TNT Brandbook by Mattmo

orange on the inside our tnt story of everyday heroes

This book is dedicated to all TNT employees, past and present, who have helped to make TNT into a great company, and to those employees of the future who will continue to build on the hard work of their predecessors.

List of contents introduction Orange on the inside • everyday heroes • Mount Kilimanjaro • our book 1

Our identity

Our Standards

Who we are

What WE expect of ourselves

The identity coffee corner • our roots & legacies • global & local • behaviours & personality • Chris Demetriou – ‘about people’

Standards versus values • satisfying customers • be honest, always • challenge & improve • passionate about our people • act as a team • Justin Chou – ‘teamwork’

Identity in a nutshell • one identity • early entrepreneurs

Measure success through sustainable profit • work for the world • integrity comes from within

Our Origins

Our Behaviours

Where we come from

How we act

Ken Thomas • separate companies • Australia & early days • PTT Post stories • separate paths TNT & PTT Post • Theo Admiraal – ‘action-oriented’

How we do things • proactive • trust & teamwork • straight-forward & action-oriented • integrity & accountability • pragmatism & flexibility • Reginaldo Bispo de Matos – ‘can-do’

TNT name • mother of invention • straight talking

Post people behaviours • diversity & inclusion • safeguarding the environment

our Our Competencies Personality What we’re good at

How we see ourselves

Our core competence • attitude • Investors in People • training & development • social & knowledge capital • Anne Kurian – ‘committed’

Our personality development • ordinary people • transforming ordinary people • can-do people • taking it personally • in-touch • Conny van Regenmortel – ‘down-to-earth’

China, training for the future • competencies & a common framework • TNT Masters Award

Let others judge ‘extraordinary’ • heroes & our personality (I) • heroes & our personality (II)

Our Customers

our Services

Whom we serve

What we’re good at

Customers, heart of our business • exceeding expectations • shareholders are customers, too • smart segmentation • customer research • in the front-line • Hanna Rave-Loupatty – ‘in touch’

Many services, one competence • TNT Logistics services • TNT Post services • TNT Express services • strategy & services • Santo Ragalmuto – ‘rely on me’

Listening to Logistics customers • Express acts on feedback • tracking brand health

European coverage • managing complexity • the royal status of our post service

Our Image

Our Company

How we’re perceived

How we manage

The ‘invisible whale’ • our image & personality • leadership & image • image differs by market • reputation and corporate image • image imperfections • Marilyn Crouch – ‘hardworking’

Our house • foundations built on our divisions • a clean house • teamwork is the engine • three paths to growth • engagement & inclusion • Karin Cˇechalová – ‘orange’

Interpreting the circles • TNT is orange • what our logo symbolises

Our mission • our supervisory board • company communication

Our World

Our Future

6 12

What we believe in

What we can expect

Making a difference • world hunger & logistics • managing social responsibility • Moving the World • Asian tsunami • moving hearts & minds • Rick Fijnaut – ‘taking it personally’

Predicting the future • TNT Post • winning battles precedes a vision • our must win battles • TNT Express • TNT Logistics • Beth Williams – ‘energy’

Walk the World • industry leadership in sustainability • innovating for a good cause

Focus & energy • leadership

Introduction

orange on the inside

Everyday heroes

TNT is orange. It is our company colour and we’re very proud of it.

In this book you’ll find 12 stories about TNT’s everyday heroes. All of them – through the way they think, act, go about their work and deliver results – reveal what it means to be “orange on the inside.”

So proud of it, in fact, that we apply orange to everything we own wherever we can. Whether it’s our signs, uniforms, trucks, planes or thousands of other items, you’ll see all of them bearing the warm, vibrant TNT orange. But for us, there is a greater significance to orange than that. It’s not just a visible external colour – it’s more than skin deep. When you peel away the colour, you’ll find we’re orange on the inside, too. Orange has a deep meaning for TNT people. Orange is an idea, a feeling, an attitude and a way of doing things. Orange permeates and energises the whole of our company as it does each one of our 160,000 employees.

There are thousands more like them in TNT, all making a difference every day. They’re ordinary people who through their own endeavours help our company achieve extraordinary results. Each one of them demonstrates our company’s personality. They enable TNT to be different in the way we work, and what makes us unique. They’re ordinary only to the extent that they lead normal lives, making the best of the opportunities that come their way and getting on with their lives. They come from different countries and work in different types of jobs. Yet something special happens when they join TNT. We call it our orange alchemy. We give our people an environment where they can thrive, and confront challenges that bring out the best of their abilities. They can and do achieve extraordinary things for our company. Quite simply, they can-do.

Mount Kilimanjaro We took our everyday heroes to Mount Kilimanjaro to have their photos taken and share their stories for this book. That wonderful mountain sits atop the Great Rift Valley in Tanzania, in the heart of Africa. Kilimanjaro seemed an appropriate backdrop. The photo opportunity is one thing, but the mountain is beautiful and awe-inspiring. Its placid exterior hides the extraordinary energy of volcanic activity that created it 300,000 years ago. Kilimanjaro symbolises TNT in many ways. Scaling a mountain requires a determination to succeed. It demands energy, commitment and a can-do attitude. Then there’s teamwork – reliability and empathy for others. A mountain may be passive, but it creates obstacles and challenges that demand action. Reaching the peak brings its own reward – the satisfaction of a job well done. TNT people climb mountains every day. Not physical mountains perhaps, but intangible mountains. They go out of their way to ensure that a precious package gets delivered on time. They work all day and night to cover for sick colleagues during a flu epidemic. They have a natural ability to inspire their colleagues and customers, even when times are tough. Mount Kilimanjaro is a looming reminder that there’s nothing that cannot be conquered when ordinary people apply extraordinary effort. And the mythical mountain holds more symbolism for TNT. Tanzania is one of the countries where TNT partners with the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) to help feed hungry children. It seemed right to take our people there, to expose them to the greatness of Africa, but also to experience the difficulty it encounters in feeding its people. On the first day of our adventure, our group of everyday heroes got stuck on the side of the mountain in torrential rain. With good humour, they sheltered in a decrepit building next to a village school. During lunch, the students came out to greet the strangers, asking for pens and chocolate bars. It was a real-life reminder that impoverished children have simple needs. Mount Kilimanjaro has at least one other symbolic meaning for TNT. The mountain was created in an explosive fusion of fire, lava and molten rock which resulted in three peaks – Kibo, Mawenzi and Shira – which are now collectively called Kilimanjaro. This convergence is not unlike the melding together of different companies that have formed one company that today is TNT.

OUR BOOK Our book is not only about our heroes. They exemplify who we are, but they don’t tell the whole of our “orange on the inside” story. We’ve also included some information about our company that supports our belief that we’re different. But we invite you to determine that for yourself. Only by taking the journey through the TNT story will you arrive at a deeper understanding of why “orange on the inside” makes a difference to us and because of that, why we make a difference to all our stakeholders. Enjoy the journey.

our identity Who we are

Our Identity in a nutshell Our roots are Australian and Dutch. That makes us entrepreneurial, reliable, decent and democratic. We are global and local, in touch with the world and close to our local communities. Proactivity, flexibility and straight-

forward communication typify our business dealings. Our can-do personality distinguishes us as determined and committed. Our passion for people adds another identity layer, that of a responsible corporate citizen.

o u r I D EN T I T Y

to me TNT is Chris Demetriou: “I’ve never been in an organisation that has so much focus on customers and getting the job done. To me, TNT is about people.” When Chris Demetriou speaks about his work, his customers and TNT, he is controlled, articulate and quick to offer opinions and ideas. He makes a lot of sense. As he continues to fire off numbers – revenues, budgets and growth targets – he almost seems dispassionate. But that’s the exact opposite of what he really is. The more Chris talks, the more you detect an undercurrent of emotional and intellectual magma, a red-hot loyalty and dedication to what’s important to him. He’s actually a very passionate man. He readily admits to his passionate nature, but he’s not the only one to see it, or experience it. “Recently I did a 360° survey with my colleagues. They feel I’m one of the most passionate people in the business, totally dedicated to the customer. Maybe at times I’m a little headstrong, but they frequently use the word ‘passionate’. Which is exactly what I am.”

Chris is director of business development for TNT Logistics Australia. He develops the commercial side of the business as well as logistics solutions for customers, while also occupying the role of account director for a number of major contracts that include Mitsubishi Motors, GM Holden, Michelin and Air International. Recently the business has been extending its reach by targeting and gaining a foothold in the telecommunications and pharmaceuticals industries. He is patently a busy person, as befits somebody whose work ethic is to commit all of his time, energy and enthusiasm to TNT and his customers. He talks with pride about the achievements of his business unit, but his recurrent theme is people. “I’ve never been in an organisation that has so much focus on customers and getting the job done. It really comes down to people working together and resolving the issues. To me, TNT is about people.” Chris has the maturity to recognise his own strengths and weaknesses and is not afraid to speak openly about them. In that spirit of openness, he makes no secret of his ambition to head the Australia business one day. “I’ve fulfilled all my career expectations with TNT except that one, I guess.”

o u r I D EN T I T Y

Chris speaks from the vantage point of an “old pro” who has accumulated priceless experience in the automotive and service support industries. He started his career with Ford Motor Company, moved on to Nissan, then to Brambles, the services group. In May 1996, he joined TNT and has not looked back. He hasn’t really had much time to. His years in the automotive sector have proved a valuable asset for TNT. No better example of that was when – two weeks after getting married in February 2005 – he left home for six months. Chris’s premature departure from his home in Melbourne to work 800 kilometers away in Adelaide had nothing to do with his new wife and everything to do with rescuing a parts logistics contract TNT was managing for a major automotive customer. He was account director on the contract and he sensed the project was not quite right when he was asked to attend a meeting with one of the customer’s executives, who was less than satisfied. Chris told his boss he wanted to sort the problems out. “I actually put my job on the line. I told my managing director that if I couldn’t fix the problems, I’d leave TNT.”

It was a brave commitment, and not without its risks. But Chris had faith that he could turn the situation around, and he was passionate about retaining the business. “We’d worked many years to get that contract and to lose it was just unacceptable.” For him, failure was not an option. He stationed himself at the customer’s automotive plant, and sat in an open office with the local TNT team. Gestures like removing his tie and wearing casual clothes signaled that he meant business and that he was no different than anyone else working at the plant. He was one of them, part of a team, and ready to get his hands dirty despite his seniority. Gradually, as the months wore on and improvements began to feed through making positive impacts to the operation, the customer’s confidence and esteem for TNT was restored. “It was like steering the ship one degree to the right and half a degree to the left, and the problem went away,” he says. Chris makes the story sound simple. Of course, it was not quite so easy. He and the team worked hard to solve the problems. Many nights he did not get to bed until 2 a.m. “I’m resilient,” he says. “I don’t want to back off from

problems. At times, I’m stubborn. But the whole experience taught me to be a little bit more humble. It just gave me an appreciation of how difficult it can get at times when you’re serving customers.” To cap it all, six months after Chris put his job on the line, the customer’s new car model – the Mitsubishi 380 – was officially unveiled at a major press launch in Adelaide. TNT had its own hospitality marquee for VIPs, including journalists and government officials. Coincidentally, the TNT part of the launch event was organised by Chris’s wife, Robyn, whom he had left at home the previous February. She happens to be the marketing and communications manager for TNT Logistics Australia. It’s no exaggeration to say that Chris pours not only his heart, mind and soul into his work, but his whole being. It has meant making tremendous personal sacrifices along the way, which is the mark of a truly passionate man dedicated to his company and customers. “I think that if we ever stop being passionate, we’ve lost it,” says Chris.

p toabout me TNT is Chris Demetriou: “I’ve never been in an organisation that has so much focus on customers and getting the job done. To me, TNT is about people.” When Chris Demetriou speaks about his work, his customers and TNT, he is controlled, articulate and quick to offer opinions and ideas. He makes a lot of sense. As he continues to fire off numbers – revenues, budgets and growth targets – he almost seems dispassionate. But that’s the exact opposite of what he really is. The more Chris talks, the more you detect an undercurrent of emotional and intellectual magma, a red-hot loyalty and dedication to what’s important to him. He’s actually a very passionate man. He readily admits to his passionate nature, but he’s not the only one to see it, or experience it. “Recently I did a 360° survey with my colleagues. They feel I’m one of the most passionate people in the business, totally dedicated to the customer. Maybe at times I’m a little headstrong, but they frequently use the word ‘passionate’. Which is exactly what I am.”

people o u r I D EN T I T Y

o u r I D EN T I T Y

Only one identity TNT has one company identity. Although made up of many influences – legacy, geography, management and structural approaches, people behaviours and company personality – it is still a singular organisation with just one name: TNT.

Our identity has evolved and matured over a long period, and the evolution will continue. TNT’s identity is unique. There is no other company in the world that has evolved in quite the same way.

Chris Demetriou Proud father balancing work and life Chris Demetriou was born in Cyprus in 1955, but seven years later his family emigrated to Australia. Chris has embraced the antipodean culture and lifestyle and speaks with a distinctive Australian accent. He has two sons and when he speaks about them, his eyes smile with deep paternal pride. His 22-year-old son Andrew will soon study business management at Oxford University and Peter, his younger son, is also at university earning a marketing degree. Chris shrugs off any notion that his work-life balance is slightly lop-sided in favour of work. “Apart from the last six months, I feel I have a balanced life.” Then he adds a small caveat. “But when it comes to business, that’s number one.” At home, Chris and Robyn enjoy their time together walking on the nearby beach, fixing up their house and dining out. It’s not difficult to see that, just as Chris is passionate about TNT, the company is also passionate about him. When Chris and Robyn married at the idyllic beachside resort of Hamilton Island, the entire TNT Logistics Australia senior management team turned up to witness the wedding and still made time for business. Two days before the ceremony, he was locked away in a conference room with other TNT executives. A shared passion indeed.

TNT’s early entrepreneurs The appetite for growth during the early Australian years with varying degrees of risk in a bid to make TNT a worldreflected the dynamic personalities who ran TNT at the wide transportation industry leader. time. They were entrepreneurs with a cavalier, pioneering and ‘gung-ho’ spirit, seizing upon business opportunities

o u r I D EN T I T Y

Our identity has evolved and matured over a long period, and the evolution will continue. TNT’s identity is unique. There is no other company in the world that has evolved in quite the same way.

o u r I D EN T I T Y

Behaviours and personality As you stood at the coffee corner, you noticed that members of the TNT group exhibited similar behaviours and that their conversation made references to certain personality traits. While global and local are manifestations of the TNT identity, our behaviours and personality are its tangible expression: they can be seen, felt and heard every day at TNT. Behaviours and personality offer clues to the types of people who collectively make up our identity. They also hint at our joint Australian/Dutch ancestry. Flexibility, proactivity, pragmatism and teamwork epitomise TNT behaviours. Our personality is grounded in a can-do mentality traceable to both the pioneering days in Australia when difficult obstacles had to be overcome, and to our postal history when people had no other option

but to get things done to meet their public remit. Whether driving across dusty, sun-parched dirt tracks in the Australian outback, or trudging through knee-deep snow during a Dutch winter, TNT people have always been can-do. These genetic traits have influenced us in other ways. We are open, down-to-earth, straight-talking people. That helps others to trust us, and it reinforces our own integrity because we canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be any of these things without simple honesty and decency. Can-do means we are action-oriented, determined, committed and have the will to succeed. It calls on our people to dig deep, tapping into reserves of mental and physical energy. Can-do makes us passionate people, intensely enthusiastic about our business, our customers and the issues facing society and the world. This spills over into making TNT passionate about people, too, and shows itself in the way TNT cares about other people, respecting their dignity, differences, beliefs and principles. All these traits have made us look beyond commercial interests, knowing that we have a social responsibility to the wider world, to disadvantaged people and to our environment. We are in touch with, and responsive to, our world. Global and local merge with our personality traits to add corporate citizen to our identity. Move the hologram once more, and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll see that we are ordinary people who want to do well by doing good.

our ORIGINs Where we come from

The TNT name and dynamite When first established in 1946 the company was called K.W. Thomas Transport. It changed to Thomas Nationwide Transport in 1958 just after the Australian government objected to Thomas National Transport, believing

‘national’ implied it was a government-owned company. The first trucks to appear on Australian roads with the abbreviation ‘TNT’ caused a lot of anxiety as road-users thought the trucks were carrying high explosives!

our origins

we are Theo Admiraal: “People trust me. If I make promises, I make sure I keep them. If I don’t, I’ll lose all personal credibility.” If Theo Admiraal had been a cowboy living in the old Wild West of America, he would most likely have been one of its fastest gunslingers. Shooting with deadly accuracy, he is not the least bit afraid to confront a problem head-on and blow the top off it. Theo doesn’t think in terms of problems, only solutions. He has gained a reputation for being a troubleshooter. He enjoys nothing more than gunning for problems and eliminating them. Theo is a straight talker with a downto-earth attitude about his work. Theo has a reputation for moving rapidly and constantly in thought, word and deed, even at the most basic level. He jumps up in meetings or presentations, struts up and down like a flamingo, and makes lots of jokes as he gives his opinion while thinking deeply about what needs to be done to get TNT over a particular obstacle. His mental energy and the neurons firing in his brain as they seek an

out-of-the-box solution animate Theo’s body and soul. “I can never sit still in my chair for longer than five minutes,” he says. He is mentally and physically hyperactive. Not long ago, Theo brought all these qualities – and more – to a major problem, or in Theo’s terms ‘a solutionto-be-developed.’ As senior project manager, Theo had been working with his team for three years to introduce a SAP system with worldwide implications for TNT Express operations. His business unit was the pilot entity for the new system that would change the entire back-office, improving cost control and speeding debt payments. In May 2004, they were two weeks away from going live with the new system. They had almost completed the training across the Benelux. Suddenly, they were confronted with top-down strategic changes which would impact SAP business requirements. It was late Monday afternoon on 10 May 2004 in Houten, the Netherlands, where Theo is based. Theo met with his boss, Rob van den Helder, to consider the implications. Reluctantly, they agreed to postpone the pilot launch. By then, almost 200 people had been trained. They were motivated and were expecting the launch within

our origins

14 days. “That was a tough decision to stop implementation. It felt bad. It was difficult because everybody in the business unit was eager to go,” says Theo. Theo didn’t dwell long on what could have been. He’s a positive thinker. “I look back only to learn from experiences and even then, I never reflect for longer than a few minutes. Today and the future is all what counts. I never blame or point fingers.” That evening as Theo set off for home, he thought about how he should manage the new situation with his team. His first thoughts were to ensure that his team and those who had been trained were kept motivated and engaged. Theo needed to keep people involved in the project and secure the knowledge they’d acquired. “Of course everyone was de-motivated and disappointed. We had to get everybody back in the right frame of mind,” says Theo. He achieved his objective because people trust him. He has integrity. “As long as you are honest, people can believe in you.” For the rest of that month, Theo and his team conducted road shows all over the Benelux, visiting every depot to explain what had happened and how they needed to move on. “I worked extra hard to create the right

commitment and get everyone to say, ‘Yes, OK, this is what will happen and we’ll go for it.’” Nine months later Theo fulfilled the promises he made when the re-engineered SAP system was successfully launched. Since then, it’s been implemented across the global TNT Express division. Theo joined XP Express Parcel Systems in 1978, which was later taken over by TNT. He has had various projectrelated roles in the TNT corporate head office and more recently with TNT Benelux organisation. In those 27 years, Theo has built a network of people in TNT that helps him get things done. “My network is a very big asset,” he says. Theo’s projects cross departmental lines and traverse TNT’s business, so he has developed communication skills. He operates with ease between management and employees. He doesn’t have too much respect for lines, borders, hierarchies, or negative people, for that matter. Theo likes to lighten serious discussions with a joke or two. “I can say something a bit humorous just to break the ice, just to get people working with me.” Theo has established a reputation as a project manager who rolls up his sleeves and gets things done. He is the archetypal can-do TNT manager, and people respect him

for his honesty. “People trust me. If I make promises, I make sure I keep them. If I don’t, I’ll lose all personal credibility.” It’s not unheard of for Theo to suddenly rush out of a meeting or simply not turn up because of his great passion for bird watching. If a rare bird is sighted in the Benelux region, Theo will be there peering intently through his binoculars to record it. His managers and colleagues indulge his passion, knowing that Theo will always get the job done. Interestingly, he compares the need for speed in recognising birds to that he needs in his job. “If I see a bird, I need to take a decision in a split second about what kind of bird it is. That’s the same with TNT because things happen in a split second and you need to take a decision. I will never say I’ll come back to you in a week, because a week is too long.”

actio orien we are Theo Admiraal: “People trust me. If I make promises, I make sure I keep them. If I don’t, I’ll lose all personal credibility.” If Theo Admiraal had been a cowboy living in the old Wild West of America, he would most likely have been one of its fastest gunslingers. Shooting with deadly accuracy, he is not the least bit afraid to confront a problem head-on and blow the top off it. Theo doesn’t think in terms of problems, only solutions. He has gained a reputation for being a troubleshooter. He enjoys nothing more than gunning for problems and eliminating them. Theo is a straight talker with a downto-earth attitude about his work. Theo has a reputation for moving rapidly and constantly in thought, word and deed, even at the most basic level. He jumps up in meetings or presentations, struts up and down like a flamingo, and makes lots of jokes as he gives his opinion while thinking deeply about what needs to be done to get TNT over a particular obstacle. His mental energy and the neurons firing in his brain as they seek an

onnted our origins

our origins

Necessity, the mother of invention Long before TNT Post embarked upon its far-reaching cost flexibility programme in the 1990s to reduce costs and increase productivity, the Dutch postal service had a history of introducing new technology. The early 1930s

witnessed the introduction of sorting machines. In the 1980s, optical character recognition was adopted speeding up automated reading of addresses, the forerunner of rapid pattern and character recognition used today.

Theo Admiraal Father and birdwatcher At work, Theo Admiraal can’t sit still for five minutes. But he is passionate about his bird watching hobby, where he has no other choice but to wait patiently and quietly without unnecessary muscle movement. “Bird watching gives me a good balance, I suppose,” he says. In pursuit of his hobby, Theo spends a great deal of his leisure time chasing around northern Europe to catch sight of rare birds. With fellow “twitchers,” he has also travelled further afield and visited Thailand, Israel and South Africa. Between work and bird watching, Theo makes time for his family, who live on the coast in Castricum, north of Amsterdam. He has been married to his wife Janet for 27 years and they have three sons age 13, 19 and 21. “We gave away the girls,” he jokes. Theo is currently treasurer of the Dutch Birding Association. He’s also been treasurer for four or five clubs in the past and is currently treasurer for his youngest son’s water polo club. “It gives me the right to complain if I volunteer. I don’t have a lot of time for people who do nothing but just moan about this or that.”

Straight talking and honest Ken Thomas was a straight-talker who expressed himself clearly, even on paper. Almost 20 years after he established TNT, he was still very much in control. When he discovered instances of depots overcharging each other for services,

he wrote a pointed memo to depot managers advising them that if they were in doubt about costs, they should undercharge, and above all they should get rid of â&#x20AC;&#x153;smart bastardry and small mindedness.â&#x20AC;?

> The Fokker F.lVIIa -the Postduif - in 1927 piloting mail to Batavia.

our origins

< Janus Driesprong, a Biesboch postman, during the hard winter of 1963.

> The Fokker F.lVIIa -the Postduif - in 1927 piloting mail to Batavia.

our origins

< Janus Driesprong, a Biesboch postman, during the hard winter of 1963.

Separate < PTT. a combined telephone and post organisation in the 1970s.

> 1930s Postbags show the early international reach of the Dutch postal service.

> Dutch post office automation of the 1930s.

Separate paths â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Australia Founded in 1946 by Ken Thomas, the Australian TNT achieved rapid growth in its home market during the 1950s by expanding road and rail freight services across the country. It developed new overnight express products and services. In 1961, the company went public and was listed on the Australian stock exchange. Following TNTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s growth in Australia and New Zealand, the 1970s and 1980s witnessed global expansion as it reached into new markets to gain a foothold and instant

market share, buying transportation companies in Europe, North America and Brazil. It diversified into transportation businesses ranging from ocean freight to commercial aviation. By the early 1980s, the TNT pioneers had sensed that the centre of gravity in terms of new growth opportunities had shifted from Australia to the European continent. Major acquisitions strengthened its position in the overnight and time-definite express industry. European Community plans to promote free trade by eliminating tariff barriers among member states spurred TNT to purchase a fleet of BAe 146 Quiet Trader aircraft, thus creating the first pan-European overnight express service using a dedicated aircraft fleet. By the start of the 1990s, the TNT group of companies had 70,000 employees. But its bid to become a worldwide player in transportation through rapid acquisition had led it to diversify too quickly, losing focus and overextending into non-core businesses. It faced financial difficulties and sought new sources of investment through financially strong partners.

paths > A pantechnicon loaded with freight in TNTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s early Australian years.

> Ken Thomas, the TNT founder and express trailblazer.

> Mechanical repairs in one of TNT Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s garages during the 1950s.

Separate paths â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Netherlands The origins of the Dutch postal service can be traced back to the mid-18th century, but 1799 marks the date PTT Post became a single national enterprise.

That law was soon followed by a proliferation of post boxes and letter delivery services around the country. Tentative steps into mechanisation of sorting operations began in the 1930s, marking the start of a trend to reduce labour costs and increase efficiency, which continued after the Second World War. By the 1960s, scale had become important and large volumes began to be handled by fewer but bigger mail processing centres. Modern processes and data systems were introduced, including the postal code in 1977. These were signs that the Dutch mail service was responding to technological innovation and economic pressures. The introduction of new data transmission technologies such as the fax machine and internet forced the pace of change by focusing the mind of PTT management From the outset, the entity was granted a concession on on the emerging threats to its traditional mail business and monopoly. collection and delivery of mail in the Netherlands. The monopoly lasted for almost 200 years. Initially, such con- To meet these market challenges, the Dutch mail in January 1989 became a private company and was given cessions were a means for the state to collect revenue more flexibility. In 1992, the company took its first steps rather than provide a service to the public. into the international express business, and four years later Gradually, postal delivery came to be seen as a public acquired the still Australian-owned TNT group, heralding service rather than an easy way of raising indirect taxes for the state, an idea formalised under Dutch law in 1850. a new era for the post and express industry.

our competencies What weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re good at

Training for the future In China – one of our three areas for strategic growth – there is currently a scarcity of trained logistics professionals and an abundance of talented young Chinese students. So with the assistance of Shanghai’s leading university, we’ve

set up TNT China University to train and develop 3,000 Chinese nationals in the art and science of logistics supply chain management each year.

o u r C o m p e t en c i e s

set up TNT China University to train and develop 3,000 Chinese nationals in the art and science of logistics supply chain management each year.

o u r C o m p e t en c i e s

I’m totally Anne Kurian: “If TNT gives me a difficult task, I like to analyse and study it. I’m mentally equipped to do it. TNT gives you opportunities to apply skills and experience.” When Anne Kurian joined TNT in 1996, she didn’t think she would stay long. She certainly didn’t think she could go on to make a career with the company. In fact, she almost left within a couple of weeks. She had been called to the customer service department and was asked by a colleague to handle an incoming call. Anne had not been briefed on what the call was about, but she picked up the phone. “Before I could say anything, the customer started shouting about the poor service,” explained Anne. “I didn’t have a clue what to do. I hadn’t had any training in handling complaints.” A supervisor saw Anne struggling and came to her aid, taking over the call. Anne was devastated. She was young – just 21 – and two weeks into her new job, she’d stumbled at the first hurdle. She felt she had failed herself and TNT. “I just burst out crying. I was feeling so miserable and helpless, and I thought to myself: ‘I won’t survive with this company.’ I just wanted to get a year done and then find another job.”

Anne did survive that set-back with coaching, training and guidance from both her supervisor and regional manager. In the aftermath of that disastrous day, Anne’s supervisor helped her understand what TNT’s business was all about and what customer service entailed. TNT had begun to give Anne self confidence. From that one experience, Anne learned that you never put a new recruit on the job without a proper induction, and that listening to customers and understanding the background to their problems is crucial. “With the knowledge I have now, I would have handled my first complaint call a lot better.” Today, Anne is a senior assistant customer service manager for the India Western Region, managing a team of 10 staff. “I had no experience or background in managing people, so this job was a big challenge. The guidance and support of the regional customer service manager and my direct manager was invaluable in helping me meet the new challenge.” Anne has a slightly academic aura, possibly because she is quiet and a bit reserved. When you meet her for the first time, the phrase ‘still waters run deep’ comes to mind. She has a placid exterior that belies her passion

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to do well. “If TNT gives me a difficult task, I like to analyse and study it. I’m mentally equipped to do it. The company gives you opportunities to apply skills and experience.” Anne is engaged with people. She listens intently to what people have to say in order to draw her own conclusions about what they tell her. She is a good communicator. She speaks clearly and concisely in a quiet, measured and rational way. Anne applied these qualities to her customer relationships when she was a TNT corporate support account executive where she learned much from her colleagues in the sales function. She established a strong rapport and trust with many customers. Over the years, TNT has recognised Anne’s contribution by giving her more responsibility and bestowing her with numerous awards. The company has also met her deep-felt need for learning. TNT has provided ample opportunities to learn new skills and new ideas. The company has sent her on several management and technical skills training courses: leadership, appraisal techniques, ISO auditing and life sciences. She has developed specialist knowledge of TNT’s life sciences services and is the coordinator for her region.

She is a trained ISO auditor, and was selected by TNT India for the job because of her process orientation, attention to detail and her analytical skills. But the one course Anne values most was an executive MBA course in 2004. She finished top in her class. “That was one of the best moments of my career in TNT,” she says proudly. TNT sponsored her and paid the tuition. Equally memorable for her was being asked to give a presentation to TNT’s chief executive officer about the experience and how she applied the ideas to her everyday TNT job. “I don’t think anyone from my region except the general manager had an opportunity to meet the CEO personally.” In a less formal and indirect way, TNT has also taught Anne to develop her interpersonal skills. “TNT has given me confidence about myself. When I joined the company, I was poor at developing relationships and not very good at giving presentations. Now I have no problems with either. TNT has taught me to listen to others and learn from them.” Anne enjoys managing her team. “Interacting with people is very satisfying. I listen to their problems that impact on work, console or pacify them, and ensure they

get back to normal work performance. It has taught me that work and home life go hand-in-hand.” Anne plans to earn a psychology degree because her new peoplemanagement role has “made me wonder why people behave in the manner they do.” Anne’s come a long way from that day in 1996 when she didn’t think she would last long with the company. That day turned out to be a point of departure of a different kind: one that has seen her grow in confidence and skills, embrace new knowledge and all learning experiences, and become a valuable employee for the company. TNT helped make Anne an everyday hero.

I’mcomm totally Anne Kurian: “If TNT gives me a difficult task, I like to analyse and study it. I’m mentally equipped to do it. TNT gives you opportunities to apply skills and experience.” When Anne Kurian joined TNT in 1996, she didn’t think she would stay long. She certainly didn’t think she could go on to make a career with the company. In fact, she almost left within a couple of weeks. She had been called to the customer service department and was asked by a colleague to handle an incoming call. Anne had not been briefed on what the call was about, but she picked up the phone. “Before I could say anything, the customer started shouting about the poor service,” explained Anne. “I didn’t have a clue what to do. I hadn’t had any training in handling complaints.” A supervisor saw Anne struggling and came to her aid, taking over the call. Anne was devastated. She was young – just 21 – and two weeks into her new job, she’d stumbled at the first hurdle. She felt she had failed herself and TNT. “I just burst out crying. I was feeling so miserable and helpless, and I thought to myself: ‘I won’t survive with this company.’ I just wanted to get a year done and then find another job.”

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Competencies and a common framework Until recently, TNT was a fragmented organisation. Local management decided the skill sets and competencies needed by the local business. But in today’s global TNT, that has changed. TNT has developed a competency

framework that outlines the minimum job performance and expectations at every level of the organisation; the framework aligns job requirements with TNT’s mission and standards for all employees throughout the company.

Anne Kurian Family counsellor and good listener Anne Kurian lives in Mumbai with her parents and younger sister. When she gets the time, she enjoys cooking with her mother and preparing family meals. She doesn’t spend as much time as she would like with family or friends because of her dedication to her job . She stays late in the office and occasionally works weekends. Anne believes it’s important to stay one step ahead. When she’s at home, she’s a sounding board for family affairs. “I’m a good listener and I offer suggestions,” she says. “If there’s a family problem, my father and I sit down and try to solve it together.” Her parents share her pride in working for a multinational company. “They’re very happy that I have been able to achieve so much with TNT.” Although Anne feels she has done well at TNT, she is self-effacing when it comes to describing the life she leads. “I’m a very ordinary person. I don’t think I have any extraordinary qualities. I lead a very simple life.”

TNT Masters Award In addition to training and development, TNT captures and shares expertise and knowledge across the company. The TNT Masters Award was introduced in 1999 to promote the dissemination of business excellence across our orga-

nisation. Each year, TNT teams are invited to submit best practices they have implemented. A rigorous selection, assessment and validation process results in five winners chosen by the TNT Board of Management.

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Social and knowledge capital Our value resides in TNT people. As a company, we couldn’t perform without them. But the difference they make is priceless. We’re not a company that resorts to well-worn clichés such as ‘our people are our most important asset’. We would rather ask why, and then explain our thinking. Our people are more than the assets and numbers quantified on a balance sheet. They are our social and knowledge capital, making an invaluable difference to TNT. Our company consists of networks of people who depend upon each other to move customer products and information around the world. It is a global team effort that continues day and night across different time zones. For them to make our delivery systems work and guarantee good service to our customers, TNT employees have to trust one another. The more they trust each other, the greater the collaboration and efficiency, and therefore the less risk of failure in any link of our supply chain. It necessitates teamwork underpinned by unspoken trust relationships. That doesn’t happen overnight, and it cannot be miraculously engineered into existence by any change program. It takes time; time is money; and in a fast-moving competitive environment, few companies have much time. So a high-trust company environment is invaluable. For that reason, TNT employees are more than working

assets: they represent our social capital. As a company, we have a responsibility to build a hightrust environment. It is one of the reasons why we expect managers to be open and honest and straight-talking. They have to be accessible and care about the people who report to them, acknowledging and supporting personal and professional needs or concerns. The way our managers behave contributes to engendering trust. They make up our social capital as well. Then there is knowledge capital. We’ve invested time, energy, ideas and money into the training and development of our employees. They carry around in their heads knowhow and experience that is priceless to TNT. Their collective brain power resembles one big knowledge bank. TNT wants to keep that knowledge within the organisation. We want our employees to use it as a source of inspiration and creativity in dealing with TNT and stakeholder issues. That can lead to innovation, and often does. Innovation doesn’t have to be ground-breaking. It can happen in small incremental steps too. Every day our customers ask for solutions to their delivery needs. TNT is well-known for providing them. Our history is replete with product and service innovations, resulting from our collective knowledge and lateral thinking applied to meeting a customer’s unique requirements. We encourage our people to share their knowledge and creativity in a number of ways, such as the TNT Masters Award. We do this less formally by exchanging ideas in conferences, meetings and our intranet, fostered by our belief in trust and transparency. When you have an open and collaborative organisation, as we never stop striving for, and show support for the intelligence and creativity of your people, as we do, then you have knowledge and social capital. For us, our people are more than ‘important assets’; collectively, they are priceless.

our STAN DARDS What WE expect of ourselves

Measure success through sustainable profit Measuring success through sustainable profit moves TNT beyond thinking in terms of short-term profitability to what will make us successful in the future. Our stakeholders are increasingly concerned about social and environmental

issues and their impact on future generations. Our longterm profitability is inextricably linked to the actions and investment decisions we take today to secure sustainable growth and future value.

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Be honest, always, is a reminder that ethical decisions and behaviour reinforce and sustain our reputation in the world. Honesty promotes trust which, in turn, engenders stakeholder confidence in TNT. If that confidence is impaired by even suspicion of malpractice or malfeasance, it could have a negative impact on our company value, with far-reaching consequences for our reputation. It therefore stands to reason that every decision our employees make and the actions they take be tested implicitly against this standard. Honesty is an absolute; there can be no half measures. We’re either honest or we’re not. Honesty has implications for even the smallest decisions and actions of every TNT employee. Dishonesty raises doubts about moral character and trustworthiness, and can bring negative consequences within our working environments. Social cohesion can be subverted, team spirit destroyed and respect for individuals undermined. From time to time, honest mistakes are made. When that happens, we want to quickly own up to them and limit any damage they might do. Honesty also means being true to one’s opinions and ideas, sharing them in order to find better ways of working or resolving problems. It also means being honest with ourselves, being realistic about our own limitations and circumstances so we don’t mislead others. By being honest, we don’t deceive ourselves or other people. On the contrary, we are better equipped to deal head-on with any situation.

Be honest, always.

issues and their impact on future generations. Our longterm profitability is inextricably linked to the actions and investment decisions we take today to secure sustainable growth and future value.

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WE RELY ON Justin Chou: “TNT treats me like part of a big family. They’ve always supported me when I’ve faced difficulties at work. They’ve helped me every step of the way in my career.” At Taipei’s SongShan airport, Justin Chou, business development manager for TNT Express in Taiwan, was waiting patiently. Justin is a patient man. He doesn’t get stressed or upset easily. He exudes an outer calmness that is soothing for people who come into contact with him. But at the airport that morning in August 2003, he was experiencing mixed emotions: anxiety and confidence. He was anxious for a Taiwanese husband and wife who needed to know if their unborn baby would be healthy; yet confident that his TNT colleagues would ensure the family got the medical results quickly. The couple were not directly TNT customers. They were customers of a TNT customer, the Taiwan Foundation for Rare Diseases. The couple’s first baby had been born with a rare illness called Niemann-Pick disease. They did not want their second child to suffer the same serious illness. Time was of the essence. The blood sample had to be tested within 24 hours from the time it was drawn from

the patient at Kaosiung Veteran’s General Hospital. It then needed to be flown on an internal flight from Kaosiung to SongShan airport where Justin was waiting. From there, the sample had to be transferred to Chiang Kai Shek International airport and finally flown to an Australian laboratory for analysis. Justin knew that the best way TNT could help ease the family’s uncertainty and emotional discomfort was to speed up the laboratory results by getting the blood sample delivered within 24 hours. To make sure that happened, he took it upon himself to coordinate the intricate end-to-end logistics. “Our competitors had been approached beforehand but had turned down the challenge. I just thought it was important to do it,” he says. To avoid any mishaps, he went personally to pick up the blood sample. Once it arrived, Justin got into his car for the hour’s drive to TNT’s depot adjacent to Chiang Kai Shek airport, making sure the export papers were in order and that the blood sample cleared customs. Only then was it safely uplifted on a commercial flight to Australia. The story says a lot about Justin and his caring nature.

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The situation required him to step out of his own comfort zone and take on the anxieties of the worried couple. With the help of the TNT team, he was able to deliver on a very personal promise. He is accustomed to dealing with complexity and effective team working. In Justin’s daily job as a business development manager for global accounts, careful planning and cross-functional support is a feature of everyday work. He’s an integral part of the TNT Major Account Country Coordination team. The purpose of his department is to develop business solutions for Taiwanese customers. Justin’s role is to study the customer’s business model, reducing costs through establishing the most efficient distribution methods and network. It’s all about teamwork and leveraging multi-functional skills and expertise. It helps that the team in Taiwan is a close-knit group who relate to each other as friends rather than just colleagues. “We tend to behave like one big family. There are no lines drawn between functions. Everyone’s door is open.” Justin’s client accounts include some of Taiwan’s big computer electronics brands as well as electronics manu-

facturers. As he speaks about his job, it quickly becomes apparent that he is commercially astute and thinks deeply about customer requirements. Although winning and retaining customers is vitally important to the success of TNT, he also takes a strategic view of his role. “We provide customised solutions that can involve complex logistics planning. When that’s bundled into additional value-added benefits for the customer, it helps create an entry barrier to the competition” he says. TNT’s ability to offer flexible solutions has become much more urgent over the past few years. Justin points to changes in Taiwan’s macro-economic environment; many investors have moved their manufacturing operations to mainland China. For Justin and his team, those changes have resulted in a two-fold strategic challenge: “We want to try and help keep investments here in Taiwan by understanding the deeper needs of investors, and how supply-chain solutions can encourage them to remain here. But we also need to accept the fact that investors are setting up on the mainland. We have to understand customer processes and bureaucratic regulations so we can help Taiwanese customers bring their products to mainland China.”

Justin has been with TNT for seven years and appreciates the efforts the company has made to help him establish a long-term career. “TNT treats me like part of a big family. They’ve always supported me when I’ve faced difficulties at work. They’ve helped me every step of the way in my career.” In conversation, it’s easy to see that Justin can make friends easily and build relationships. His manners are impeccable. He’s easygoing and tactful. But these traits don’t mask his business acumen and his strong determination to reach goals. Back to the anxious couple waiting for the medical verdict of their unborn baby. The test results from Australia were negative and the baby would not be born with the debilitating disease. Later, on hearing the news that the mother had given birth to a baby daughter, Justin and his team celebrated, not for TNT’s operational success but for the arrival of a healthy child. Then the team got back to its work, serving other customers.

WE RELY ON

TEAMW

Justin Chou: “TNT treats me like part of a big family. They’ve always supported me when I’ve faced difficulties at work. They’ve helped me every step of the way in my career.” At Taipei’s SongShan airport, Justin Chou, business development manager for TNT Express in Taiwan, was waiting patiently. Justin is a patient man. He doesn’t get stressed or upset easily. He exudes an outer calmness that is soothing for people who come into contact with him. But at the airport that morning in August 2003, he was experiencing mixed emotions: anxiety and confidence. He was anxious for a Taiwanese husband and wife who needed to know if their unborn baby would be healthy; yet confident that his TNT colleagues would ensure the family got the medical results quickly. The couple were not directly TNT customers. They were customers of a TNT customer, the Taiwan Foundation for Rare Diseases. The couple’s first baby had been born with a rare illness called Niemann-Pick disease. They did not want their second child to suffer the same serious illness. Time was of the essence. The blood sample had to be tested within 24 hours from the time it was drawn from

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Work for the world Working for the world calls us to look beyond strictly commercial interests and to become involved in helping resolve some of the world’s environmental and humanitarian problems. In practice, this requires us to accept

our role in reducing our own environmental impacts, helping the poor and hungry in less-developed countries, and providing support to those less privileged people and economically deprived groups in our local communities.

Justin Chou Caring husband and would-be father Justin Chou met his wife, Sarah, when she was working for TNT as a telesales agent. Since marrying, the couple have made the best of being together without the responsibility of children. They often take time out on weekends to escape the hustle and bustle of Taipei, and hike through Taiwan’s beautiful countryside, soaking up the scenery. “It’s very relaxing for us both,” says Justin. Another relaxing pastime is dining out in some of the city’s plentiful Thai and Chinese restaurants. As is typical of family life in Chinese culture, Justin and Sarah live with Justin’s parents in an apartment. But as much as they’re enjoying their quiet life as a married couple, their eyes are on the future. They’re planning to have children. With this in mind, Sarah and Justin are now beginning to re-focus some of their leisure time activities. They’re busy looking for a home of their own that will give them extra space. The father-in-waiting will undoubtedly make a good parent; he is sure to show as much responsibility and care toward his children as he does with all the other people who come into contact with him.

Integrity comes from within us TNT introduced its Business Principles in 2001 which established the ethical code of conduct which all managers and employees are expected to abide by. They have now been reassesed in light of current business ethics,

external regulations and TNT practices. Our basic premise is that integrity has to come from within our people to create an environment of trust with senior management setting an example and promoting this culture of integrity.

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Our company comprises networks of people who depend on each other to move documents, goods and information around the world.

Act as a team Teamwork is a collaborative, people-dependent effort that continues night and day and often transcends time zones. To ensure excellent service for our customers, TNT employees must act as a team. Teamwork is underpinned by unspoken trust among our people. The more trust, the greater the collaboration and efficiency, and the less the risk of failure in any part a TNT process. Trust is nourished by open, honest relationships. Our no-nonsense, downto-earth company personality encourages straight-talking communication and transparent behaviour.

We value exchange of constructive opinions and ideas grounded in respect for individual strengths and abilities. Respect between individuals and among teams reinforces a feeling of individual responsibility for making sure team goals are met and the right outcomes are achieved. Trust and teamwork go hand in hand. They are indivisible. Without them, TNT would be unable to perform to the high levels of service we give our customers.

our BEHAVIOURS How we act

Post people behaviours Royal TNT Post employs over 36,000 postmen and women in the Netherlands. They have to exhibit a number of behavioural qualities considered important to providing excellent service: a strong customer orientation; a friendly

nature; and a flexible, practical attitude toward their work. Because they’re entrusted with other people’s mail, employees must demonstrate impeccable personal integrity as well as show respect and care for the mail they carry.

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Behaviours are about the how – not the what – of our daily activities. TNT behaviours aren’t about job descriptions or job profiles; they’re about the way we conduct ourselves as we go about our business. Behaviours are about how we carry out our business, not what we do. Our behaviours are guided and influenced by our mission, our standards and our core competency. At the same time, we have legacy behaviours rooted in our history that shape our company’s personality. Our behaviours are the tangible manifestation of all these influences, but they are also determined by another important factor – our customers. Our aim is to satisfy our customers, and we will strive to exceed their expectations. Placing customers at the centre of our business ensures that decisions are never made without their interests in mind. TNT behaviours are customer-centric.

We empower our employees – post delivery people, drivers, customer service agents, sales representatives, account managers and senior management – to do the same in all customer contact and transactions. TNT employees must understand our customers’ needs, expectations and feelings. Frequent customer contact and communication is a key behaviour. Actively listening and asking the right questions are fundamental behavioural attributes that help us understand customers, both internal and external. Then there are our problem-solving skills, which help ensure that customers get the right solutions. Sometimes standard solutions aren’t enough, so our employees work together to explore alternatives. That also digs deep into the creativity of TNT people, compelling us to think outside the box, arriving at incre-mental solutions or totally new ways of meeting customer needs.

Trust is the foundation on which our employees collaborate and work together, confident that they share the same goals and are working toward the same outcomes. Trust implies respect. Our people behave in a manner that acknowledges that different points of view and opinions have a place in determining how best to carry out tasks or reach agreed objectives. Listening carefully, engaging in constructive dialogue and responding to others positively promotes a mutual respect and facilitates teamwork. We show a sincere interest, involvement and curiosity in what others have to say without avoiding difficult issues or questions. Teamwork is also about sharing and exchanging information freely. Knowledge is power, but shared knowledge is more powerful still, especially when it is used to inspire creative ideas and carefully worked-through solutions. Team members give regular feedback. There is a commitment to win-win outcomes in the event there is a divergence of ideas. Our behaviours are founded upon a belief that alternative opinions have value and that by listening and keeping an open mind, we can learn a lot from others too. Sharing information and encouraging regular feedback says much about TNTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s informal and collaborative culture which helps to energise people, elicit fresh thinking and encourages them to bring new ideas to the table. We have little patience with closed minds or suppressed knowledge since they offer nothing in return for teamwork. In terms of our action-orientation, TNT employees willingly support each other: lending a hand, giving up their time, contributing ideas, joining in meetings or brainstorm sessions, taking an active interest. All are typical characteristics of the way TNT people behave. TNT managers have a style that is facilitative, rather than directive. The best of them proactively create an atmosphere where teamwork behaviours come into play naturally, allowing ideas and opinions to be aired and shared in a positive and open way. Managers reinforce desired behaviours by recognising and encouraging employees who do their jobs well and do so in the spirit of honest, unconditional collaboration. For TNT, trust and teamwork are bound together. We cannot have one without the other.

Trust

and teamwork

nature; and a flexible, practical attitude toward their work. Because theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re entrusted with other peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mail, employees must demonstrate impeccable personal integrity as well as show respect and care for the mail they carry.

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Reginaldo Bispo de Matos: “Working for TNT is not all about money. It’s about warmth and relationships. Employees are people after all, not machines.” Reginaldo Bispo de Matos is a 34-year-old electrician employed by TNT Logistics in Brazil. He grew up in Campinas City, about 100 kilometers northwest of Sao Paulo, the country’s bustling commercial capital. In the early hours of Monday, 8 August 2005, Reginaldo was fast asleep at his home in Campinas. He was woken by a telephone call at 4 a.m. On the other the end of the line was Marcelo Loturco, manager of the TNT warehouse in Jundiaí City, located about 50 kilometers southeast of Campinas City on the main highway to Sao Paulo. Marcelo urgently needed Reginaldo at the warehouse. The electrical power was down, and it required an electrician to fix it. The warehouse is a large facility servicing some major TNT contracts and any interruption to the power supply would impact the operations due to get underway that morning. Reginaldo quickly showered and dressed, jumped into his red Fiat Uno, and set off to the warehouse in Jundiaí. The weather was bad. As it is so often in the southern hemisphere’s winter during August, it was raining heavily. Reginaldo takes up the story. “I drove fast. But about eight kilometers from Jundiaí, my car broke down. I knew I didn’t have time to repair it.” To look at him, Reginaldo

is as fit and lithe as an athlete. “So I ran the rest of the way in the rain. It took me another 25 minutes to reach the warehouse. When I arrived, my clothes were soaking wet. But I had to get there.” By then it was 6 a.m. As he was running to the warehouse, his only thought was about what he needed to do and the possible consequences if he didn’t. “I kept thinking about how the power outage could impact the operation. It could cause real problems with the IT system and perhaps even corrupt important data.” The problem was that the generator wasn’t powering up. It took him half an hour to get it repaired. Coincidentally – as if fate were playing with him – Jundiaí City then suffered from a local power cut. The electricity came on at 9.30 a.m., but the generator was ready. “I then had to manually crank up the generator to spark it into life,” says Reginaldo. The local emergency was over. Reginaldo is more than an electrician. “I handle telecommunication, hydraulics, building structures, landscaping – everything to do with a facility. I even do welding. I like to do a lot of self-study to keep up with new advances in electrical engineering and mechanics.” Reginaldo joined TNT in June 2004 and is passionate

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about the company. As he pours out his ideas, he becomes animated and gestures expressively with his hands to emphasise and embrace his thoughts. Like the surge of an electrical current, TNT gives him an emotional charge that makes him proud of the company and stimulates him to do well at his job. The word “love” peppers his sentences. “I love the fact that TNT is so diverse, full of different cultures and nationalities. It makes it focused on creating a good environment for employees. It also shows in the work the company does with the World Food Programme in Africa. They’re showing they are concerned and that they care about people. I get energy from TNT when I see this. I love the company and I love my job.” A Brazilian whose national team has won five FIFA world football championships, Reginaldo tends to use football as an analogy when talking about TNT. “TNT is a fastgrowing company in Brazil and will become more famous than the Santos football club. More and more people are becoming aware of the company in my country. A few years ago, TNT was on the defensive and now it’s an attacking team.” In a way, Reginaldo is also a football striker in his own job. He thinks and acts fast, always going for the goal.

“I’m quick at solving problems because I think very fast. I look at a machine, diagnose the problem, then I fix it.” For Reginaldo, teamwork is crucial to the whole business game. He believes that it doesn’t matter if you have individual skills, because you win only as a team. It’s the same in his job with TNT. “If you don’t help each other, you won’t win.” Reginaldo’s emotional and helpful side is recognised by his TNT team mates. They say he is ‘big hearted’ and always wants to help. In return, he gives generous compliments about them. “They are fantastic, wonderful people to work with.” It’s clear that Reginaldo likes being around people, but that doesn’t blind him to his own faults. Because he thinks fast, he admits that he tends to be impulsive and can sometimes be too quick to offer an opinion or give advice. But, he says, he has learned from this. He realises that there are times he needs to step back. “TNT has taught me to be much more patient and not to rush things. I realise there are people who need to go at their own pace. I try not to be so impulsive.” What does Reginaldo think would have been the consequences on that day in August if he hadn’t repaired the

warehouse generator? He doesn’t gesture this time. He merely shrugs his shoulders. “If I hadn’t fixed the generator, then a colleague would have done it.” But would they have abandoned their car and run the last eight kilometers in the rain?

can Reginaldo Bispo de Matos: “Working for TNT is not all about money. It’s about warmth and relationships. Employees are people after all, not machines.” Reginaldo Bispo de Matos is a 34-year-old electrician employed by TNT Logistics in Brazil. He grew up in Campinas City, about 100 kilometers northwest of Sao Paulo, the country’s bustling commercial capital. In the early hours of Monday, 8 August 2005, Reginaldo was fast asleep at his home in Campinas. He was woken by a telephone call at 4 a.m. On the other the end of the line was Marcelo Loturco, manager of the TNT warehouse in Jundiaí City, located about 50 kilometers southeast of Campinas City on the main highway to Sao Paulo. Marcelo urgently needed Reginaldo at the warehouse. The electrical power was down, and it required an electrician to fix it. The warehouse is a large facility servicing some major TNT contracts and any interruption to the power supply would impact the operations due to get underway that morning. Reginaldo quickly showered and dressed, jumped into his red Fiat Uno, and set off to the warehouse in Jundiaí. The weather was bad. As it is so often in the southern hemisphere’s winter during August, it was raining heavily. Reginaldo takes up the story. “I drove fast. But about eight kilometers from Jundiaí, my car broke down. I knew I didn’t have time to repair it.” To look at him, Reginaldo

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Diversity and inclusion We believe that differences in nationality, religion, race, culture, gender, sexual orientation, education, experience, ideas and beliefs all have a part to play in making our company more successful. People must feel that their

perspectives are valued and leveraged, no matter what their background or who they are. Diversity and inclusion unleashes new sources of ideas and creativity for TNT and reinforces respect for differences within our culture.

Reginaldo Bispo de Matos A man with a passion for the beautiful game A hundred years ago, Campinas City was a more important commercial centre than Sao Paulo. It had built its economic wealth on sugar and coffee plantations. Times have changed. Reginaldo Bispo de Matos grew up in Campinas City and his family still lives there. He tries to spend as much time with them as possible, despite relocating to Jundiaí for his work. Over barbecues, the family talks a lot about Brazilian politics. His mother, whom he speaks about with great love and warmth, still lives in Campinas. “When I go to visit my mother, three brothers and sister, they all ask me about my work at TNT,” he says. His mother is particularly proud of Reginaldo and his working for TNT. In addition to TNT, Reginaldo’s other passion is football, ”the beautiful game,” as the famous Brazilian footballer Pelé once described it. Reginaldo is a lifelong supporter of Palmeiras FC. “I just love the art and dynamic of the game,” he says. “I go to see Palmeiras play with all my friends whenever I can. I’m with them shouting for our team on the stadium’s terraces.”

Safeguarding the environment TNT employees are encouraged to be socially responsible. properly disposed of. Our Delivering Clean policy, for This can be as simple as making sure potentially damaging instance, is designed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. goods such as plastic materials or printer cartridges are

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Pragmatism and TNT people are pragmatic in the way they go about their business. Practical considerations shape our decision-making and support our action-orientation.

flexibility Fixed positions or rigidly held ideas get in the way of delivering results. Pragmatism is multi-faceted. It requires our people to use their initiative and creativity. Where rules and processes become too rigid â&#x20AC;&#x201C; where they get in the way of solving problems or delivering on a promise to customers â&#x20AC;&#x201C; TNT people come up with alternatives. It may be a one-off solution, a quick, temporary improvisation that bends the rules, or it may result in changing the rules to fit new circumstances. Pragmatism helps us think in concrete terms, not about what should be done, but what can be done. Pragmatism drives continuous incremental improvements in our business. It has long-term as well as short-term benefits. Being pragmatic encompasses flexibility in attitude and behaviour. Flexibility is about changing an expectation or plan at a momentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s notice to meet a greater or more pressing need. That can mean something small such as changing a meeting agenda or staying longer at work at short notice. Flexible people accept these as everyday occurrences, not as irritations.

But it might be a change with larger ramifications, such as an assignment to another location to provide skills for a project. Our people are flexible in reprioritising tasks and plans to respond quickly to customer and business needs. Flexibility shows itself in the ability of TNT people to adapt willingly to changing circumstances and by adjusting their outlook and activities to meet new demands or requirements. In an industry as dynamic as ours, flexible people are a valuable asset. Job functions, processes and workflows change. New products and services demand new knowledge and skill-sets. Relocations to new depots or sorting centres are necessary. And sometimes, machines supercede people who are then redeployed. TNT people are open to new ways of working. We recognise that change is inevitable and that it affects us all as individuals. We are open-minded and willing to learn and adapt. A flexible attitude enables us to live with continuing ambiguity and complexity, ready to react to changes that occur suddenly and often without warning.

our PERSO NALITY How we see ourselves

Let others judge extraordinary Ordinary people are the lifeblood of our company; extraordinary people are few and far between. Of course we have many great people – 160,000 to be exact. If we are judged to be extraordinary, that’s another matter. We

would rather our external stakeholders call us extraordinary than make those claims ourselves. But we do know for certain that our ordinary people deliver extraordinary results. They are TNT’s everyday heroes.

our PER SONALIT Y

When ordinary people step into TNT, we try to give them what they need to deliver extraordinary results. Everyone has an opportunity to become an everyday hero. TNT nurtures and enables people. Our company’s emphasis on meritocracy, of giving career and promotion opportunities to promising talent irrespective of social, demographic, ethnic or even educational backgrounds, attracts people who don’t necessarily consider themselves to be extraordinary. Those who want to do well soon find that TNT’s can-do personality rubs off on them because it has created an environment that encourages them to succeed. Our culture is anti-elitist and democratic. Our can-do personality would wither and die in a bureaucratic and hierarchical organisation dominated by a command and control culture. Can-do relies a lot on highly energised, self-motivated and determined people with a will to succeed and an acceptance that working together brings out the best in people to achieve extraordinary results. It also needs the hard working no-nonsense realism that ordinary people bring with them and which our brand personality cultivates. Ordinary people have been labeled TNT’s ‘home grown timber’, seedlings nourished and developed by TNT into strong management material. Our history is replete with thousands of examples of TNT people starting on the work floor and being promoted into responsible management positions. Our customers also like managers who have the depth and breadth of TNT experience and know how to get things done using informal networks. Like any healthy corporate body, we also need an injection of fresh ideas and talent, and want to attract capable employees who accept that we have a brand personality that gives everyone an equal chance to become an everyday hero.

Transforming ordinary people

our PER SONALIT Y

I LIKE TO BE Conny van Regenmortel: “I always try to get a personal connection with people. I want to know every area of the business and to know the people doing it.” When talking about her work, 35-year-old Conny van Regenmortel speaks fast and furiously. Sentences fly out of her ‘rat-a-tat-tat’ like tracer bullets from a machine gun and she doesn’t pause very much to catch her breath. She thinks fast and wants to convert her thoughts into speech just as quickly as she’s thinking them. She has so much to say and is impatient to say it. Conny’s energy conveys her enthusiasm for her job as regional account manager in China, a position she took up in April 2005 after six years in a similar role in the Netherlands. When she had arrived in Shanghai, she faced a major challenge. One of TNT’s global account customers – Apple Computer – was just about to reconfigure its supply chain. The company’s iconic i-Pod had become such a success that it bulked up production with Chinese manufacturers to meet consumer demand in Europe. Until then, iPod shipments point of entry into Europe had been the Netherlands.

On short notice, Apple needed to change the inbound destination to the United Kingdom. TNT had to re-build the entire logistics flow in just a few days. The task landed on Conny’s desk, and she picked up the challenge and ran with it, fast. “We had to act quickly. I mean, we really had to do things fast. The whole European network had to be informed, the IT systems changed, a dedicated team set up in the UK, customs issues dealt with and alternative arrangements made with airline carriers freighting the shipments to Europe. Everyone in the team did their bit.” The ‘team’ Conny speaks of was a virtual global team of TNT people in China, the Netherlands, Belgium and the UK. Time zone differences meant Conny worked day and night. But she would not have been able to work so quickly and so effectively if she did not understand all facets of the business. “Account management isn’t just about sales,” Conny says, firing off her words. “You have to be knowledgeable about every aspect of the business and that doesn’t mean having just a general idea. You have to really understand how the different functions work and fit into the overall

our PER SONALIT Y

logistics process. That’s the only way you get to know what they can do for you and how they can help you.” There is also a need to build a network of contacts in different departments so she can call on them personally to help her get things done. Conny continues with her verbal barrage of ideas and opinions. “I always try to get a personal connection with people. I want to know every area of the business and I want to know the people who are doing it.” She believes that personal credibility is enhanced by open communication. “You have to inform people every time there are changes and let them know what you’re trying to do so you can make their job less difficult.” And what sort of person does Conny think she is? “I’m committed to my work and very honest.” She also comes across as determined and strong-minded. She confesses, in her characteristically honest way, to being open and direct in her communication and the way she conducts herself with customers and colleagues. Conny tends to speak her mind, which may occasionally grate with people she has to work with. That’s not all: “I can be stubborn if I believe passionately about an issue or way of doing something. That’s not always appreciated,”

she says, laughing at herself. Conny is also a perfectionist. She likes to investigate details and processes. When she takes on a new account, she feels the need to get the logistics, customer service and billing processes right from the outset. That’s her starting point. Yet her passion for getting everything right doesn’t stand in the way of getting things done, as the Apple case demonstrates. She is a team player through and through, constantly communicating, cajoling, hassling, helping and supporting. Conny joined TNT in 1999 so now, as an experienced account manager, she can rightly claim to have the qualifications to offer advice to new employees. What is her prescription for a new TNT employee to succeed? “Learn about every functional area your job will touch. Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone and ask questions. Know the whole business, every single bit of it.” And what about the customer dimension? “Always be honest with customers. Don’t oversell and if you’re not sure about an answer, tell them you’ll get back to them. If something really can’t be done, tell them so. And show the customer you work hard on their behalf.” Conny applied these qualities to the Apple account when

she and her team successfully re-engineered the process to get Apple shipments into the UK. They were justly proud of what they had achieved in such a short space of time, and relieved. Two weeks later, they had to do it all over again. But that’s another story.

IDOWN LIKE TO TO BE

Conny van Regenmortel: “I always try to get a personal connection with people. I want to know every area of the business and to know the people doing it.” When talking about her work, 35-year-old Conny van Regenmortel speaks fast and furiously. Sentences fly out of her ‘rat-a-tat-tat’ like tracer bullets from a machine gun and she doesn’t pause very much to catch her breath. She thinks fast and wants to convert her thoughts into speech just as quickly as she’s thinking them. She has so much to say and is impatient to say it. Conny’s energy conveys her enthusiasm for her job as regional account manager in China, a position she took up in April 2005 after six years in a similar role in the Netherlands. When she had arrived in Shanghai, she faced a major challenge. One of TNT’s global account customers – Apple Computer – was just about to reconfigure its supply chain. The company’s iconic i-Pod had become such a success that it bulked up production with Chinese manufacturers to meet consumer demand in Europe. Until then, iPod shipments point of entry into Europe had been the Netherlands.

O EARTH our PER SONALIT Y

our PER SONALIT Y

EVERYDAY Heroes and our personality (I) The 12 everyday heroes featured in this book demonstrate certain traits that can be found in our company personality. Chris Demetriou: passionate, committed and hardworking. Conny van Regenmortel: no-nonsense, action-oriented

and down-to-earth. Rick Fijnaut: caring, warm, taking societal problems personally. Beth Williams: hardworking, reliable and modest. Reginaldo Bispo de Matos: determined, energetic and going (more than) the extra mile.

Conny van Regenmortel Loving China but missing family and friends Since moving to Shanghai in spring 2005, Conny van Regenmortel has enjoyed the experience. She went to China because “there’s a lot happening in the country and I think I can make a contribution to the development of TNT there.” Due to the demands of her work, she has not had a lot of time to see the rest of the country or learn the language, but she and her partner Stefan have tried to get out on weekends to visit museums and temples and take boat rides along the Yangtze River. Every now and then, they enjoy a game of tennis. Conny was born in Anna Paulowna, near Den Helder in the north of the Netherlands. Even though she is happy in Shanghai, she misses some elements of her life in Holland. Phone calls and e-mails transcend distance and facilitate keeping in touch with home, but they don’t make up for living apart. “What I miss is the daily physical contact with family and friends, the opportunities to go out with them in the evenings or at weekends.”

EVERyDAY Heroes and our personality (II) All these individuals show a can-do spirit and the attributes of ordinary people: Anne Kurian: hardworking, determined and modest. Hanna Rave-Loupatty: warm, caring, nearby. Theo Admiraal: action-oriented, no-nonsense and realistic.

Santo Ragalmuto: hardworking, reliable and determined. Karin CË&#x2021;echalovĂĄ: responsive, nearby and energetic. Marilyn Conrich: committed, determined and hardworking. Justin Chou: warm, caring and global.

our PER SONALIT Y

In touch is tactile Touching is tactile. It is inherently about feeling and responding. ‘In touch’ is our third personality complex with layers of meaning.

are sensitive to customers’ emerging or evolving requirements and in touch with opportunities that present themselves in today’s fast-changing commercial environment. As a proactive corporate citizen, we are also in touch with the issues affecting society and the world, and have the global and local presence to help our partners deal with them. We are in touch with ourselves both individually and as a company. Understanding one’s inner-self and one’s strengths and weaknesses demonstrates self-knowledge; it’s about knowing what we can and can’t do. It ensures we’re grounded in realism, don’t over-promise, and are able to fulfill our commitments. By being in touch on all of these levels, our personality TNT people are in touch in a number of ways. We are in has developed other traits. We respond to local communities and society by shotouch with our local communities. We are in touch with emerging customer needs and business opportunities. As wing care and support. That means the people who work for TNT people are inherently warm and friendly. ordinary people, we’re in touch with our own strengths We also have energy – both physical and mental. It’s and limitations. And we’re in touch with society. the fuel that drives us to succeed and overcome obstacles. We are global, so in a physical sense TNT people are never far away from customers. We span the world in an Staying in touch requires effort and discipline. Finally, to be in touch we can be any age. TNT is made interconnected network. That also keeps us in contact with global issues and helps us to be outward-looking and up of all age groups, but being can-do and in touch requires us to be young at heart with an attitude receptive to new open-minded. We are nearby. We’re not on every street corner, but ideas and the changes taking place within TNT and the we’re close enough to respond quickly to the distribution wider world. needs of thousands of local and international businesses. TNT can serve local business needs precisely because of our proximity to customers. We have our finger on the pulse of business. TNT people

our custO mers WHOM WE SERVE

Listening to logistics customers Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important to understand satisfaction levels among TNT mation about customer needs and expectations in areas contract logistics customers who generate a substantial such as operations, information technology, finance, account part of the divisionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s revenue. A survey reaching 70 percent management and solutions design. of the customer base in 38 countries gathers vital infor-

o u r C U S T O M ER S

Just as we have a relationship with our customers and understand their expectations, the same applies to our shareholders. Shareholders are customers, too. They invest time and money in their relationship with TNT. Like customers, shareholders have a choice. If TNT fails to meet their expectations, they can walk away from the relationship in the same way paying customers can. For TNT, that demands we build relationships with shareholders â&#x20AC;&#x201C; whether institutional investors or individuals â&#x20AC;&#x201C; as carefully as we do with customers. It also requires us to provide a service to shareholders, though in a different way. For example, as a public company listed on four major stock exchanges, we are obliged to explain business developments and financial results to shareholders on a regular basis. As we have nothing to hide, we do so willingly. Our policy is to be transparent and provide shareholders with equal and simultaneous information about matters that may influence our share price. We communicate regularly with shareholders, using channels that include our website, web casts and printed publications. We publicly provide briefings about quarterly financial performance, and market updates between quarterly announcements, and we hold meetings with institutional shareholders. Our annual general meeting provides all shareholders an opportunity to vote on key resolutions and give feedback about TNTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s performance. Investment analysts also provide feedback in the form of independent assessments about our performance and market potential. For TNT, the principle of caring for our shareholders is no different than caring for other types of customers because, even though the service may be different, we see all our relationships with external stakeholders as being grounded in trust, integrity and respect.

Shareholders are customers, too

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Hanna Rave-Loupatty: “This is the best job I’ve ever had. When I joined TNT Post, a whole new world opened up for me.” Hanna Rave-Loupatty’s smile makes you want to smile back, even if you’re not feeling great about everyday life. Her smile radiates a genuine kindness. It is infectious. Hanna is a 45-year-old housewife employed part-time with TNT Post as a post delivery person in Winterswijk, a small town – population 23,000, so it’s even small by Dutch standards – surrounded on three sides by a national border with Germany. She started working for TNT Post in 2003. Every evening at home, she presses and folds her uniform, then carefully places it on a chair in her bedroom, ready for the following day’s work which will see her delivering mail to 400 customers. She is happy to have a choice of clothes from the wardrobe supplied to every delivery employee. Hanna will decide the following afternoon which item she would like to wear for her walk around her delivery sector.

She is far from being a fashion victim and there is not the least touch of vanity about her. Hanna is simply a fastidious and loyal person. The uniform is important to her. It’s a personal and professional statement. She wears it with pride and wants to make sure that as an ambassador of TNT Post she maintains the company’s image in her community. Hanna leaves her home for the TNT Winterswijk depot at around 12.30 in the afternoon. Once there, she spends a few minutes talking to her colleagues, waiting for the mail van to arrive. The van drops off bags containing presorted mail. Once the bags are delivered, Hanna hops on her bike and cycles to her sector about five minutes away. Then her fascinating journey into the heartbeat of local life begins. “What I most like about the job are the people I meet around the neighbourhood. They always talk to me. Mostly about things in their everyday life,” says Hanna with a big, innocent smile. Children like to accompany Hanna on her rounds. “They want to help me drop the envelopes into the letterboxes. But that’s not allowed,” she says, affecting a stern look. One of the children is a two-year old boy named Brian.

I STAY

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He often stands behind the front door of his house, waiting for the letters and peeping through the slat. Once, when Brian was ill, Hanna bought him a toy postman and dropped it through the family’s letterbox. When he recovered, Brian and his little sister presented Hanna with a drawing they’d made. Hanna had made two new friends. Ever since, when they’re playing on the street, Brian and his sister excitedly shout Hanna’s name as she approaches. Adults, too, are attracted to Hanna’s caring personality. They share their personal problems with her. They like her openness, her homespun wisdom and her willingness to offer practical advice. They even offer her food. There are nevertheless downsides to the job: dogs. All over the world canines have a compulsion to chase and bark at the local post carrier. It’s no different in Winterswijk. “I’m scared of them,” Hanna winces, still smiling. Soon after she first confronted the canine menace, she devised a clever ruse. Now she takes bags of dog biscuits on her deliveries. If a dog is waiting behind a gate or a door and starts barking, Hanna throws it a biscuit, waits for the dog to go quiet, then delivers the letters. “When it works, I’m thrilled to bits,” she says. By four o’clock in the afternoon, Hanna has finished

her deliveries to 400 customers. She bikes back to the depot, completes her paperwork, stops briefly to chat with colleagues, giving them words of advice about this and that, and – after most have left for home – stays on to lend a hand tidying up the depot. It’s not something Hanna has to do. She volunteers. “I like to do it. The depot is like home so I feel responsible to leave the place clean and tidy.” With that done, she jumps on her bike and cycles off to get home by 5 p.m. Hanna speaks a lot about TNT and her job to friends. “I can talk too much about my work and have to stop myself,” she says, breaking into laughter. Hanna is not actively recruiting, but the nice things she has to say about TNT have already led to six of her friends joining the company. In simple terms, Hanna just loves her job and the fact that it brings her into contact with literally hundreds of people. Whenever asked to take on a morning shift to fill in for an absent colleague, she never says no. Since Hanna took over her route, there have been no complaints from householders about the service in Hanna’s sectors. “This is the best job I’ve ever had. When I joined TNT Post, a whole new world opened up for me,” enthuses Hanna.

Hanna is the first to admit that she’s not familiar with everything TNT does. She is her usual humble self when she mentions this gap in knowledge. “I’m at the bottom of the company, so I’m not sure what it’s all about.” That doesn’t bother her very much because she does understand the essence of the company. “I’m not aware of everything the company does, but when I see a TNT truck, I think to myself, it’s amazing that the whole world gets deliveries from us.” Hanna’s face lights up and a big smile comes across her face as she says: “I don’t want to stop doing this job. I don’t want to retire. I would like to work for TNT Post forever.”

IN TO Hanna Rave-Loupatty: “This is the best job I’ve ever had. When I joined TNT Post, a whole new world opened up for me.” Hanna Rave-Loupatty’s smile makes you want to smile back, even if you’re not feeling great about everyday life. Her smile radiates a genuine kindness. It is infectious. Hanna is a 45-year-old housewife employed part-time with TNT Post as a post delivery person in Winterswijk, a small town – population 23,000, so it’s even small by Dutch standards – surrounded on three sides by a national border with Germany. She started working for TNT Post in 2003. Every evening at home, she presses and folds her uniform, then carefully places it on a chair in her bedroom, ready for the following day’s work which will see her delivering mail to 400 customers. She is happy to have a choice of clothes from the wardrobe supplied to every delivery employee. Hanna will decide the following afternoon which item she would like to wear for her walk around her delivery sector.

OUCH o u r C U S T O M ER S

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Express acts on feedback TNT Express’s customer satisfaction research has led to a customer service re-engineering programme supporting four core customer needs: single point of contact, ease of use, rapid problem resolution, and proactive reporting

of problems. The programme has entailed adjustments in standardising recruitment, training and performance management, and use of new technologies using integrated channels, customer recognition and Internet call-back.

Hanna Rave-Loupatty Caring for family and everyone else Hanna’s parents immigrated to the Netherlands from Indonesia when their country gained independence. Hanna was born in 1960 and has lived in Winterswijk all her life. She’s been married for 21 years to Thomas Rave. They have four children – three grown and living out of the house, and their youngest, who is 16 and still at home. They’re a close-knit family and spend most evenings together, talking and enjoying Hanna’s Indonesian cooking. Hanna cares deeply for the welfare and happiness of her children, but is emotionally generous and compassionate outside the family, too. Hanna visits a number of lonely people in her neighbourhood to keep them company and cast a watchful eye over them. “I like to be with people,” she says. On occasion, she helps people who are too ill to help themselves. Recently, Hanna gave her time to a TNT Post colleague suffering from cancer and unable to work. Hanna went around to her home and cooked her meals. Hanna’s love and care for people is unconditional. She expects nothing in return. And if she can get them to respond to her warm and kindly smile, that would be enough.

Tracking brand health Since 1998 TNT has conducted annual research into the TNT brand in six key markets, benchmarking against major competitors. The research measures brand awareness, satisfaction and preference, brand image associations,

and the impact of TNT communications. Despite heavy competition on our home turf in Europe and Australia, the annual check-up indicates that the overall health of the TNT brand is robust.

o u r C U S T O M ER S

and the impact of TNT communications. Despite heavy competition on our home turf in Europe and Australia, the annual check-up indicates that the overall health of the TNT brand is robust.

o u r C U S T O M ER S

Exceeding e TNT people â&#x20AC;&#x201C; especially those in front-line roles who are in touch with customers every day â&#x20AC;&#x201C; work hard to exceed customer expectations.

expectations It can be intensely personal and varies among cultures. We asked some of our people at the customer end of the business how they interpret the TNT mission and how they apply it in their everyday work. “I always ask my customers to let me know any time of the day or night if they have a problem or a question. I’m always available for them.” John Bonde, Field Sales, Copenhagen, Denmark. “It’s about listening carefully to what customers have to say, being rational and objective, then proposing a solution… never giving up on them.” Maria Manuel, Field Sales, Oporto, Portugal. “In my country where close personal relationships are important, it’s about being warm and friendly, which are qualities that are within ourselves and can’t be taught, and showing our customers that we really care. It’s something our competitors find difficult to match.” Ilhami Yazici, Field Sales, Istanbul, Turkey.

“Following up on a promise to a customer and doing it as fast as possible so that they’re always kept informed.” Reshma Bhat, Customer Services, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. “It’s all about the little things you do on their behalf, but most of the time customers don’t see, and being proactive like calling them to check if they’ve received a package.” Andrew Lee, Customer Services, Houston, Texas. “Genuinely helping customers by giving them good information and advice, such as making them aware of customs documentation requirements that would otherwise cause a problem.” Anna Stephenson, Customer Services, Birmingham, England. “It’s about the small things that all add up in the end, like giving them extra information or following up with them even though they don’t expect it.” Kurt Van de Gehuchte, Customer Services, Kortrijk, Begium.

our IMAGE HOW WE’RE PERCEIVED

Interpreting the circles TNT introduced its current logo in 1998 as part of a corporate identity refreshment. Our logo anchors our image to what we do and what we offer. It is the outcome of customer research undertaken in key markets worldwide.

The three circles can be interpreted in different ways. The circles signify TNTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dynamism through movement, our global reach, a revolving process-orientation, wheels and transportation, and alignment of our three divisions.

our IMAGE

Leadership and image At the turn of the 21st century, a United Nations millennium survey was conducted of 57,000 respondents in 60 different countries. One conclusion was that consumer buying decisions are heavily influenced by how they perceive a company’s commitment to social and environmental issues, including reducing social inequality, protecting the environment and care of employees. In other words, a company’s bottom line can be directly affected by the consumer’s image of how well the company upholds its social responsibility. TNT’s image has improved over the past five years because of our work to make the world a better place. Our image is strongly associated with leadership on social and environmental issues, largely because of our partnership with the World Food Programme and our sustainability initiatives. We have not actively sought publicity in what we do simply because self-promotion is not the reason why TNT takes social responsibility so seriously. These aspects of our company colour customer perceptions. Customers would not buy from us if our services did not meet their expectations, but we like to think that our reputation as a good corporate citizen gives us a slight edge by making them more inclined to do business with us.

our IMAGE

Marilyn Conrich: “When I was an agent dropping off free newspapers, it often poured with rain so I’d get soaked to the skin. By the time I got home, I looked like I’d been in the shower!” Marilyn Conrich is the sort of person most people would be happy to meet at a party. She’s full of fun, talks a lot, and likes to be entertaining. She has a youthful spirit, huge reserves of energy and a spicy sense of humour. People who know her say she’s ‘crazy.’ Marilyn is in her late 50s. “I’m no spring chicken, but I’m a very bubbly person”, she says, laughing, “I enjoy being around people.” She works in southeast England for CD Distributors, part of TNT Mail UK. CD’s core business is distributing free regional and local newspapers to households across the country. Their customers are newspaper publishers who make their money from local advertisers placing ads or leaflet inserts into local papers. Marilyn is an agent controller handling 32 agents in the county of Essex, 30 miles east of London. The areas she controls are in the towns of Ilford and Romford. CD drops off the newspapers to every agent, who takes responsibility for a post code sector. The agents then

redistribute the papers to local distributors, who put them through the letter boxes of every household along every street within all the contracted sectors. Marilyn’s job is managing the agents, verifying deliveries are made through quality control audits and ensuring the distributors get paid at the end of the week. With 32 agencies under her control and an average of 30 distributors per agency, that means she administrates around 900 distributors. She manages them through her own group of administrators. It’s hard work, but Marilyn makes light of that. “I have a very good bunch of people working for me. They listen to how I want things done and they respond. They respect me because I take the time to talk to them as often as possible and explain what I want from them,” she explains. Her approach necessitates intensive use of the telephone and sometimes visiting the agents, distributors and customers themselves. She is hands-on and proactive. Marilyn has been working with CD for 15 years, but has been an agent controller in the CD Newspaper division for less than a year. She started in the business as an agent, so she fully understands what the agent and distributor jobs involve, the problems they face and how

I THINK WE’RE our IMAGE

to deal with them. “I have a lot of empathy with them because I’ve been there, done that, and bought the T-shirt,” says Marilyn. “When I was an agent dropping off newspapers, it was often pouring with rain so I’d get soaked to the skin. By the time I got home, I looked like I’d been in the shower!” Marilyn laughs off her bad experiences. She puts it down to her love of the job. In the few months she has been an agent controller, Marilyn has excelled in producing business results. Her first major job in her new role occurred in January 2005. She was given the task to turn around a contract CD had taken over from a competitor whose sub-standard services for a newspaper group had caused an upsurge in complaints from householders. Marilyn got stuck in to the job from day one. She met all 32 agents twice a week to keep them engaged and ensure they got thorough training. She checked that the distributors understood how to do their rounds. Those who were unsure or not confident, she visited personally. Her proactive approach created a stable operation. Her commitment and hard work yielded results beyond expectations. Three months after CD took over the con-

tract, householder complaints had been reduced by 75 percent. But the story didn’t end there. Just as she was resolving the problems created by the former supplier, other issues blind-sided the operation. It was up to Marilyn to tackle these new and unexpected problems. In July, a few printing presses broke down, causing delays in getting the newspapers. And there were knockon effects to the agents and distributors. Marilyn had to contact each distributor individually to explain the problems and how they would be dealt with. At the same time some agents left without warning for their summer holidays. So at short notice Marilyn had to arrange for alternative agents to cover for unplanned agent absences. “It was a lot of work, from morning to late evenings. I worked every weekend for four months. I felt it was a challenge and that I had to get the contract up and running and working efficiently.” On weekends when Marilyn was out visiting agents and distributors, her husband Laurence acted as her secretary, taking calls, messages and updating people on developments. “He didn’t mind doing it. But obviously he hopes it doesn’t happen too often because it’s time-consuming and he has his own job to do.”

Marilyn is also effusive in her praise for her boss, Pat Brodie, who supported her throughout the ups and downs of the contract operations. “She’s always there for me, and she was there for me during the difficult periods of the contract. She worked 24/7 as well”. To what else does she ascribe her success? “I’m a good organiser of people,” she says. “Because I commit 100 percent of myself to the work, I expect no less of the people who work for me.” Marilyn also has to like people, but it comes naturally to her. “I try to get on with everyone.” That’s a special talent in a job that requires so many customer and supplier contacts. It helps too, that Marilyn has been through what her workers experience as distributors. “A spot of rain never hurt anyone,” she says, breaking into laughter again. For Marilyn, every cloud has a silver lining.

HARDWO Marilyn Conrich: “When I was an agent dropping off free newspapers, it often poured with rain so I’d get soaked to the skin. By the time I got home, I looked like I’d been in the shower!” Marilyn Conrich is the sort of person most people would be happy to meet at a party. She’s full of fun, talks a lot, and likes to be entertaining. She has a youthful spirit, huge reserves of energy and a spicy sense of humour. People who know her say she’s ‘crazy.’ Marilyn is in her late 50s. “I’m no spring chicken, but I’m a very bubbly person”, she says, laughing, “I enjoy being around people.” She works in southeast England for CD Distributors, part of TNT Mail UK. CD’s core business is distributing free regional and local newspapers to households across the country. Their customers are newspaper publishers who make their money from local advertisers placing ads or leaflet inserts into local papers. Marilyn is an agent controller handling 32 agents in the county of Essex, 30 miles east of London. The areas she controls are in the towns of Ilford and Romford. CD drops off the newspapers to every agent, who takes responsibility for a post code sector. The agents then

WORKING our IMAGE

our IMAGE

TNT is orange The colour orange is integral to our corporate identity. Our three key competitors, by contrast, use brown, purple and yellow. We’ve used orange for more than 40 years, first in Australia. It‘s part of our heritage and our

people often speak about each other as having orange blood, a reference to the passion TNT employees have for our company and customers. Orange also symbolises TNT personality traits such as warmth, caring and energy.

Marilyn Conrich Fun-loving, jiving mother and wife In their spare time, Marilyn Conrich and her husband Laurence enjoy dancing. They live in Romford, Essex, just east of London, which is also where Marilyn works. At least one night a week, they’re out practicing their Ceroc dance moves – a fusion of jive and salsa that started in France and is the latest dance craze to sweep across the UK. ”It’s great exercise and really good fun. You get to meet a lot of people, too,” says Marilyn. That typifies the kind of person Marilyn is: active, full of fun and highly sociable. It’s as if the more people she meets, the more energised she becomes. Her friends think she has a crazy streak “because I’m always saying silly things and having fun. I’m just a happy person,” she remarks. Marilyn also finds time to practice yoga, and as a qualified beautician, gets the occasional request from her friends to apply a hot wax or facial. She is a proud mother of two sons, both now in their mid 20s. They join Marilyn and Laurence for a winter sport holiday every year. “We go skiing, but the two boys do snowboarding,” she’s quick to point out. She is warm, happy, and just young at heart.

What our logo symbolises The TNT logo is more than passive graphic design or trademark used to distinguish us. It has an active role as a symbol that carries multiple meanings for stakeholders. It is a badge symbolising all we stand for: our services, our commitment

to quality, our social and business values, our exemplary people and our reputation. Our logo activates positive brand associations in the minds of stakeholders and evokes a feeling of pride among our employees.

our IMAGE

Image imperfection Our commitment to transparency and openness means we acknowledge there are aspects of our image we can improve. Let’s be honest: We don’t get it right all the time. But we do take customer perceptions and opinions very seriously and act on them. We don’t necessarily like what we hear, but that’s not the point. Customers have an inherent right to criticise. It’s their prerogative and it keeps TNT on our toes. Our image research helps us to do that, too. Our image as a single brand capable of delivering a portfolio of services through an integrated management team was less than satisfactory. We asked some global logistics customers to tell us what they thought of TNT based on their experiences with us.

They were brutally honest. They did not see us as one company; for them, our divisional structure got in the way of doing business. Multiple contacts made efficient communication difficult and slowed problem-solving; strong national businesses sometimes hindered our global service capability. Key global customers of TNT Express had similar experiences. Our divisions just weren’t talking to one another and weren’t offering a seamless service. Our image was that of a fragmented company comprising autonomous divisional structures. We’ve acted fast to change that. We implemented a programme that has improved cross-divisional and business unit cooperation so customers with global needs spend less time talking to different people to meet their multi-product needs. Though we’ve got some way to go, we’re working hard to ensure that all customers experience the seamless operational and service benefits of a single brand.

our WORLD What we believe in

Walk the World In June 2005, more than 200,000 people in villages, towns Walk the World brought in â&#x201A;Ź1.2 million, enough to feed and cities across 91 countries took part in Walk the World, at least 70,000 hungry school children for a year. an event organised by WFP and TNT. The aim was to raise funds and awareness in the fight against child hunger.

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Managing social Our belief that we have an obligation to make the world a better place covers more than relieving the plight of the poor and hungry.

responsibility We aim to lead our industry in social responsibility. Our aspiration is also meant to inspire our peers to increase their efforts and thereby improve the reputation of our entire industry. Through these efforts, we also enhance TNTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reputation and instill pride in our employees. Among our first actions was signing the United Nations Global Compact, which seeks to protect human and labour rights and safeguard the environment. The compact declares our support for the standards of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the International Labour Organisation. Since then, TNT has adopted a three-fold approach based on our commitment to identify opportunities and get involved in other areas of sustainability. First, we implement leading international standards

within our company and measure our actions against them. These standards relate to operational excellence, safe workplaces, responsible treatment of the environment, employee development and social accountability. Also we have adopted the guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative to declare our sustainability performance. Second, we aim to improve the reputation of our industry via the World Economic Forumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s logistics and transportation corporate citizenship initiative, which includes companies from across our industry working together to address issues and demonstrate our collective initiative. Finally, we seek to inspire as the leader in social responsibility among our peer group by focusing on reduction of carbon dioxide emissions and helping WFP combat world hunger.

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I HAVE TAKEN it Rick Fijnaut: “I’ve learned that in TNT there are still people who want to help others. We’re still a people company. We still care about others.” Rick Fijnaut has worked at TNT Post for 25 years. He delivers mail in the rural town of Heerlen where he has lived all his life. Late in the night of 27 December 2004, during the Christmas holidays, Rick couldn’t sleep. He kept thinking about the Asian tsunami that only the day before had devastated low-lying areas around the Indian Ocean, killing an estimated 300,000 people and leaving millions of others destitute. His mind kept churning over another thought: “How can I help those people? I can’t help them build a school or whatever. They need a lot of money.” Gradually, an idea began to take shape: What if everyone in TNT were to give up an hour or two of their holiday pay and contribute the equivalent amount in money to a relief fund? “It’s easier to give up one hour of leave than to donate the same amount in cash,” says Rick. The following morning, he went to work at his sorting depot and started putting his idea into action. After first speaking with his supervisor, he sent an e-mail to the TNT CEO. From there, Rick’s idea began to gain momentum. A few days later, TNT employees in the Netherlands had given € 800,000 to the tsunami relief fund. The TNT

board of Management doubled the amount, so Rick’s idea finally generated € 1.6 million for emergency relief and rebuilding peoples’ lives in the disaster-stricken areas. Overnight, Rick became a celebrity. Newspapers seized on the story, and 10 days later he was invited to present the cheque on a Dutch TV fundraiser. “I felt good. It wasn’t my money, just my idea.” Why did Rick take the plight of the tsunami victims so personally when, like millions of others, he could have simply donated money to charities or relief organisations? There was a deep-seated personal reason: a debt of gratitude. Sixteen years earlier, in 1989, Rick was backpacking in southern Thailand. “I had arrived on a bus from Bangkok. I discovered that I’d lost my passport, plane ticket and all my money. It was my own fault,” he says. “I was desperate and helpless, and a lot younger then. It was my first big trip outside Europe. I was sitting in a hotel crying.” The Thai owner of the hotel and his daughter gave him emotional comfort and practical help. “She took me back to the bus station and asked them if anything had been found. Nothing. Back at the hotel, they gave me a cup of tea and patted me gently on my shoulder and reassured me. They told me everything would be OK.”

> Asian tsunami heroes (L to R): David Stenberg, David Tan, Steve Halhead. o u r W OR L D

“Everything did turn out alright in the end, and it was their simple acts of kindness that made me feel there was hope. So when the tsunami hit, I said to myself it was time to give something back to the Thai people.” Rick is an emotional and caring person. He has a deeply ingrained compassion for people and a common decency about his attitude toward them. That’s also what makes him a good postman. “I’ve got some customers I’ve been delivering mail to for 24 years. There’s a bond between us,” he says. Many of them are on first-name terms with Rick and he takes time to chat with them when time and work schedule permits. Rick’s day starts early. He gets up at 5.15 a.m. and is at the Heerlen sorting centre by 6 a.m., separating the mail for different delivery areas. By 10.30 a.m. he’s on the streets of Heerlen, delivering mail to 300 customers. He finds the combination of working outdoors and dealing with people motivating. By mid-afternoon, Rick’s work is finished for the day. One of the principal benefits about his job is getting home at 3.00 p.m. It allows him to spend the rest of his day playing with his young daughter Noa and helping his wife around the house. Late in the evenings, after his daughter has gone

to bed, he often turns his attention to his model railway. “Model trains for me are not just a passion. They’re an obsession.” It’s a fairly peaceful, rather ordinary life Rick leads. But he enjoys the security he gets from working at TNT. “I don’t feel I have a career. I’m 42 years old and I’ve been a postman all of my life. But I have a steady job, a stable income and I support my family. That’s important to me.” He’s proud to be a postman for TNT. Dutch society’s positive image of postmen holds special importance for Rick. The Dutch have traditionally seen postmen as reliable, as part of the social fabric. “They see him as the guy who knows what he’s doing. If there’s a problem with mail deliveries, people ask me to help resolve it rather than contacting the sorting centre. That’s why we must have solid relationships with our customers. The public trusts postmen. TNT has to keep it that way and build trust with our customers.” Over the years, he has seen changes in the Dutch post office that have affected his own job. Automation has meant more efficient working practices, which have increased the scope of his responsibilities. Machines make the sorting process faster, freeing up more time for

deliveries; that has resulted in expanded delivery areas for postmen. “You have to be faster in doing things nowadays,” he says. Despite some concerns about the nature of the changes taking place, Rick believes TNT is on the right track, provided it employs the right people and takes time to train them correctly. “If I have to give advice to young people wanting to be postmen, I’d tell them to take the time to learn the job. They should watch what experienced postmen do. They shouldn’t be afraid to ask questions or make mistakes, as long as they learn from them.” Rick himself is still learning, not so much about his job anymore, but about the sort of person he is and the type of people who work for TNT. When he came up with his fund-raising idea, he realised that despite his comfortable family life, he still wants to help other people and repay small kindnesses. “I have learned that somewhere in myself is still a good heart. I’ve learned that in TNT there are still people who want to help others. We’re still a people company. We still care about others.”

I HAVE PERSO TAKEN it Rick Fijnaut: “I’ve learned that in TNT there are still people who want to help others. We’re still a people company. We still care about others.” Rick Fijnaut has worked at TNT Post for 25 years. He delivers mail in the rural town of Heerlen where he has lived all his life. Late in the night of 27 December 2004, during the Christmas holidays, Rick couldn’t sleep. He kept thinking about the Asian tsunami that only the day before had devastated low-lying areas around the Indian Ocean, killing an estimated 300,000 people and leaving millions of others destitute. His mind kept churning over another thought: “How can I help those people? I can’t help them build a school or whatever. They need a lot of money.” Gradually, an idea began to take shape: What if everyone in TNT were to give up an hour or two of their holiday pay and contribute the equivalent amount in money to a relief fund? “It’s easier to give up one hour of leave than to donate the same amount in cash,” says Rick. The following morning, he went to work at his sorting depot and started putting his idea into action. After first speaking with his supervisor, he sent an e-mail to the TNT CEO. From there, Rick’s idea began to gain momentum. A few days later, TNT employees in the Netherlands had given € 800,000 to the tsunami relief fund. The TNT

ONALLY > Asian tsunami heroes (L to R): David Stenberg, David Tan, Steve Halhead. o u r W OR L D

“Rick isn’t loud or outspoken, but he thinks deeply about things like the company, our customers and our working processes. I often receive proposals from him to do things better or easier in our work or for our customers. There’s only one minor criticism to make. Sometimes I think: ‘Rick, you need a good shave!’”

“Rick just does a great job, and I really mean it because he gives extra service. When we moved to another shop in the neighbourhood, Rick always checked my mail, gave me hints, thought along with me. Often we have quick talks about things and then he continues with his work. To me he represents what is best about your company.”

says Huub Coenen, Rick Fijnaut’s supervisor.

comments Ruud Mattheijs, a TNT Post customer in Heerlen.

I HAVE TAKEN it

“Rick is a nice and friendly guy. Even when he is very busy, he has some friendly words to say. He does a good job and in my view I think TNT Post would like all its employees to be like him.” says Jeroen Arons, another local customer.

“Rick and I have known each other for a long time now. He always takes time for me no matter how busy he is. He’s very customer-oriented and service-minded. He does his job well. To me he is an example of the ideal employee.” remarks Wim Janssen, TNT Post customer in Heerlen.

Rick Fijnaut: “I’ve learned that in TNT there are still people who want to help others. We’re still a people company. We still care about others.” Rick Fijnaut has worked at TNT Post for 25 years. He delivers mail in the rural town of Heerlen where he has lived all his life. Late in the night of 27 December 2004, during the Christmas holidays, Rick couldn’t sleep. He kept thinking about the Asian tsunami that only the day before had devastated low-lying areas around the Indian Ocean, killing an estimated 300,000 people and leaving millions of others destitute. His mind kept churning over another thought: “How can I help those people? I can’t help them build a school or whatever. They need a lot of money.” Gradually, an idea began to take shape: What if everyone in TNT were to give up an hour or two of their holiday pay and contribute the equivalent amount in money to a relief fund? “It’s easier to give up one hour of leave than to donate the same amount in cash,” says Rick. The following morning, he went to work at his sorting depot and started putting his idea into action. After first speaking with his supervisor, he sent an e-mail to the TNT CEO. From there, Rick’s idea began to gain momentum. A few days later, TNT employees in the Netherlands had given € 800,000 to the tsunami relief fund. The TNT

> Asian tsunami heroes (L to R): David Stenberg, David Tan, Steve Halhead. o u r W OR L D

Industry leadership in sustainability The Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) covers the top 10 percent of the largest 2,500 companies in terms of economic, environmental and social criteria. In 2005, TNT merited a rank in the index for the first time, with

an overall score of 75. The achievement was notable in that TNT also attained industry-leading scores in seven of 20 criteria, which made it the overall industry leader.

Rick Fijnaut Devoted husband and father Rick Fijnaut is not a complicated man. He enjoys the simple things in life, including building model railways. But perhaps his simplest and greatest pleasure is spending time with his wife Pauline and five-year old daughter, Noa. When the weather permits, Rick can be found after work in his back garden with Noa, kicking a ball around or playing in the sandpit. “She’s the apple of my eye,” he says proudly. “She likes playing with her dad.” They enjoy cycling together and sometimes a day at the beach. As a husband and father, Rick finds quality time with his family precious. That’s one reason he’s happy with his job: It enables him to spend his afternoons with them. Perhaps because Rick is an uncomplicated person, he tends to wear his heart on his sleeve. He cares passionately about his family, about the Thai people, and about children in general. “Kids are honest,” he says, “It’s always great to have them around.”

Innovating for a good cause Until now, local regulations and payment systems make the collection of donations from countries around the world a complex and costly exercise for aid agencies and not-for-profit organisations. With one of its partners

named Global Collect, TNT tested and implemented a payment and collection system that uses internet technology to increase efficiencies for fund raisers dependent upon worldwide donations.

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< WFP supplies at Medan airport

an overall score of 75. The achievement was notable in that TNT also attained industry-leading scores in seven of 20 criteria, which made it the overall industry leader.

named Global Collect, TNT tested and implemented a payment and collection system that uses internet technology to increase efficiencies for fund raisers dependent upon worldwide donations.

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< WFP supplies at Medan airport

< One of two helicopters chartered by TNT to help in Banda Aceh

Moving hearts and minds Our partnership with WFP has moved the hearts and minds of our employees.

TNTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s involvement in helping alleviate hunger has set our peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s imaginations alight and actively engaged them in the partnership. The idea that TNT is trying to make the world a better place for disadvantaged people has touched a chord within the company. A 2004 study showed that two-thirds of TNT employees felt proud of their company because of our work with WFP. Many attest to the interest in the partnership shown by customers, family members and friends. The partnership has earned TNT external respect that reflects on our own people, reinforcing their pride in TNT. The study also showed that nearly 60 percent of our employees had in one way or another participated in one or more activities, from fundraising to cause-related marketing and sponsored walks. More than one percent of our people have personally taken a direct and active role in the programme, either providing knowledge or handson support in the School Feeding Support Programme. Many TNT units around the world have started local humanitarian initiatives, a testament to the motivational power of the partnership. The company as a whole directly benefits from employee engagement and pride in the partnership with WFP. It has inspired and united TNT employees across our three divisions and around the world in a common humanitarian cause.

our SERVICES What we offer

European coverage The year-round 24-hour per day European Express services are supported by sophisticated intra-European air and road networks. From its dedicated air hub in LiĂ¨ge, Belgium, the TNT air network with 42 aircraft reaches

67 European airports, ultimately connecting more than 400 destinations in 212 countries around the world. The road network covers over 30 European countries. Trucks and vans clock up almost 2 million kilometers per week.

YOU CAN Santo Ragalmuto: “I like working for TNT. The organisation is disciplined and I have great managers. I’m grateful to them for giving me the chance to show what I can do.” Santo Ragalmuto is a man of few words. Ask him a question, and you will get a matter-of-fact answer delivered in short sentences and without the embellishment of any small talk. He uses one word when only one is needed, and two when two are needed. His economy of words and conversation can be a bit disconcerting to people who meet him for the first time, and perhaps off-putting for others. But look into his face and you’ll see a proud, kind and smiling person. It’s just that words aren’t ‘his thing.’ Santo is 42, an Italian immigrant to Germany. He moved from Italy in 1981. He now speaks German fluently and appears to have adopted the disciplined business-like formality typically associated with the German culture. Perhaps it’s also down to the fact that he was a mechanic and therefore very practical. He lives in Wolfsburg-Vorsfelde in north-central

Germany with his wife and three children. Wolfsburg is a modern city established in the mid-20th century and once centered entirely on the Volkswagen automobile company. The famous VW Beetle was manufactured there. The VW factory is the biggest automotive plant in Europe and employs 54,000 people. Santo works for TNT Logistics in Wolfsburg. TNT has a major contract with Volkswagen providing just-in-time production parts services in a VW-dedicated warehouse. “When I first came to Wolfsburg, about 50 percent of the people living in the city were Italians. I don’t have any contact with them,” says Santo. “I want to practice my German. If I had contact with Italians, that wouldn’t help me learn to speak German,” he says matter-of-factly. Santo started working with TNT in 1995 as a forklift driver and has since worked his way up to a supervisor position. He has been promoted to team leader because he works hard, is energetic and shows an aptitude to learn. “I work six days a week, almost every week of the year,” he remarks. He’s had enough of driving forklifts but likes the challenge of his new responsibilities. His manager has put him in charge of all equipment used in his department.

Santo is determined to continue doing well with TNT and learn more from the company. “I like working for TNT. The organisation is disciplined and I have great managers who are very helpful. I’m grateful to them for giving me the chance to show what I can do.” Volkswagen parts are delivered to the warehouse from all over the world. Santo’s job is to manage the inventory. TNT supplies the Volkswagen production line with parts from warehouses inside and outside the factory. The parts are re-distributed throughout Germany. Because it’s a just-in-time operation, there can be a lot of pressure. “I can handle the pressure. I don’t feel it,” Santo says convincingly. One soon gets the feeling that Santo does not suffer fools gladly. He has a firm no-nonsense attitude and very little respect for people who don’t pull their weight and get on with their work. Straightforward, no-nonsense, direct, hard working, reliable, able to withstand pressure: these traits provide clues about the type of person Santo really is underneath his taciturn exterior. He is calm and determined. He gives the impression of being a ‘safe pair of hands’ and exactly the sort of person who can get others out of a tight spot.

And that’s indeed what happened in November 2004. Santo’s manager, Volker Trinitowski, called him into the office and asked if he would mind going to Italy. There were problems, he said, with a TNT contract. Lamborghini, a subsidiary of Volkswagen, had changed its manufacturing process from individual shop production to in-line production, but the process wasn’t working effectively and management had appealed to TNT for help. With his experience in automotive logistics, and his Italian background, Santo could find out what the issues were. Santo didn’t think long about the request. It was an opportunity to use the experience and skills he acquired with TNT. He volunteered immediately. With his manager and one other TNT colleague, he flew to Lamborghini in Bologna to investigate. Santo spent the whole month in Bologna, sorting out the situation with a few other colleagues from Wolfsburg. “Lamborghini had a problem with its inventory management system,” says Santo, “which didn’t track the flow of spare parts or even where they were located. For instance, Lamborghini would order 10 items, but then they would receive 10 times that number by accident.” With four other colleagues from Wolfsburg, Santo

worked day and night during the ensuing four weeks, often 12 to 15 hours a day, only returning home on weekends. He worked alongside his Italian counterparts at TNT, instructing them on how to remedy the problems by managing in-time deliveries to the production line, as well as training them on the spot how to do it. Gradually Santo and his team stabilised the situation and eliminated what had become extremely costly interruptions to the manufacturing process. Lamborghini went on to meet its year-end production targets. Santo’s intervention also ensured that the TNT contract was secure. It must have been very stressful. “No,” Santo replies, in his Spartan way, “ I can manage stress. But the other people felt it.” Santo is the kind of person TNT needs in such a crisis: a cool head on strong shoulders. A man of few words himself, Santo would probably agree with the old adage that actions speak louder than words.

RELY O YOU CAN Santo Ragalmuto: “I like working for TNT. The organisation is disciplined and I have great managers. I’m grateful to them for giving me the chance to show what I can do.” Santo Ragalmuto is a man of few words. Ask him a question, and you will get a matter-of-fact answer delivered in short sentences and without the embellishment of any small talk. He uses one word when only one is needed, and two when two are needed. His economy of words and conversation can be a bit disconcerting to people who meet him for the first time, and perhaps off-putting for others. But look into his face and you’ll see a proud, kind and smiling person. It’s just that words aren’t ‘his thing.’ Santo is 42, an Italian immigrant to Germany. He moved from Italy in 1981. He now speaks German fluently and appears to have adopted the disciplined business-like formality typically associated with the German culture. Perhaps it’s also down to the fact that he was a mechanic and therefore very practical. He lives in Wolfsburg-Vorsfelde in north-central

ON ME Santo is determined to continue doing well with TNT and learn more from the company. “I like working for TNT. The organisation is disciplined and I have great managers who are very helpful. I’m grateful to them for giving me the chance to show what I can do.” Volkswagen parts are delivered to the warehouse from all over the world. Santo’s job is to manage the inventory. TNT supplies the Volkswagen production line with parts from warehouses inside and outside the factory. The parts are re-distributed throughout Germany. Because it’s a just-in-time operation, there can be a lot of pressure. “I can handle the pressure. I don’t feel it,” Santo says convincingly. One soon gets the feeling that Santo does not suffer fools gladly. He has a firm no-nonsense attitude and very little respect for people who don’t pull their weight and get on with their work. Straightforward, no-nonsense, direct, hard working, reliable, able to withstand pressure: these traits provide clues about the type of person Santo really is underneath his taciturn exterior. He is calm and determined. He gives the impression of being a ‘safe pair of hands’ and exactly the sort of person who can get others out of a tight spot.

Managing complexity Managing complex domestic and global supply chains is one of many major challenges confronting TNT Logistics. Its Matrix™ technology provides a link between TNT Logistics and trading partners, supporting inbound just-

in-time logistics, outbound and reverse logistics across multiple vertical industries. Matrix™ integrates transportation, inventory management, order fulfilment, financial settlement and e-commerce enabling global collaboration.

Santo Ragalmuto Work, family and a little bit of gardening Santo doesn’t have much time to spare for anything but his work and his family. He works six days a week and says his family doesn’t mind so much that his only one full day with them is Sunday. “They don’t think much about it as long as I bring home the money.” Santo has been married to his wife Carmela for 22 years. They have three children aged 19, 16 and 12 – Giacomo, Sebastiano and Antonella. Sebastiano has suffered from diabetes since the age of three. “He has had four operations already on his bladder and kidneys,” says Santo. “He needs special care.” What sort of special care? “Insulin and love,” replies Santo without hesitation. The consequence is that Santo tries to give as much time to family as work allows. “Whatever time is left after my work is for my family. They’re my only hobby, apart from a bit of gardening.”

The royal status of our post service On the occasion of its 200th anniversary in 1999, PTT Post was granted the right by H.M. Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands to add â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Royalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; to its name, a source of great pride to 60,000 Dutch employees. The prefix bestows

royal status on the postal organisation and permits it to use a crown symbol. It signifies the traditional association of the post office with the provision of a reliable public service to the Dutch people and their monarchy.

Strategy and services

In a well-managed company, strategy guides the development of services and identifies those that are right for both the business and for customers. Each of our divisions formulates their own strategy to leverage existing and future growth opportunities, providing an insight into the service areas they will operate in. TNT Post aims to be the leading provider of business and consumer services for communication, transactions

and delivery. We want our Mail operations to be recognised as the industry benchmark for quality, efficiency and customer service, for producing the best returns in the industry and for making maximum use of new technologies and European postal market liberalisation. The ambition of TNT Express is leadership in day- and time-certain, door-to-door transport for our business customers with the widest geographical coverage. The strategic intent is to be number one in Europe in national and intra-European express; to build capacity in China to grow our European network and to embed a domestic network in China; to be number one in the rest of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s emerging markets; and to be the leader in special services. TNT Logisticsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; strategy is to design, implement and operate complex supply chain solutions and exploit information technology to achieve integration and visibility throughout the process. The aim is to ensure operational excellence, global coverage and leadership in the industry sectors we serve. These sectors include automotive, fast-moving consumer goods, high-tech electronics, tyres, publishing and media, and industrial and commercial.

How we manage

Our mission Our mission is to exceed our customersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; expectations in the transfer of their goods and documents around the world and to deliver value to our customers by providing the most efficient and reliable solutions in distribution and

logistics. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re also committed to leading the industry by making our people proud of the company they work for; by creating value for our shareholders; and by sharing responsibility for the world in which we live.

our COMPANY

We live in an age of scepticism about the motives and activities of corporations. That’s hardly surprising after scandals erupted in the United States where the actions of a few executives were discovered to be unethical and ruinous to the interests of the very stakeholders they were expected to serve. The scandals resulted in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which was enacted in 2002. It tightened up accounting, auditing and financial reporting requirements of all companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange, including TNT. The Dutch government encouraged a similar corporate governance code that strengthens the system of checks and balances inside companies to restore trust in the integrity and transparency of corporate decision-making. At TNT, we are strict about keeping our own house clean and in good order. We adhere to ethical codes and practice regulatory standards that ensure good corporate governance. And while we did so before the tougher legislation was introduced, we’ve been happy to comply with the new regulations. For us, good corporate governance is not just a matter of external regulations. It goes to the heart of TNT’s core belief in social responsibility. We comply not just because we have to, but because we believe it’s the right thing to do. As a company that subscribes to the idea that by doing good we can do well, our actions and the way we run our company must speak for themselves. Protecting the interests of our employees and external stakeholders derive from ethical behaviours in the first place. It enables us to practice what we preach as a good corporate citizen. To help us measure ourselves against our own standards, we have developed the TNT Code of Business Principles, which all employees respect and follow. Independent audit and ethics committees monitor our compliance with this code. Our commitment to open and transparent reporting lets stakeholders look into our house and see how we’re governing ourselves. As we build the TNT house, we must keep it clean. We would not have it any other way.

A clean house

our COMPANY

Karin Cˇechalová: “TNT Walk the World was a special day. A lot of families from all over the country came to Prague, and everyone was wearing orange and white. I love orange.” Karin Cˇechalová behaves like a mother even though she doesn’t have any children of her own yet. By turns she is serious and light-hearted, disciplined and easygoing, tough then soft. It’s the way she handles her young charges, the people in their early 20s who work for her. Karin makes no apologies for her pendulum-like behaviour. “Sometimes I have to be a hard taskmaster, but when the job’s done, I will loosen up and become a different person,” she says. Karin is only 27, but she’s now the Ostrava depot manager for ADM, part of TNT Post’s European Mail Network, in the Czech Republic. Its core business is in the unaddressed mail delivery sector, delivering leaflets to thousands of households around the country. Karin’s clients include major European supermarket chains, large retailers as well as small local shops. Karin has been with the company for nine years, and has worked her way up to her current position. Six employees report to her. “They’re all younger than me,

but it’s a family feeling we have together.” She builds her team by spending time out of the office with them. Though most of her day is spent in the depot office, that doesn’t mean she’s far removed from the hard end of the business. Karin acknowledges that the work of the distributors – the individuals who walk the neighborhood streets delivering the leaflets – isn’t easy. In order to understand the difficulties a distributor encounters, Karin will take on the job herself. “I have to try it to be able to answer questions from our distributors. A lot of them are students, housewives and retired people. I take on the role of a distributor at least one day of the year, sometimes more.” The last time Karin took on the role she delivered leaflet packs to 1,800 letter boxes. “I didn’t finish my sector until 10 p.m.” Her proactive nature allows Karin to understand much better the issues distributors occasionally bring to her. “When they complain about something, I can answer them truthfully because I’m speaking from my own experience.” One Thursday In early May 2005, Karin was confronted with a quickly unfolding crisis.A flu epidemic was sweeping Ostrava. It was exactly the time that the

I LOVE our COMPANY

payroll for distributors had to be made. She received a call at 6 a.m. from one of her staff who usually prepared the payroll for 100 distributors, to say that she was ill and couldn’t make it to the office. Another one of her payroll staff was already out sick. Then a third phoned to say that she was too ill to get into work. Karin was faced with having to prepare the payroll for 350 distributors on her own in addition to her production responsibilities, which involved receiving bulk leaflet deliveries from local printers and arranging for them to be dropped off to distributors. The leaflet deliveries had to be made over the weekend as contracted to meet a customer promise. Karin committed herself to getting the work done on her own. “I sorted out the production issues all day Thursday, then began the payroll on Friday at 7 a.m. Looking back it’s quite a funny story, but at the time it was a nightmare for me.” And the nightmare got worse. As she worked on the payroll, one of the quality controllers who check that leaflets are delivered correctly phoned in sick. With the epidemic decimating all potential resources, Karin had no alternative but to undertake the quality control of the sector herself.

To help her with the sector audit, Karin recruited her partner, Jirka. “He had actually planned an anniversary celebration for us on Saturday and a visit to the cinema. So he wasn’t too happy when I told him that instead he had to work,” she says, smiling capriciously. All day Saturday and into the evening, Jirka did the driving, street-by-street in the delivery sector, while Karin jumped in and out of the car, ringing doorbells to ask householders if they had received the leaflets and checking that there were no problems. Early Sunday morning, back in her office, Karin resumed the payroll and continued checking with the other quality controllers that deliveries in all sectors had been made correctly. She eventually finished her production, payroll and controller duties late that evening, having done the work of four staff in addition to her own. “It was possibly the worst four days I’ve had since I joined ADM in 1996. But everyone has to be flexible and sometimes we have to do things quickly that aren’t part of our everyday jobs. If I expect that of my own staff, I expect that of myself too,” she says, still smiling. Karin and her team are proud of the association with

TNT. “In the Czech Republic, TNT has a very good reputation. It’s also seen as a stable company. A lot of people would like to work for it because it offers secure employment. In our country we have a high unemployment problem. Occasionally friends ask me if there are any good jobs available.” The company’s partnership with the World Food Programme has also appealed to Karin and her colleagues in a big way. In addition to the pride they take in being associated with a worldwide humanitarian effort, the annual Walk the World event is considered a way of bringing TNT people from across the country together. It serves as a social event as much as a social statement. “TNT Walk the World was a special day because a lot of families from all over the country came to Prague,” says Karin. Then, as a young, fashion-conscious woman from north Moravia, she adds: “And everyone was wearing orange and white. I love orange. Even my living room at home is decorated in orange.”

ORAN Karin Cˇechalová: “TNT Walk the World was a special day. A lot of families from all over the country came to Prague, and everyone was wearing orange and white. I love orange.” Karin Cˇechalová behaves like a mother even though she doesn’t have any children of her own yet. By turns she is serious and light-hearted, disciplined and easygoing, tough then soft. It’s the way she handles her young charges, the people in their early 20s who work for her. Karin makes no apologies for her pendulum-like behaviour. “Sometimes I have to be a hard taskmaster, but when the job’s done, I will loosen up and become a different person,” she says. Karin is only 27, but she’s now the Ostrava depot manager for ADM, part of TNT Post’s European Mail Network, in the Czech Republic. Its core business is in the unaddressed mail delivery sector, delivering leaflets to thousands of households around the country. Karin’s clients include major European supermarket chains, large retailers as well as small local shops. Karin has been with the company for nine years, and has worked her way up to her current position. Six employees report to her. “They’re all younger than me,

ANGE our COMPANY

our COMPANY

Our Supervisory Board The TNT Supervisory Board currently has nine members who have occupied high-level leadership positions in business and politics. The board resembles a council of elders that draw on their experience and wisdom to advise, counsel

and guide the TNT Board of Management on key company issues. Unencumbered by responsibilities of everyday management, they represent the interests of all stakeholders, providing objective, non-partisan advice.

ˇ echalová Karin C Young, sporty and a hippopotamus sponsor Karin Cˇechalová is fanatical about sports. She enjoys squash, jogging and swimming. It helps her stay fit and cope with the stresses of work. Other ways she de-stresses include shopping for fashionable clothes, and the more sedate hobby of weaving, a traditional pastime in north Moravia. She lives there in the small town of Havirˇov where she grew up, a place she loves. “It’s a very quiet town surrounded by mountains and nature.” Her mother and father live 10 minutes away. Her mother is suffering from cancer, another reason that keeps Karin in Havirˇov. Being the eldest sibling with a younger brother and sister, Karin spends as much time as she can with her parents on weekends. “I’m a very family-centered person. We do things together as a family, and that takes our mind off the situation. We just try to be happy.” Then there is the hippopotamus Karin adopted at the local zoo. She donates money each month to help buy him food. “I call him Hippo and like to think of him as mine. I go to see him every month and talk to his keeper.”

Company communication Open communication is a deep-seated feature of our culture. It facilitates the exchange of opinions and ideas, and puts issues on to the table quickly. Our plain-speaking, no-nonsense style is also a characteristic of the company,

inherited from earlier days as our identity was developing. Asking direct questions to elicit honest answers helps us see problems from all sides. Written or verbal, our communication style is assertive and challenging.

our COMPANY

Engagement and inclusion

The occupants of our house are our employees. All 160,000 of them. It’s important that they are happy living and working with TNT. Most of our employees spend a third of their time at TNT during the workday; others commit even more hours to the company. We value their commitment to TNT. Moreover, as people who are a part of a world community, they deserve our respect. We aim to make employees proud to work for TNT and want them to speak positively to their families and

friends about our company. For that to happen, they must feel satisfied and happy in the jobs they do and the company they keep. Our intention is part altruistic, but not entirely. We’re honest about what we want: Motivated employees are more likely to align with our strategic goals and to keep their knowledge and skills inside our company. We call this bond between employee and company engagement, and we measure employees’ levels of engagement with the company. In the past, various TNT business units have conducted employee satisfaction surveys. The results have shown that we are among the industry leaders in retention of employees. Other indicators show that we’re getting a lot right, but there are also areas where we can do more. Now we’re making sure that all employees can have their say. We’ve implemented a regular worldwide engagement survey so all our 160,000 employees can tell us whether they are satisfied with their jobs and with TNT. We want to know if they feel proud and at home living in the TNT house.

our FUTURE What we can expect

Focus and energy The marketplace is a battlefield. Competition is war. To achieve our key objectives, we must win those battles crucial to TNTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s future as a leading competitor. Identifying â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;mustwin battlesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; helps to concentrate our focus and energy.

As with real battles, the strategy is only as good as the implementation, so our success depends entirely upon the energy, commitment and the strong personality traits that characterise TNT people.

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Poets, artists and musicians have visions of the future, as do a few great statesmen. They inspire, guide and offer people hope of something better, leading followers to believe in an idea that is greater than the present-day but rather humdrum reality. At TNT we too, have a vision. But ours is basic. We need to explain, not apologise for it. Our vision does not look too far into a future, designing rosy mental pictures of a distant paradise which raises false expectations, hopes and promises that can never be realised. Those kinds of visions are counter-cultural for TNT as we are a pragmatic and straightforward people. One of our company traits is reliability that leads to predictability, and that applies as much to our future expectations, too. For many people outside TNT, our vision may seem uninspired and lacking creativity because they perceive it to be about short-term survival. To us, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the opposite. It appeals to the way we are, to our realism and our will to succeed. We have to fight and win our short-term battles first in order to survive, before creating a long-term vision of the future. Our must-win battles are, in fact, our vision of the immediate future. They give TNT urgency and focus: a vision of what we know must happen and not what we hope will happen. By winning these battles, TNT gains the solidity and confidence to move forward. From there we can make the step-change to creating another â&#x20AC;&#x201C; perhaps more inspiring â&#x20AC;&#x201C; vision. And having won the battles through the great people we already employ, we can consolidate our position as a great company and move into another era.

Winning battles precedes a vision

The big must-win battle for TNT Post is to continue lowering our cost base. Doing so gives us the ability to compete and generate value, and winning it serves as the foundation for our future. We’re engaged in the battle for the bottom line as our mail market faces commoditisation. Reducing our costs while capitalising on our core competency and the enviable skills we’ve built in the postal industry creates a lean and mean TNT, prepared for the other market sectors where we’ve chosen to do battle. TNT Post embarked on a cost flexibility programme in the Netherlands a few years ago to offset volume declines. Both trends will continue. The programme involves in-creased efficiencies such as implementing new automatic sorting methods, rationalising our workforce through natural but socially caring attrition policies, and increasing our competitive commercial position through introducing new business and consumer products supported by smarter research and segmentation techniques. Yet while cost reduction is the key battle, it is not the

only one. It is a necessary condition for TNT Post’s future, but not of itself sufficient to guarantee success. By triumphing in the cost reduction battle, we prepare for our new battlefronts in Europe. TNT Post has already established a firm presence in eight European markets with the aim of becoming the challenger brand to the pre-eminent position occupied by the local domestic post offices. We can strengthen our attack and defensive positions in the European domestic markets through internal part-nering. Our best ally exists within our own encampment: TNT Express. It can enable the mail division to win on the second fronts we’ve already opened in European markets. The parcels business especially offers immense synergies for TNT as a group to win the war, let alone a battle, in Europe.

As with real battles, the strategy is only as good as the implementation, so our success depends entirely upon the energy, commitment and the strong personality traits that characterise TNT people.

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FOR ME TNT IS Beth Williams: “Making a difference in TNT is not always about education. That’s essential, but not everything. Sometimes you have to go with your heart.” On Saturday, 22 January 2004, two weeks before the NFL Super Bowl final was to take place in Jacksonville, Florida, Beth Williams and two colleagues – Abby Ardin and Christine Minton – were still awake at 2 a.m., pressing football jerseys. The Super Bowl final would be watched by 134 million TV viewers. In a close-fought playoff, the New England Patriots defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 24-21. But Beth and her two teammates weren’t preparing for the Super Bowl. They were ironing the names of TNT delegates onto the backs of 12 football jerseys, part of the final arrangements for the arrival of 400 managers who’d turn up at the annual logistics business conference a few hours later. That morning, when most delegates were in bed, Beth and her team finished their ironing at 3 a.m. Then they

grabbed three hours’ sleep before the alarm woke them at 6 a.m. because Beth wanted to do a final check on the conference room facilities and make sure the presentation hardware was working. A couple hours later, she and her team were meeting and greeting the delegates as they entered the conference room. Beth is a vibrant, blond, blue-eyed, all-smiles 24-year old American. She works as a corporate administrator and with her team organises the national meetings of TNT Logistics North America. Alongside that not inconsiderable task, she supports four senior managers by organising, prioritising and time-managing their everyday administration. In the 36 hours before the conference started, Beth had about six hours’ sleep. She and her team had been working on other details, including finalising presentations, dealing with last-minute travel and accommodation details, liaising with the hotel, ensuring that all 400 rooms were ready, checking that transportation was available for those arriving, and making sure there were no technical glitches. “We don’t hire a travel agent to do all these things. Our travel agency is us. It’s an internal team that does all the work,” she says.

After the all-day conference, the evening included a gala dinner and awards presentation. Beth says: “I stayed until it was all over and everyone had left. It was probably 2 a.m. by the time I got home to bed.” Hard work, long hours and pressure don’t faze her. “I’m a hands-on person. I’ll jump in if I see something that needs to be done. I’ll volunteer,” she says, in her soft-edged American accent. Beth says the four TNT managers she works for set an example she’s happy to follow. “I’ve never worked for a company where executives were that dedicated. It makes me want to work harder.” Though only in her mid-20s, Beth has already accumulated significant work experience. During college, her first job was with a pulp and paper manufacturer as an intern, followed by a two-year stint with a marketing and advertising venture in Atlanta. After getting homesick, she moved back to Florida and joined TNT Logistics North America in Jacksonville. What did she find attractive about TNT? “The people who interviewed me and who I’d be reporting to. They made the difference for me. They were all down-to-earth, and brought me into their offices and

interviewed me individually. It was really nice. We talked about all kinds of stuff. They treated me as an equal.” Beth’s decision was based on people, not financial rewards. That was important, as she has a round trip of 100 miles each day to get to Jacksonville from her home in Fernandina Beach. “People make the difference,” she says, “and I enjoy who I work for.” The managers she supports exhibit some of the most characteristic behaviours of TNT. “They’re straightforward, down-to-earth and good-hearted. Any one of them would do anything for anyone in the company.” With TNT, Beth sees opportunities to create a career. The company has enabled her to take her first few steps into communication and public relations without distracting her from the demanding day-to-day work. “The company is very accommodating. They’re willing to fulfill your needs and listen to you. They’re paying for my online tuition in communications and PR, and when I have time, I have the opportunity to contribute to newsletters and press releases.” So, is education what makes the difference in getting ahead in TNT? “No,” says Beth, “it’s not always about education. Education is essential, but not everything. You

have to go with your heart sometimes – show dedication to your work and commitment toward your customers.” Beth is modest about her achievements, almost to the point of embarrassment, unlike TNT Logistics which has been quick to recognise everything she’s done in supporting the North American management team. In 2004, Beth won the TNT Pride award for North America, followed six months later by the CARA award, which is presented to the individual who has demonstrated the highest level of support to TNT managers across the country. Then there was the more modest but still important recognition she received for organising the annual meeting a fortnight before Super Bowl. “The managing director sent flowers the following Monday. For him to take time from his schedule and with everything he has on his plate, that made me feel very, very special.” Sometimes, TNT people just go with their hearts.

ENER

FOR ME TNT IS

Beth Williams: “Making a difference in TNT is not always about education. That’s essential, but not everything. Sometimes you have to go with your heart.” On Saturday, 22 January 2004, two weeks before the NFL Super Bowl final was to take place in Jacksonville, Florida, Beth Williams and two colleagues – Abby Ardin and Christine Minton – were still awake at 2 a.m., pressing football jerseys. The Super Bowl final would be watched by 134 million TV viewers. In a close-fought playoff, the New England Patriots defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 24-21. But Beth and her two teammates weren’t preparing for the Super Bowl. They were ironing the names of TNT delegates onto the backs of 12 football jerseys, part of the final arrangements for the arrival of 400 managers who’d turn up at the annual logistics business conference a few hours later. That morning, when most delegates were in bed, Beth and her team finished their ironing at 3 a.m. Then they

ERGY After the all-day conference, the evening included a gala dinner and awards presentation. Beth says: “I stayed until it was all over and everyone had left. It was probably 2 a.m. by the time I got home to bed.” Hard work, long hours and pressure don’t faze her. “I’m a hands-on person. I’ll jump in if I see something that needs to be done. I’ll volunteer,” she says, in her soft-edged American accent. Beth says the four TNT managers she works for set an example she’s happy to follow. “I’ve never worked for a company where executives were that dedicated. It makes me want to work harder.” Though only in her mid-20s, Beth has already accumulated significant work experience. During college, her first job was with a pulp and paper manufacturer as an intern, followed by a two-year stint with a marketing and advertising venture in Atlanta. After getting homesick, she moved back to Florida and joined TNT Logistics North America in Jacksonville. What did she find attractive about TNT? “The people who interviewed me and who I’d be reporting to. They made the difference for me. They were all down-to-earth, and brought me into their offices and

Leadership Leaders need troops, just as troops need leaders, and each have to understand the motives and aspirations of the other. TNT thrives on the lack of pretension among its senior leaders. For us, leadership is entirely about trust, under-

standing and respect, subverting the barriers of hierarchy and elitism. TNT is fortunate enough to have leaders who support their people. They mix with their troops and lead from the front, not the back.

Beth Williams The shy girl next door There’s a paradox about Beth Williams that isn’t readily understood by people who don’t know her well. She describes herself as shy. When you first meet her, she comes across as friendly with a broad smile, but rather demure. By her own admission she doesn’t like the spotlight. Yet once she walks through the office door at TNT she becomes open and communicative, dealing with dozens of different people everyday. “I’m a different person at work. You can’t be shy all the time!” Back home in Fernandina Beach, she powers down, chills out, and becomes a bit of a recluse. Her favourite pastime is beading: creating bracelets and necklaces from coloured beads. “I switch-off completely making beaded jewelry,” says Beth. Beth has an interest in history, visiting old cities and towns around Florida. Beth and her boyfriend, Stephen, also like eating at neighborhood restaurants. In her free time Beth works hard on her Communication degree which she’s taking as an Internet distance learning course. So, does Beth think she lives a fairly ordinary life? “I’m not flashy. I don’t like to be in the limelight. I’m just an ordinary person who happens to work for TNT.”

our PEOPLE ARE OUR FUTURE

o u r F U T UR E

our PEOPLE ARE OUR FUTURE

o u r F U T UR E

Publisher

TNT N.V. P.O. Box 13000 1100 KG Amsterdam The Netherlands T +31 20 500 6000 F +31 20 500 7000 group.tnt.com Concept, research & writing

Phil Mead www.mead-identity.com VISUAL CONCEPT, Design & production coordination

Mattmo concept | design www.mattmo.com Photography, Tanzania

Anton Corbijn Photography, TNT

TNT Image Library; KCND Lithography & printing

Thieme Amsterdam Binding

Binderij Hexspoor Binderij Callenbach paper