Poczta Polska is a winner in the Icebreakers Competition at the regional level
Poczta Polska (Polish Post) has won the anniversary Icebreakers competition at the regional level. It received the prestigious statuette for winning first place in the Open Labor Market – Icebreakers at the regional level, covering the Łódź, Masovian, Greater Poland, and West Pomeranian Voivodeships.
Poczta Polska entered the competition in the "Open Labor Market" category. As the largest employer in the country, the company demonstrates social responsibility by employing individuals at risk of exclusion from the labor market. Poczta Polska offers thousands of jobs, including in small towns where employment is less readily available than in large cities. Over the past year, the postal operator has increased its employment by nearly 240 people with disabilities. Today, Poczta Polska employs over 1,900 people in total.
"Winning first place in the Icebreakers competition at the regional level is our shared success. This was primarily due to the open attitude of the management team towards employing people with disabilities, the commitment and empathy of employees towards their colleagues with disabilities, and the team of local PKL coordinators who dedicate a significant portion of their efforts and activities to building a culture of openness towards employing people with disabilities, " says Marek Makuch, Managing Director of the Human Capital Division at Poczta Polska.
The competition has been organized by the FAZON Foundation for Vocational Activation of Disabled Persons for 15 years. Its format includes two stages: a regional stage (four regions, each comprising four voivodeships), which were decided in August, and a central stage, the results of which will be announced on October 8th. The decisions of the individual competition juries in both stages are announced at the Regional Galas and the Central Gala.
In July 2018, Poczta Polska adopted a "Policy for the Employment of Persons with Disabilities," which is based on several assumptions. Among other things, the recruitment process should take into account social and environmental factors in addition to the economic dimension. Poczta Polska's staff not only recruits independently but also collaborates with external entities that support the employment of people with disabilities. For example, it collaborates with the State Fund for the Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons and the Activation Foundation, which operates under the "Work – Integration" program. The first edition of the program resulted in the employment of 405 people with disabilities at Poczta Polska by the end of 2019. The project is continuing. Poczta Polska has declared the employment of another 360 people with disabilities.
The company conducted a broad campaign through internal communication channels to promote the importance of employing people with disabilities, targeting employees. This included articles and interviews with employees with disabilities who pursue their careers at Poczta Polska.
In 2019, local coordinators for the employment of people with disabilities at Poczta Polska conducted over 50 meetings and training sessions with management staff and employees, the aim of which was to build a culture of openness to the needs of people with disabilities, acquire knowledge of etiquette towards them, and encourage current employees to disclose their disability certificates, if they have them.
In 2019, Poczta Polska became a partner of the Polish Amp Futbol national team. The partnership continues, and postal workers are cheering on the Polish national team as they prepare for next year's European Championship. The company continually adapts its infrastructure to the needs of people with disabilities and also offers solutions that facilitate the use of postal services for people with mobility impairments, including free in-home service.
The company is a winner of the "Trustworthy Employer" competition in the "Disability-Friendly Company" category. It also received the "Accessibility Leader" title in the "Network of Branches" category of a national architectural and urban planning competition.