Training and skills development continues to take centre stage across all sectors of the business at neutral consolidator CFR Freight, says group human resource manager, Laraine Hurst. “Training operationalises our service culture, ensuring that our staff speak with one voice to our customers and that they strive toward meeting the corporate vision.” Hurst says they have been steadily building a culture of training and continuous learning within the business over the past few years. “The biggest challenge is probably to fund the staff appetite for training.” According to Hurst, continuously raising the demand for skills development is critical for the company which has a policy of recruiting internally first for any vacancies before approaching the external market. “We are always encouraged by the number of people wanting to work at CFR Freight and believe that our culture and the central role that training and development plays is an important contributor to this.” Over and above accredited internal training opportunities, external trainers are also employed from time to time. “Technology is playing a larger role in training,” says Hurst, indicating that already employees can access learning within the company without being on any of the formal training courses through the internal intranet which is loaded with information for their ongoing use. “We are seeing that many external training providers are adapting and making use of these new technologies to improve their service delivery as well, making it easier for staff members to learn while also having a lower operational impact during training,” she says. The company also offers an unemployed learnership programme that can be used as a stepping stone into the freight and logistics industry. “It allows learners the opportunity to get to know the various aspects of the industry before settling into a particular position.”
INSERT: Training operationalises our service culture, ensuring that our staff speak with one voice to our customers. – Laraine Hurst
