Belgium there is a human approach (‘people first principle’) which makes them proud of the company.
- PostNL pays a lot of attention for diversity and inclusion. No discrimination based on gender, race, faith or orientation. Everyone is welcome and is treated in the same way.
- Despite the strong growth of PostNL, the family character in the company dominates. Employees feel a strong connection in their location.
- At PostNL the emphasis is on showing ambition and perseverance, regardless of your background or diploma. You get opportunities, but you have to grab them yourself.
- At PostNL you will find employees who help each other, are stress resistant, dare to take the initiative, have a hands-on mentality and be accurate. It’s all about collaboration, trust and joint striving for success.
Four key words
At the same time there was also a workshop with the management, set up by the independent external agency Tomorrow.be, which ensured neutral guidance. The input from these sessions was enriched with insights from the half -yearly ‘involvement monitor’ and a thorough competition analysis of the Employer Branding of other logistics players. Together this resulted in a SWOT analysis of the employer brand and a clearly formulated ‘Employee Value Proposition’, built around four key words: growth, family, freedom and humanity.
These four values have since been the coat rack of the new brand story. “They reflect how employees experience PostNL: as an organization where you get opportunities, everyone counts and cooperation and inclusion are central.” The message: everyone makes the difference, from sorting to manager.
It is striking that the brand story was not only worked out textually, but also visually and audiovisual. Among other things thanks to a new job site, in which the values of PostNL come to life through a strong employer branding video and photography. No models, but PostNL employees themselves play the leading role.
Better retention figures
Involving employees in the creation of the brand story certainly had a positive influence on the figures of involvement and enthusiasm, measured in the ‘involvement monitor’. With 79% in October 2024, it was 2% higher than with the measurement in April 2024. “Our retention figures also improved. Thanks to our employees, we knew what our EPP is and we were able to do actions, such as events and training courses that support these values. The retention rate increased to 88% in 2024, 8% higher than two years before.” In 2024, more than 210 courses were also followed and 7% of the employees grew to a new position.
PostNL packages Belgium
PostNL Packages Belgium is part of the Dutch parent company PostNL, which has been around for 225 years.
- 482 employees and 175 interim contracts
- 1500 delivery people
- 1200 PostNL points
- 196.22 million euros in turnover in 2024
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6rjopeqzqy
