Mark Simmons, HR and QHSE director

Citation

Simmons, M. (2013), "Mark Simmons, HR and QHSE director", Strategic HR Review, Vol. 12 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/shr.2013.37212caa.006

Mark Simmons, HR and QHSE director

Article Type: Practitioner profile From: Strategic HR Review, Volume 12, Issue 3

HR executives share their experience in human resources

Mark SimmonsBased at Norbert Dentressangle.

Whilst the name Norbert Dentressangle may be a bit of a mouthful (even in France where the company is based), the company’s brand is fast achieving prominence in the UK, thanks to a highly acquisitive growth strategy and the company’s ubiquitous red trucks, which are becoming an increasingly familiar sight on the UK’s road network.

Norbert Dentressangle founded his eponymous company in 1979 with capital of just £10,000 and the ambition of building a leading European transport and logistics business. Whilst that ambition has long since been fulfilled, the acquisition and successful integration of Christian Salvesen in 2007 and TDG in 2011 have catapulted Norbert Dentressangle into the top three providers of logistics and transport services in the UK, generating revenues in excess of £1.1 billion, whilst the UK has overtaken France to become the company’s largest market for logistics.

According to Mark Simmons, HR and QHSE director for the company’s UK Logistics business, investment in people is at the heart of the company’s success. He says: “For Norbert Dentressangle, shared success is inseparable from individual success, with every one of our 13,000 colleagues in the UK having a role to play in the company’s growth. Over the past five years, we have made significant investment in our people and in particular within learning and development for the mutual benefit of our employees, the business and most importantly our customers.”

“Our strategy is to develop a culture of high performance, capable of adapting swiftly to new opportunities and challenges in order to deliver profitable growth. It’s a cliché to state people are our greatest asset but, within this organization, this is the only way in which we can truly differentiate ourselves in such a competitive marketplace. Whilst many companies have cut back on training during the recession, Norbert Dentressangle has continued to invest.”

The “you grow, we grow” philosophy

To realize shared success, Norbert Dentressangle is committed to investment in its people, from drivers to the senior leaders in the business. The company has developed bespoke learning and development programs designed to motivate employees, increase individual capabilities and promote best practice.

To drive the promotion of internal talent, the company has also set itself the ambitious target of filling 60 percent of all vacancies from within the business. Simmons says: “this inherent approach to the identification and development of internal talent is a key factor that has contributed to our success in becoming one of the leading logistics companies in the UK. To achieve both the group’s and the UK’s ambitions, the concept and philosophy of ‘you grow, we grow’ is fundamental to our growth as an organization.”

Multi-faceted learning and development approach

The company’s comprehensive training proposition has a suite of development initiatives to cover all job levels within the UK business, including a Foundation Degree in Leadership, a Management Development program, a First Steps in Management, NVQs at all levels, a safe driving plan and an in-house driver CPC program. In addition, the company has developed its “Red Management” training program for different levels of management within the UK structure.

Simmons states: “The design and content of the Red Management program was developed to identify and get to the core of what it meant to be a Norbert Dentressangle manager and what success looks like within the business. We deliberately avoided the textbook approach to management competencies and focused on our own ‘DNA’ and how our values of Entrepreneurial Spirit, Unity, Excellence and Commitment are lived on a day-to-day basis. The ongoing feedback and success of this program continues to exceed our expectations.”

The success of Norbert Dentressangle’s approach was also recognized when the company beat off stiff competition to win the training category at the prestigious 2012 Motor Transport Awards, organized by Motor Transport, the trade magazine for the UK road haulage and transport industry. The company has also been short-listed in the Learning and Development category of the 2013 HR Distinction Awards run by World Trade Group and judged by senior HR professionals from organizations including Barclays, McDonald’s and Tesco.

Staying close to its people

Norbert Dentressangle’s people-centric approach will continue to evolve to support and drive the business agenda in the UK. Simmons says: “Our biggest challenge is to ensure that we remain faithful to our roots and don’t lose sight of the principles that have delivered success to date as our organization continues to grow.”

“This is achieved through a flat organization structure and a decentralized business model underpinned by our values and commitments, to ensure we continue to stay close to our customers and focus on our people.”

About the author

Mark Simmons has been with Norbert Dentressangle for seven years, joining the company as part of the Christian Salvesen organization, acquired by Norbert Dentressangle in 2007. Before joining the world of logistics, he developed his HR career within the FMCG environment working within blue chips including Proctor & Gamble and Revlon International. Mark Simmons can be contacted at: mark.simmons@norbert-dentressangle.com