What makes Mountain Hawk Express a great work place?

By Chamila Bandara

Mountain Hawk Express (MHE) is a fully-owned subsidiary of Hayleys Advantis Ltd., the transportation and logistics arm of Hayleys PLC. It operates as the Licensee of Federal Express (FedEx) Corporation representing in Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

A ‘great place to work’ for Mountain Hawk Express is about creating a trust-based culture that impacts every employee in the organization which allows them to go beyond and deliver outstanding services to all its customers. There is a direct link between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction as happy employees create happy customers.

Trust is an integral part in our value system. We believe that it is an aspect that needs to be earned, and consistently practiced. Honouring employees, customers, and stakeholders is a value that is embedded in Mountain Hawk Express’s (MHE) culture. It builds respect and creates lasting relationships. Integrity is woven at the heart of the company. The company periodically recognises and rewards individuals that have displayed honour and integrity to ensure that the values are nurtured and sustained. MHE considers every staff member as a part of the family. The staff perceives their workplace as a second home due to the care that they experience during work hours.

The pandemic has made a drastic impact on workplaces and culture. Work from Home (WFH) and virtual communication initiatives have become the new norm. As a company that is involved in the express transportation industry, MHE was severely impacted by the pandemic. The strong customer centric culture enabled our teams to facilitate an uninterrupted service and a solid customer experience. Employees were entitled to flexible work schedules even before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and these practices have enabled them to achieve the perfect work-life balance.

Our leadership team strives to cultivate an open culture that enables employees to voice their opinions, and have their views respected. Leadership of MHE understands the importance of having an engaged workforce to drive towards improving business performance. They act as role models, and aspire to live by the values that the company preaches, while striving to live by the leadership code to ensure complete visibility and accountability

We believe that creating a culture where employees enjoy coming to work, looking forward to celebrating and being a part of a merit-based reward and recognition program, placing trust in fair decision making at all levels, placing confidence in their leadership, and having pride in what they do are very important elements in becoming a great place to work. It has a great sense of achievement and fulfilment to have been instrumental in making a difference in its employees’ lives which has given it the honour of being recognised as a ‘Great Place to Work’ for the sixth consecutive year.

[The writer is CEO/Director, Mountain Hawk Express (Licensee of Federal Express representing FedEx in Sri Lanka and the Maldives).]