It has been more than a year since the first coronavirus case was heard in Turkey. During this time, Mars Logistics took great steps to adapt to the pandemic, which is impossible to predict, and completed the last year efficiently by changing its working model. Mars Logistics, which started to take precautions since the first day the case was heard, adapted to the process by taking planned steps and making the necessary investments in order to ensure the health of the employees and the continuity of the business.
Nihal Kansu, Mars Logistics Human Resources Director, who said that they aim to increase employment in the coming periods, stated that there are currently 1530 employees within Mars Logistics, and said, "There was no shrinkage due to the pandemic, on the contrary, there was an increase in employment by 10% compared to the previous year. We aim to continue this increase in the coming periods and to strengthen our strength with the addition of new members to our team, which is currently working in harmony.”
Kansu explained the measures taken during the Pandemic period as follows: “After the announcement of the first case in our country, we quickly implemented the teleworking model, which we added to our strategic plan in 2019 and started infrastructure work in 2019, by investing 250 thousand dollars in technology, and that our friends working in departments suitable for working from home were able to work from home. We have provided all the requirements for it to work. In the meantime, we have organized our offices in accordance with the pandemic rules for our friends who need to work in the office or in the warehouses. We reduced contact as much as possible in our branches and warehouses by making physical arrangements in office environments with an expenditure of approximately half a million TL.”
Educations moved to online platforms
Stating that the trainings organized for the employees before the pandemic were mainly in-class trainings, Kansu stated that the in-class trainings were replaced by the trainings held on the online platforms during the pandemic, and said: “We started to share the training contents we carried out in the classroom with our employees by editing them in an online platform. We have translated our orientation trainings for beginners and information trainings on management systems into online and e-learning training formats and conveyed them to our employees. In this process, we held webinars on topics such as Awareness Training on Coronavirus, Home Care Tips Training for Patients in Pandemics, Stay at Home with Children Training, Our Emotional Reactions and Psychological Resilience Training in Pandemic Days and Returning to New Normal, which facilitates our adaptation to the conditions of the period we are in, and Just Breathe Training. ”
Kansu stated that apart from these activities organized to reduce and prevent the concerns arising from the pandemic, they also organized trainings to prevent traumas after the earthquake, and stated that vocational trainings continued during this period. Kansu said, “We carried out the Logistics and Supply Chain Management and Transportation Management trainings, which are the first two modules of the Logistics School, which consists of 3 modules, with in-class training before the pandemic. Due to the pandemic, we conducted the Customs and Foreign Trade Practices training, which is the last module of the training, online.”
Hybrid working model will continue
Stating that they are currently working with a hybrid working model, Kansu said that: “When we quickly switched to the remote working model due to the coronavirus, we saw that we are suitable for remote working as an infrastructure, our work is not interrupted and the employees are happy with this situation. For this reason, we plan to continue with the hybrid working model and to go to the offices alternately.”
Stating that they provide support for remote workers in communication and technology, ergonomics and food, Kansu said, “The important thing is that we work in a healthy, happy and harmonious manner. Of course, we are looking forward to the complete end of the pandemic and reunion. However, the most important thing for now is that the employees continue to work in an environment where they are happy in these difficult times. We will continue to give our best support in this regard. With the hybrid working model, those who have a job in the office will continue to work from home, and those who do not have a job in the office.”