If anyone shows that you can develop at Kuehne+Nagel, it is the British Eleanor Browne. The ambitious National Customer Implementation Manager is only 25 and has already held five different positions within our organisation. And she doesn't want to miss any opportunities in the future either. How does Eleanor look back on the past few years, what opportunities has Kuehne+Nagel given her and how does she envision her future?

What does your current job look like? 

'You can see me as the linchpin between (new) customers and Kuehne+Nagel Air Logistics. I implement customer projects and make sure they are delivered on time and within budget. I make sure we keep all agreements and requirements promised by our Sales department. Think of transit times and insight into the status of a shipment.'

When did you start working at Kuehne+Nagel? 

'In 2018. I graduated in mathematics, but I didn't want to become a teacher or work as an accountant. When I saw a vacancy at Kuehne+Nagel, I immediately got excited. I love to learn new things and planning and organising suits me. I started with a traineeship in the UK and worked for eight months in Manchester in the export department, eight months in the import department in London and then another eight months in Birmingham as a project manager'.

Eventually you got the chance to go to the Netherlands…

'I always wanted to live and work abroad. When a vacancy came up for National Customer Implementation Manager at Schiphol Airport, I didn't hesitate for a moment. I now know that I made the right choice. I am enjoying my new home in Haarlem and the job fits me like a glove. Everyone is open to contact and wants to help me, which is really nice. It feels a bit like family.'

How does Kuehne+Nagel contribute to your growth and development? 

'I prefer to be outside my comfort zone, that's where the opportunities are. Kuehne+Nagel supports this attitude. After all, managers often ask: what do you like to do? And what do you need for that? Those questions help me think carefully about my future. I also feel free to express my wishes. For instance, a few years ago I realised that I found project management very interesting. Kuehne+Nagel gave me the freedom to take a training in this area. This is still incredibly useful to me even now.' 

How do you envisage the future? 

I am very much a go-with-the-flow person, so I don't have a clear picture of the future. What I do know is that I would like to stay at Kuehne+Nagel. There is still a lot to learn and discover here. I keep saying 'yes' to all the opportunities that come along.'

As National Air Logistics Warehouse Manager at Schiphol, Eren Kilic manages a team of five team leaders, nine foremen and dozens of operators. The team deals with all warehouse operations at Schiphol. Diversity is his team's secret, according to Eren. 'I have 14 nationalities in my team and everyone feels heard.'

Can you tell us something about your job? 
'Together with my team, I am responsible for all hard cargo. This can be pharmaceutical shipments, high-tech shipments or general cargo, such as clothing and cosmetics. The location and the team are still new and we are now mainly working on the import process. Soon, exports will be added. So we are really in the construction phase.'

You have a very diverse team...
'That's right. I chose that intentionally. When I started working for Kuehne+Nagel in 2017, it was mainly a man's world. I wanted to change that. In that respect, I was lucky to be able to start from scratch at this location. More and more women now work there, even as team leaders. The employees' backgrounds are also very diverse. That brings a certain calmness.'

How does diversity contribute to calmness? 
'Everybody feels a part of the team in no time. No islands are created. We also deliberately chose to speak English on the shop floor. If only Dutch, Polish or Greek is spoken, groups are formed and people are left out. And I specifically want everyone to have a voice.'

Why is that important?
'So that we enjoy working here. It also helps to fix mistakes. Pointing a finger at someone to blame? That's not how we work here. Our aim is to understand what went wrong. We want to find out together, so that we can also put our shoulders to the wheel together and prevent mistakes in the future.'

What other benefits does diversity have in the workplace? 
'I think Kuehne+Nagel will benefit. After all, we are facing a tight labour market. If a woman walks in for a job interview here, and sees a lot of other women, she is more likely to feel like working here than if she only sees men. The same goes for all those nationalities. And what about customers? They are also impressed by our diversity and how nicely we work together here. Besides hard work, there is also a lot of laughter here. Not because we have to, but because we really feel comfortable together'.

Why is working at Kuehne+Nagel so much fun? 
'Communication on the shop floor is good. There is hierarchy, but it is not perceptible. The thresholds are low, everyone can reach out to each other. Actually, the company feels like one big family. I am not the only one who thinks so. Attrition is low. There are employees who have been with the company for 30 or 40 years. That actually says it all.'

In the department Business Development Perishables at Schiphol Airport, you have to be able to adapt well and improvise a lot. After all, every working day it is uncertain whether the day will go according to schedule. And it is important that the imported goods - especially fresh fruit and vegetables - get to the customer on time. Looking to the future, the department faces a sustainability challenge above all. Because transporting goods by air, how sustainable is that in this day and age? 'We take sustainability very seriously,' says manager Marloes Bisschop.

Tell us more about your work at Kuehne+Nagel....
'In our department, we try to serve customers who import perishables by air in the best possible way. We make sure import contracts are in order, cargoes are approved and imported products get to the right destination.'

So no two days are the same then?
'Certainly not! There are plenty of challenges; you have to be able to cope with stress with this job, for example. Is a flight delayed? Then the customer actually expects us to make up for that lost time. We adjust our planning for transport to the customer and arrange new inspections, such as quality inspections. When there is momentum and everything goes according to schedule, I have a perfect working day.'

Sustainability is a hot topic. How does Kuehne+Nagel look at it?
'We take that very seriously, of course. Several supermarket chains in the Netherlands plan to stop flying in fresh fruit and vegetables, or at least much less, from the summer of 2023. That means a lot for our services. The main question will be: will these supermarket chains deliver on their promise and choose not to offer certain products at all? Or is there a more sustainable alternative that we can help them with?'

Can you cite an example of such a sustainable alternative?
'Kuehne+Nagel is working with airlines on Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). This is a more sustainable alternative to paraffin. It can reduce emissions by 100 per cent. We also have a programme that plants trees based on the emissions we calculate per shipment. Furthermore, we are working more and more actively with our Sea Logistics department. Which existing customers who now transport via air can switch to shipping? We also have trucks that run on biofuel or electricity and we do route optimisation. If our customer needs these kinds of sustainable alternatives, we are of course happy to help them.'

How do you look to the future?
'It will in any case be a quest to find out exactly what our customer and the consumer want in terms of sustainability. In any case, I am sure that Kuehne+Nagel will continue to pay attention to it so that we can serve our customers in a pleasing and sustainable way.'

Growing Above and Beyond
A friend and former colleague had often suggested I should talk to Kuehne+Nagel. I kept putting it off because I had a good job in the export world. Through him, I got an invitation to have a coffee. We clicked right away. And within a few days, I received a great offer. Even though I had no leadership experience, they saw a role for me as a team lead. 'We believe in you and we’re going to help you.' I found that quite exciting at first. I thought: They can say that, but can I do it? How am I going to manage this? But I love a challenge, so I jumped right in.

I had weekly meetings with my manager and also with HR. Soon, I started the leadership training Launch. I had no idea what to expect and was quite nervous. It opened up a whole new world for me, especially the insights I gained into team dynamics and myself. Everyone has a different way of working in a team. By recognizing the differences between everyone, you learn how to best collaborate with your team. Then you see the strength of a team in the differences between people.

I often tell my colleagues: I see you more often than my own family, so we need to make sure we interact professionally and well here. We may not always agree, but we need to work well together.

Empowering People
I think you need to be a certain type of person to want to work in Air Logistics. You need to handle stress well and even thrive on it a bit. A lot goes right, but in export, everything is so interdependent. Suppose a plane needs to be loaded with three trucks that leave the warehouse an hour apart. The first one arrives on time, but if the second is delayed, it affects the third. A kind of domino effect. Suddenly, a whole new situation arises that you need to respond to immediately.

No workday is the same here, it’s a way of life. Friday, for example, is a real export day, and we work hard to get everything sorted for the weekend. And on a Monday, it can be much quieter. But we make sure to minimize overtime, so there’s always a stand-by shift on weekends to handle unexpected things.

Making a Difference
Some colleagues have been here for over ten years, yet everyone is open to changes and new ideas. As a newcomer, you get space right away. They say: 'Welcome, this is how we do things here. But if you have a better idea, go ahead.' So, almost immediately, I revamped the schedule. I thought it looked terrible. I made something different, and everyone was fine with it. Your opinion is often asked, even if it’s not your area. Everyone’s perspective is part of the collaboration. That’s how we keep learning from each other.

More Than You Can Imagine / Leading the Way
I used to know Kuehne+Nagel only from the outside. It seemed like a bit of a boring company. But now that I experience the organization from the inside, I’m really like wow, they do so much for the employees here. My development is on the rise, a kind of version 2.0 of myself. I also notice that I look at certain situations differently in my personal life. There’s still so much I can learn here.