Cargus: a business model that goes beyond delivery services

Cargus focuses its HR strategy on multidisciplinary knowledge, as this approach makes professionals better prepared for future challenges.

Zoe Dobre, Chief People

and Culture

Officer

at Cargus, highlights the main HR initiatives that stood behind the company’s success last year.

By Anda Sebesi

How would you describe your HR policy?

2023 is an important year for Cargus, a year of business consolidation with many bold steps ahead, but also a year when we’re starting to enhance our efforts regarding HR policies and projects. Our focus now and in the years to come will be on several important pillars: increasing employee engagement, consolidating performance and talent management actions, redefining our employee learning journey, and digitalization. Our main goal is to add an important layer to the Cargus company brand and transform it from a traditional courier firm into a learning experience player. From a more practical angle, our efforts this year will be directed towards things like implementing an employee engagement survey, developing training programmes to enhance customer experience and project management skills throughout all relevant departments, launching two programmes for functional growth and technical know-how—the Operations and Sales Academy—, and the digitalization and optimisation of HR processes.

What were the main initiatives the company dedicated to its employees last year?

The last three years were challenging for us and for the entire industry: we faced the pandemic which affected us not just business-wise but also on a personal level, the gas price increases, and inflation. On top of all that, we also faced challenges that were specific to our industry. As such, our efforts were directed towards increasing the number of couriers and consolidating our team with new talent that was suited for future developments: IT, operations and logistics, local and international sales. We will continue to invest in new talent and skill development, not just because our growth depends on it, but also because we believe in continuous education and learning and we have a responsibility to invest in the overall development of the labour market.

What is your strategy in terms of attracting and retaining talent?

Cargus is more than a courier, and we’ve shown that over the past 3-5 years. We don’t just take a parcel from A to B; we create a complex operational and digital ecosystem that offers customers and consumers the best experience. First, we are a digital and technological innovator: we’ve invested in consumer apps and digital solutions (Cargus Mobile, Pay by Link, Pin on Glass), but also in technologies that can make the delivery process more efficient. Second, our delivery ecosystem is a modern one: we complete the door-to-door option with the out-of-home one—a strategic pillar in which we will continue to invest. Third, we’ve made significant progress in taking our business across Romanian borders and this will become an important revenue stream for us. In short, Cargus is an attractive employer with many career options for professionals. We often work in an integrated manner, so we provide plenty of learning opportunities for our colleagues. We are a stable company with a healthy growth mindset, and this is why we have many colleagues who have been working here for 25 years and we have couriers who have grown to be station managers and team leaders. My focus as a Chief People and Culture Officer has two dimensions: maintenance (all the actionables deriving from employee surveys) and long-term focus (building and transforming Cargus into a learning experience company).