Annual Awards For Excellence

Development of People

Sponsored by Freight Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS)

For significant achievement in any aspect of the education, training and development of people which is relevant to logistics and/or transport.

And the winner is:

• Defence Storage & Distribution Agency (DSDA)

Winner - Defence Storage & Distribution Agency (DSDA)
The Defence Storage and Distribution Agency (DSDA) aims "to sustain the fighting power of the UK's Armed Forces worldwide by providing a storage processing and distribution service that meets the highest levels of professional excellence".  Operation ANVIL was a set up, spurred on by the need to address one of the biggest logistics challenges of recent times, the returning of British military equipment from Iraq.  ANVIL trained and educated civil servants and military personnel in the relevant complex logistics skills and about the needs and risks associated with the austere and diverse conditions in which they would be working.  To date, 70 personnel have been trained and their effective deployments have saved the Armed Forces an estimated £12.7m.

Finalists:

• Gist Limited
  Gist has ensured that training and development is viewed as integral to the business and therefore owned and integrated within it.  Specific initiatives include using Board level and local people panels, embedding an ambitious NVQ training programme for all employees, the opening of four dedicated regional academies and the creation of a new training business, Gist People Services.  The proven benefits of these initiatives include improved staff morale, 40% reduction in labour turnover, increased warehouse productivity, 34% reduction in personal injuries, 25% reduction in truck accidents, and an improvement in fuel consumption of between 3 & 8%.
  
• Hermes
  Hermes (Parcelnet) challenged the traditional attitude that sees training as a "cost" and not an "investment", by appointing a new Head of Learning and Development and then investing a sum equivalent to 3% of annual payroll spend on implementing a Best Practice Learning & Development Strategy.  The results of one specific initiative, the Hermes Driving School, is proved to have directly contributed to the successful year-on-year growth of the company, which included the opening of a new hub and the securing of "the biggest ever home delivery deal in the UK".  Additionally, these initiatives have contributed a cost-saving of c£1m.

Back to list