Managing a global freight forwarder during a pandemic

Part one of my lessons learned during a global pandemic

As I discussed in my last blog, it’s clear we are living in strange times, both on a private and a professional level. Uncertainty is driving our decisions and will remain a companion for a while. But as hard and challenging as the situation may be, there is always the opportunity to learn something and to grow from it. Today, I want to share some of my personal thoughts and learnings from the past weeks and months – as both a Manager and also as an individual. Please read here the first of two parts on my 10 lessons learned during COVID-19.

1.     People first – always!

To be perfectly honest, this is not really a lesson I learnt through COVID-19, but since the beginning of my career, I’ve always strived to put my people first. Because, if you don’t put people first, you won’t be successful, at least not in the long run. I always treat my colleagues the way I want to be treated myself. This is not only a question of respect, but it’s also an investment. You build up credit, and when times become challenging, you know you can trust on your team. The COVID-19 pandemic has proved this. When you put your people first, they won’t just celebrate with you in good times, they will stand by your side in difficult times, ready to go the extra mile. Not because they want to please you, but because you have gone the extra mile for them too and will continue to do so also in future. Is this credit unlimited? No. Is this credit a matter of course? Definitely not. 

2.     Expect the unexpected

Being in the logistics business for almost three decades has taught me not to take anything for granted. Uncertainty and volatility are part of our job. As logistics providers we showcase our real strength in situations when things are not going according to plan. As already stated in my last post, you can be sure you have a good team when they can move cargo safely and punctually in normal times, but you know that you have an excellent team when they get shipments and freight moved in times of a global lockdown due to a pandemic. It’s crucial to expect the unexpected – always and at any time. It’s also important not to be afraid of the unexpected. Who would have thought one year ago that nearly the whole world would be under lockdown and nearly all passenger airplanes grounded? But just because something is out of our scope or imagination does not mean it won’t happen. I think the capability to expect the unexpected – a readiness per default – is the reason why logistics are able to deal with the current situation better than other professions. Although, this does not mean that our profession is pessimistic by nature, not at all. I would describe ourselves as being open minded. The global pandemic has taught me once more that expecting the unexpected is the first step to adapt to new situations and tackle challenges.

3.     You can manage an international logistics company remotely

Managing a global freight forwarder with around 45,000 employees worldwide makes it necessary to travel a lot. At least this is what I would have said, if you had asked me six months ago. I’m passionate about travelling and meeting customers and colleagues face to face. However, this pandemic has shown me very quickly that we can stay connected through technology. We are not only able to stay in touch, but we are also able to manage our business and employees. This has worked surprisingly well in the last months, and I’m grateful for the flexibility of my colleagues. They have maintained a high quality of work, and some of them even now manage two jobs in parallel –i.e. looking after the kids and keeping the goods flowing. But at the same time, it showed me how privileged we are as we don’t have to leave the house to earn money in such a situation. Regrettably, our frontline workers in the operations are not able to work from home. You can’t consolidate freight in your living room, drive a truck in your kitchen or load/unload an airplane in your home office. This is why we have done - and still do – the utmost to protect our people. I’m proud and full of respect for the colleagues working on the frontline, now more than ever. Be it either at the (home) office or in our operations – keep in mind that you are an essential part for keeping the world running by simply doing your job. That’s amazing. Let me back this up with some data and figures. Overall air freight outbound from China grew by 20 percent with roughly 125,000 tons of facial masks and protective clothes going out by air in April. Goods which were much needed to fight the spread of COVID-19. And – even though this volume was not only handled by us, our people played a pivotal role in achieving this. This is of course only one out of many examples of the passionate teamwork I’ve been observing in the last months. Logistics is teamwork and we have proven how deeply embedded it is in our culture. The passion and enthusiasm of the colleagues around the world is not only the reason why we are able to provide our customers well-orchestrated logistics services, but it’s the reason why customers value us every day. 

4.     The power of trust

Trust is one of the most powerful leadership skills. The pandemic has proven this to me quiet impressively. As already described above, you can definitely manage a global company remotely – but you can’t do it without trust. You have to trust your people and equally important, tell them that you trust them. To ensure the health and safety of our people, we have made sure from day one, that everyone who could do their job from home was able to switch into home office. And still a large number of employees continue to work from home. Of course, there was no big choice in this situation. However, it makes a big difference whether you send your people to home office because there is little you can do about it, or you send them to home office and empower them with trust and confidence. This has to start from the top and trickle down. Of course, the foundations need to be laid early and this goes hand in hand with the people-first approach described. If you are leading by trust, your people will also trust you. And to be perfectly honest – the risk is pretty limited. What’s the worst thing that can happen? There might always be one employee who betrays your trust – be it sitting at the office or working remotely. But compared to the loyalty and trust getting back from the majority of your staff, it is a rather small price to pay.

You can find the second part here.