Tag: Parcel Force

Digging, building and painting rather than collecting, sorting and dispatching provided the schedule for West Midlands Parcelforce Worldwide employees who gave up their time to deliver with a difference to Sandwell and.

Employees from the company’s Birmingham depot and Coventry International and National hubs volunteered as part of Parcelforce Worldwide’s first National Community Team Challenge Day. Local activities included improving the children’s play area at St Francis Xavier School in Sandwell and building a summerhouse and gardening at Valley House in Coventry.

Organised through Business in the Community’s employee volunteering programme, Cares, the Team Challenge Day was set up to make it easier for colleagues to work together by getting involved in their local communities.

As the majority of Parcelforce Worldwide employees spend on average, ten hours every day on the road or are night workers, so opportunities to work as a team and get to know one another are limited.

The response to participate in the team challenge attracted volunteers from every part of the business. As well as drivers and sorters, Parcelforce Worldwide’s Board and colleagues from all business functions rose to the challenge.

Iain Groark, Parcelforce Worldwide’s Head of Corporate Social Responsibility was delighted by the take up, exclaiming: “The enthusiasm from our people to support their local community has been inspiring. With one in five of our sites and over 250 of our colleagues giving up their weekend, we hope that long and valuable relationships will develop between our sites and the community groups they are working with.”

Each community team challenge was organised by a front line employee keen to develop their project management skills. They were given up to pounds 500 from the business towards the cost of materials and supported in developing a project plan, recruiting volunteers and undertaking a health and safety risk assessment.

Work colleagues from Leeds and Wakefield spent their free time paving the way for people to enjoy some of the region’s natural attractions.

Eight workers from Parcelforce Worldwide’s depot in Stourton re-laid a path with limestone chippings at the Engine Fields Nature Area at Yeadon, while 19 helpers from the company’s customer service centre in Wakefield created a garden and seating area at the Phyllis Harvey Horse and Donkey Trust in Weetwood, Leeds.

Their efforts were part of Parcelforce Worldwide’s National Community Team Challenge Day’s activities where more than 250 people from the firm gave up their Saturday to help people in their communities.

Steve Clavering, countryside ranger, said: “Engine Fields is a wonderful wildlife site and we’re very grateful to Parcelforce Worldwide for helping to improve the footpaths so that the local community will be able to enjoy its tranquil atmosphere.” The aim of the community day was to encourage colleagues to work more closely as teams and as most are shift-workers it gave them a rare chance to get together.

Parcelforce Worldwide gave each team GBP500 for costs and preparation.

The Royal Mail’s courier business is introducing a 50p levy for deliveries inside the congestion charging zone.

Parcelforce said it was following competitors in the parcel delivery business by adding a surcharge for deliveries in central London.

A Parcelforce spokesman said it was difficult to estimate how much of the charge would be recovered. But he said the 50p surcharge paid by the sender covered consignments rather than individual items. “This is a very competitive market and we have to cover costs,” he said.

However, one of its biggest rivals, TNT, denied it had imposed a levy – and Transport for London said it had no record of any business asking customers to foot the bill. TNT said the c-charge was costing its operations Pounds 1,100 a vehicle a year but added it was absorbing the extra cost.

Some companies are believed to have passed on the extra costs in higher tariffs but Parcelforce has gone further by itemising the impact of the charge on its operations. Two years ago Royal Mail estimated the charge was costing its letters and parcel businesses Pounds 2 million a year.

Now business customers fear other delivery and transport groups will follow Parcelforce, which delivers around one million parcels a week nationwide.