Case Study: Best Practices At The FedEx Corporation

Dear Friends,

I was going through the case studies for my reference and came across a study on FedEx.

The case gives an overview of the best practices employed by the company in the recruitment, selection, training, and development of employees. It also details the performance appraisal system and employee retention strategies of FedEx. Finally, the case reviews the benefits reaped by the company because of its employee-friendly HR practices.

Regards,
Priyanka Kaw

Hi, Colleague.

Wonderful post. Mr. Fred Smith is the founder of FedEx, a pioneer in the courier industry, and today it is one of the most admired MNCs. They own the largest number of aircraft. Their employees will provide you with the delivery date of a parcel or package from one destination to another, no matter which continent it may be, and it will be delivered accordingly. FedEx stands out, come rain or shine. No economic meltdown can harm a company like FedEx. In this company, there is one appraisal system for evaluating supervisors by the supervised.

Their telephone operators will answer the phone on the first ring! Mr. Smith has instilled a sense in every employee that he or she owns the firm. The reason for the outstanding success of this enterprise is the gospel of Mr. Smith... P.S.P. - People, Service, and Profit, in this order. He believes that by taking care of the people, they naturally take care of the service to customers, which in turn brings profits.

R. Sundararajan

Dear Friends,

I was reviewing case studies for reference and came across a study on FedEx.

The case presents an overview of the best practices employed by the company in recruitment, selection, training, and development of employees. It also elaborates on the performance appraisal system and employee retention strategies of FedEx. Lastly, the case discusses the benefits the company has gained due to its employee-friendly HR practices.

Regards,
Priyanka Kaw

Thank you, Sundararajan, for sharing this information in much more detail. I am aware of the services provided by FedEx as my prior company had an account with FedEx for international courier delivery. The services are awesome! 🙂

Dear Sundarrajan and Priyanka,

Both of you have gone ga-ga over working at FedEx. Of course, this company has earned many accolades and may earn more in the future too. But remember, the other side of the moon is always invisible. Please try to find out the other side as well and then form your opinions.

The courier industry relies on the couriers that traverse the roads. Why can't both of you interview a few couriers in your city and then share some posts on this website?

Thanks,

Dinesh V Divekar

Dear Mr. Dinesh Vivekar,

I am afraid I am not getting your point. Whatever I have expressed is based on a good amount of materials I read from published research and books, as well as my personal experience. If an organization has grown from scratch and has become a giant in the industry, setting benchmarks for service, reliability, and speed, what should one think of this organization? Prior to FedEx, there was no system of courier service. This business model was conceived by Mr. Fred Smith as a project report as part of his MBA. His own professor was not very much enamored of this report and awarded only a 'C'!

Later, after his service in the US Army, he started this business model which is today the biggest in the world. There are hundreds of courier service companies in the world today borrowing the model of FedEx, but none of them can compete with FedEx. If you have any information to the contrary, you are welcome to share it with us.

R. Sundararajan

Dear Dinesh,

I welcome your view and it's true to say that without working in any organization, you will not be able to see the inside of the organization. But one can only come to know about any other company except the company they are working for from friends, various groups, by reading magazines, surfing the internet, etc. There are always positive and negative sides to every organization. If one is in HR or top management, one can overcome the negatives. It's always better to share the overcome gaps, challenges, success, processes, practices, awards, and achievements about the companies within one's knowledge.

So the conversation going on was just about sharing one of the challenges/practices followed by FedEx. Nothing personal.

The article is good, but having some of the innovative practices, programs, and methods developed and used by FedEx shared would have made the article more meaningful and viable. This would have provided insight to many HR professionals on a new way to structure HR in their organization and ideas for development as well. Without it, the case study is still incomplete. Examples should have been quoted, and references should have been included. Overall, the article is undoubtedly share-worthy.