The Team's Board Report - Mainfreight

42
Group Human Resources – Martin Devereux
Before anything else a big welcome
to all the Wim Bosman family in
Europe and to all the new team
members who are receiving this
newsletter at home for the first
time. Nice to have you as part
of the family!
The Mainfreight family can only
grow at the rate we grow our
people. For those new to
Mainfreight this means it is of
strategic importance to introduce
hard working, passionate and
intelligent people into our teams.
It is then we must focus our efforts
on fostering their interest, in
developing their skills and in
opening their eyes to the future
they could have with Mainfreight.
Whilst promotion from within is a
simple philosophy, putting it into
practice is not and we must be
careful not stray from our resolve.
Growing our talent requires
commitment from every team
member and the same patience
that was extended to all of us when
we first started. Recruiting the very
best people to join our teams is our
expectation but these new team
members will need your support
and guidance to be successful.
So where do these new team
members come from? Some of our
new team find us through referrals
from existing team members.
The majority, however, find us as
a result of the ongoing recruitment
efforts made by our branches and
our training teams. To find the
leaders for future years we actively
engage secondary school students
and also university graduates to
educate them as to what a career
with Mainfreight could look like.
A large Mainfreight recruitment
drive took place this year at the
New Zealand Secondary Schools
Rowing regatta held at Lake
Karapiro. This national regatta,
often referred to as Maadi Cup,
is a week long event attended by
in excess of 10,000 competitors,
supporters and mums and dads.
It was these people who all
participated in the inaugural
Mainfreight Monday.
On this day in March approximately
20 of our Australian and New
Zealand graduates, and at least
four Mainfreight super heroes, met
and spoke to kids, and mums and
dads alike about our school leaver
programs and graduate career
paths.
The synergies between the sport of
rowing and our industry were a key
topic discussed, and a number of
students, parents and schools have
continued discussions with us
since. Guest appearances from
world champion rower Mahe
Drysdale, and some cheeky
giveaways, drew people throughout
the day.
The event also saw the debut of
three new Mainfreight Super
Heroes to join Mainfreight Man, in
the form of Owen, Captain Chem
and Daily Mate; more about them
later on.
We are also seeing a strong
response from the University
faculties across New Zealand,
Australia and the USA. Over the
last six months significant
relationships have been developed
with lecturers, association bodies
Mahe Drysdale (NZ Olympic Rower) supporting Mainfreight’s campaign at Lake Karapiro