The HR director that can be counted on to deliver

Alongside milk, eggs and loaves of bread, the price of a first class stamp is one of those barometers etched in people’s minds of just how much the cost of living is changing. And earlier this month, alongside other April price rises, it was announced that the cost of a first class stamp will now be an eye-watering £1.70 (it was only 85p just three years ago). For many it explains why the Royal Mail is in such deep trouble – with ongoing price hikes seen as speeding up the rapid decline of sending physical letters.

But while letter volumes have been in free-fall, parcel delivery numbers are rising rapidly, thanks to Amazon et al, plus more people privately selling on platforms like eBay and Vinted. Total UK parcel deliveries were up 8.3% in 2023-23 (to nearly 4 billion items), and it’s been no surprise the UK has seen a proliferation of delivery businesses rivaling Royal Mail.

One such provider is Yodel. Although it’s one of the more mature players (it first launched in 2008, initially as the Home Delivery Network), last year was a record year for the company. And that was on top of a big 2023, which saw it grow 3% to see it deliver 191 million parcels. Thanks to an £85 million funding deal secured last year, Yodel is progressing with big plans to expand its international services (where it has experienced 230% growth), and that’s in addition to an improved service proposition that’s seeing it win more accounts, such as from New Look.

For Alison Richardson, HR Director for the business, it’s the sheer buoyancy of the parcels market that never fails to keep her busy. Whether it’s trying to hire 2,500 extra delivery drivers and 600 warehouses staff last autumn to meet the busy festive period (last year Yodel opined that rivals were poaching its own contractually-committed HGV drivers in the Christmas run-up), or needing to increase its 6,000 current staff numbers to keep pace of growth, her to-do list is seldom blank. And yet this is one HRD who says something you probably won’t find many repeating: “Working with the trade unions is the bit about my job I enjoy the most!” she says.

This is no bad thing. As an employer of both full-time employed and self-employed contractors, the industrial relations journey Yodel has been on has been similar to many using ‘gig economy’ labour. Like Uber and Deliveroo, it’s had its had to defend in court, claims contractors should be treated as ‘workers’. In 2020 the European Court of Justice ruled that Yodel workers have sufficient autonomy not to be classed as workers, but Richardson says she’s well aware that the Labour government’s promises to reform this longstanding legal minefield could still change things again (see later). For anyone else, this might all be too much to bear, but this is one HRD that almost seems to look forward to these sorts of challenges.