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DHL Global Forwarding

Gold Stevie Award Winner 2012, Click to Enter The 2013 American Business Awards

Company: DHL Global Forwarding
Company Description: DHL is the global market leader in the logistics industry and “The Logistics company for the world”. DHL commits its expertise in international express, air and ocean freight, road and rail transportation, contract logistics and international mail services to its customers.
Nomination Category: Human Resources Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Human Resources Team of the Year

Nomination Title: DHL Global Forwarding, Columbia, South Carolina, CHB Instructional Training Team

Tell the story about what this nominated team achieved since January 1 2010 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

When the DHL Global Forwarding (DGF) Columbia, South Carolina (CAE) station was initially opened, its levels of productivity, efficiency and employee satisfaction were not meeting established goals and expectations. Seeing the need at hand, the DHL CHB Instructional Training team as part of the Learning & Development organization swiftly moved into action and assessed the situation.

What emerged was a brand new training initiative, the “DGF CHB Learning Curriculum Program.”

The new CHB learning curriculum comprised of three components went live in March 2011. The first capability phase of the Program is “Foundations Training” which is one week long. The Foundations Training, with the leadership of Cheryl Clifton, CHB Instructional Training Manager, and Brent Biedermann, Senior Director, Learning & Development provides new employees the knowledge and expertise of the logistics industry and CAE Customs House Brokerage operations.

During the entire Foundations training, the learning for each employee is verified through continual knowledge assessments and a final examination that certifies continued employment.

The second capability phase of the program is “Systems Training,” which includes a detailed navigation within various core applications and their processes necessary to serve our customers. The two and a half week Systems Training focuses on the skills necessary to properly process simple and complex customs clearance entries for various customers. Subsequent to Systems Training, trainees assigned to customs clearance data entry are placed in “training pods," work groups of approximately six individuals practicing what they learned in the Foundations and Systems classes.

Training in Entry Processing allows for building of skills, speed for live entry, and eventual placement to handle specific industry sectors (i.e. automotive and life sciences). The Foundations design and training has been so effective that the core curriculum for the Systems Training has been decreased by three days.

The third component of the Program is “Core Training,” which includes a variety of specific courses that have been created to meet the compliance needs of the business. Since managing customs activities involves other governmental agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration, continual training and education is necessary to grow and maintain the skills and abilities of the Customs House Brokerage staff.

The Foundations Program has been so successful; DHL is considering making it available for employees throughout the U.S. The success of the Program is based on its emphasis in engaging employees in hands-on development of skills, preparing and investing for future employee upward mobility, retention, assessment of employee development needs, job satisfaction and mentoring. The subsequent training in pods resulted in higher productivity for the station once the new hires were integrated into the operations team. The company tracked the new hires performance and found they were processing two to five entries per day, reaching between 40 to 60 percent of their Key Performance Indicators during their first three weeks on the floor. This showed a 100 percent improvement over previous new hires. To date, CAE has trained 77 employees, of which 70 percent are still employed at DHL.

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Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader(s) of the nominated team:

Brent Biedermann currently serves as Senior Director – Learning & Development, Americas for DHL Global Forwarding based in Norwalk, Connecticut. Brent has over 20 years of experience in developing and leading the learning area for DHL, as well as other legacy companies that have integrated within the business. DHL Global Forwarding programs that have grown under his watch include management & leadership development, systems training, product knowledge and customer service training. Brent is responsible for the change management program across the Americas region. He is also a founding and current board member of the Deutsche Post Global e-learning Board.