An Over View Of The DHL Company

An Over View Of The DHL Company DHL has been able to create a strong image with the public through an extensive presence on the roads and a bold and bright brand. This has meant that this image has been maintained with minimal advertising, as DHL are advertising themselves and new services when the public see their fleet of vehicles on the road. Together with clever sponsorship of events such as Formula 1, this has resulted in the general public perception of DHL being a brand that is strong and reliable – two vital attributes in the logistics industry. However, there are still some areas for DHL to improve its communication strategy. By perhaps communicating employees an idea of the success of the service centre they work in, they could have a greater sense of belonging to DHL. Also, there could perhaps be more scope for DHL staff to communicate to higher levels of management if there is a need to, rather than going through various levels of the hierarchy. The revamping of the company magazine has been one way that DHL has combated this, by bringing the ideas of those at the very top of the hierarchy with those at the bottom. However, by doing this in a more work-related manner, communication may be improved. DHL Express DHL is a courier service that is currently active in more than 220 countries around the world and employs some 300,000 employees. Therefore good and clear communication throughout the organisation is vital. DHL’s success can only be achieved if a consistent message is delivered throughout the whole company. By aligning the message given internally to the message it conveys to its different external stakeholders, DHL has built a brand that is solid, respectable, and consistent. This is all the more impressive given that DHL has been taken over by another organisation-Deutsche Post – in the past 10 ten years. DHL’s mission statement has four main themes which contribute towards reaching the ‘DHL Vision’. This vision is that the company is trusted by customers as â€Å"the preferred global express and logistics partner, leading the industry in terms of quality, profitability and market share†. The four main parts of the mission statement cover issues such as product quality, quality of staff, returns of the business (again the three relate to different stakeholders), and finally DHL’s role as a responsible corporate citizen. Argenti (2003) argues that â€Å"firms need to consider their corporate communication effort as manifested in the company’s vision and mission statement†. Therefore, it is likely that these goals are at the centre of how DHL organises its communications effort. For example, DHL points towards its multi-cultural heritage and the ability of the company to find solutions at all levels of the business process. These are undeniably important assets to the company but are only useful if they can be incorporated into an effective communication model. Internal Communication Given the nature of the logistics industry, there is a need for a precise route for messages to be delivered on time. It comes as no surprise to see DHL’s UK hierarchy is one that is well-balanced and clear. Ken McCall, the MD of DHL Express UK sits atop the hierarchy. Next there is the board of nine Directors, who are reported to directly by the operations field director. He gains his information from the head of each of the 39 service centres in the UK. Within the service centre, the hierarchy has five levels, but cross-communication is much easier, especially amongst the bottom three levels. There is a head of the service centre, who manages a supervisor. Then there are the office staff and the sales team. There are then senior couriers before the lowest level made up of couriers and warehouse staff.