TPG

Onno Meij

Managing Director

TNT Logistics Benelux

Onno Meij delivered the transformation of TNT Logistics in the Benelux.

Culemborg , Netherlands When Onno Meij was named managing director of the Benelux business unit of TNT Logistics in September 2002, the unit was not performing well at all. Service levels were insufficient and as a result, financial performance was down. “No one could be happy with the results at that time,” recalled Meij.

Charged with turning around the under-performing unit as part of the division’s Transformation through Standardisation (TtS) programme, Meij and his team of managers set out to create what the unit was sorely missing: a sound structure for improvement, including clear objectives and systems for measuring progress towards those objectives.

“We needed to have a clear map of where we wanted to go and how we were going to get there, a plan people could buy into,” said Meij. “We developed a road map to achieve excellence in all parts of our business by the year 2006. And the most important part of the process was to make our objectives clear to everyone so they could get behind those objectives and understand their role in the turnaround.”

The plan Meij and his team developed centred on what at first might seem like an unlikely measure of business success – happiness. The team reasoned that their ability to turn around the business could be measured by the happiness of four stakeholders – customers, employees, society and shareholders. “We know what makes our customers happy – excellent service, continuous cost reduction, and good relationships,” said Meij. And we know what makes shareholders happy – a good return on their investment. We put in place ways to measure our progress in those areas.”

The team then set out to deliver the message to every one of the 1,800 employees across the business unit. In addition to communicating via regular team meetings and printed materials, Meij himself makes it a point to visit each site at least four times a year to meet with managers and employees, inform them about ongoing progress and get their feedback.

The quest for happiness is paying off. Over the last two years, the business unit improved performance for all three stakeholder groups in 2004. Among the progress Meij reported was achievement of the Investors In People standard, ISO9001 certification for quality management and ISO14001 certification for sound environmental management. And the unit’s second annual employee satisfaction survey showed progress as well: Satisfaction levels increased by 6%.

Meij sees employee satisfaction as crucial for all other performance indicators. “When we are happy, we’re more motivated. More willing to go the extra step to better serve our customers. More eager to develop ourselves,” he said. “Happy employees are one of the most important resources we have. From happy employees come happy customers and happy shareholders.”