Paris, December 14 2005 - FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. (NYSE:FDX and the world’s largest express transportation company, has just signed the French “Charte de la Diversité dans l’Entreprise” (Corporate Diversity Resolution), expressing its commitment to promote diversity via its social policy and human resources management. The Corporate Diversity Resolution was launched in October 2004 by the Institut Montaigne, and has been signed by 250 major French corporations. Its aim is to encourage companies to reflect the make-up of French society in their workforce, and to incorporate non-discrimination and diversity into their strategy.
Priority to Recruitment of Local Population
FedEx’s French workforce comprises some 2,400 people of 43 different nationalities, and the company is keen to recruit among the local population. Most of the staff working at its European sorting center at Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle live in the neighboring towns and reflect the cultural diversity of the local community.
As a result of its promotion of equal opportunities and diversity in recruitment, FedEx’s staff includes people of various origins and nationalities at every level and in every sector.
Efficient Local Partnerships Supporting the Recruitment of 280 New Employees
FedEx plans to create 280 new jobs in France in 2006, in line with the growth of business at its European hub towards new markets such as Southern Europe, Eastern Europe, India, and Asia.
FedEx hired 333 people in 2005 (and 470 in the second half of 2003 and in 2004), consisting for the most part of goods handlers (247 in 2005), couriers (47), and operations managers (25).
FedEx’s recruitment operations are based on original initiatives : in collaboration with local authorities and job centers close to the Roissy airport, it organizes information and recruitment sessions for job-seekers in these towns. Several operations have been conducted since July 2005, in Goussainville, Domont, Louvres, Gonesse, Sannois, and Aulnay-sous-Bois (in the Val-d’Oise administrative area). During these meetings with the candidates, FedEx presents its activities, the positions to be filled, and the recruitment conditions, and compiles a shortlist of candidates for the jobs on offer. After this initial contact, selected candidates attend an individual interview, and a second interview with their future manager, who gives an opinion for the final decision.
In order to raise its profile among young people and to publicize the job opportunities available in the express transportation industry, FedEx has created a number of partnerships, especially with the school group Promo-trans, the Ecole supérieure de transport de Tremblay-en-France at the University of Paris VIII, the European FNAM Observatory, the HR directors association of the Aéroports de Paris, the Roissy-Porte-de-France resource center, the Roissy-CDG employment organization, and local MEDEF offices (association of French companies).
“FedEx’s express delivery business is very dynamic, and the company is one of the few in the greater Paris area with such a strong recruitment record in the last three years. 98% of new jobs are permanent contracts and the career prospects offered by a group of this kind are very interesting. In addition to this, the night work required in our business offers an attractive salary,” says Dominique van den Peereboom, Human Resources Director at FedEx France. “On another scale, because it aims to attract companies with express delivery needs to its European hub at Roissy, FedEx wants to help turn Roissy-CDG into the major European multimodal logistics platform in the next few years. With the arrival of new companies, Roissy-CDG could create thousands of jobs for low-skilled workers, which would directly benefit the young population in the Paris suburban areas of Seine Saint Denis and Val d’Oise,” he adds.
Training, Personal Development, and Internal Promotion at the Heart of the Active Professional Equality Policy
FedEx attaches great importance to training and to the development of its staff. It reserves absolute priority for internal promotion and the development of people’s careers.
- FedEx’s training scheme covers the DIF (French individual right to training) and stands at around three times the legal minimum of 0.9% of the total payroll.
- In addition to legal and operational training programs, FedEx offers to pay for up to €2,500-worth of studies a year for all staff. Employees may decide to continue or resume their education and training to boost their skills or to develop new ones. Many opt to learn a new language, for example.
- Before recruiting externally, FedEx systematically tries to promote its current staff, and it fills 80% of vacancies with internal promotion. In 2005, around 130 people were promoted.
- Stable personnel—only 61 resignations in 2005, compared to an average headcount around 2,400, i.e. 2.7%
- To discuss HR issues that are important to them, staff have permanent access to the HR team, even at night at the hub (seven HR staff support night operations).
- In 2004 and 2005, FedEx was ranked among the twenty leading companies as a “great place to work” (survey by the European Great Place to Work Institute).
Increasing Worker Mobility and Improving the Quality of Life in the Local Community
For three years running, FedEx France has donated €40,000 to the Papa Charlie organization, which helps workers with small salaries employed at the Roissy and Orly airports to travel to work (often at night, when there is no public transport) using low-cost rental cars. This initiative has been extremely successful. Nine FedEx staff, for example, currently use the Papa Charlie services, and other applications are being processed.
FedEx in France - Key figures
- 2,400 employee in France, including 98% permanent contracts
- In the six years since its opening in 1999, the Roissy-CDG hub has posted growth of 60% in headcount, and currently employs 1,600 people:
o 470 recruitments between mid-2003 and end 2004
o 2005: 333 recruitments
o 2006: 280 recruitments estimated
- 600 jobs in ten local agencies (Gennevilliers, Aubervilliers, Saint-Ouen, Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Toulouse, Rouen, Annecy, and Grenoble)
- 60% of new recruits are under 25
- Average age: 32
- A culturally rich community, with 43 nationalities represented
- Training scheme: the budget set aside for our training scheme stands at around three times the legal minimum of 0.9% of the payroll; additional scholarship of €2,500 per employee per year
- 80% of vacancies filled by internal promotion.
About FedEx Express
FedEx Express is the world’s largest express transportation company, providing fast and reliable delivery to every U.S. address and to more than 220 countries and territories. FedEx Express uses a global air-and-ground network to speed delivery of time-sensitive shipments, usually in one to three business days with the delivery time guaranteed.
About FedEx Corp. FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) provides customers and businesses worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services. With annual revenues of $30 billion, the company offers integrated business applications through operating companies competing collectively and managed collaboratively, under the respected FedEx brands. Consistently ranked among the world’s most admired and trusted employers, FedEx inspires its more than 250,000 employees and contractors to remain “absolutely, positively” focused on safety, the highest ethical and professional standards and the needs of their customers and communities. For more information, go here.