Company: FedEx Custom Critical
Location: Green
Number of Employees: 550
What They Do: Provides expedited, special handling and air options for critical freight
Why It’s a Great Place to Work: The company’s orientation program, called Foundations, ensures that new employees start off on the right foot.
FedEx knows how to handle time-sensitive, fragile freight. The company also knows there is nothing more critical than how it handles employees, especially new ones.
So when Ben Rinehart joined FedEx Custom Critical as an air expedite coordinator earlier this year, he participated in the one-day Foundations orientation program like all new hires.
“We were made to feel a part of something, a family in which we all help each other succeed and accomplish the same goal,” Rinehart says.
Ethel Vinson, manager of learning and performance, helped develop the program approximately 15 years ago. “The goal is to help new employees understand our company culture and their role in fostering that culture,” she says.
Employees learn about core compliance requirements, review the company manual, take a company tour and meet executives. But it’s far from your ho-hum typical orientation: The day includes a scavenger hunt during which employees meet the receptionist, count the equipment in the on-site fitness facility, introduce themselves to managers in their department and more.
“New hire orientation goes beyond that one activity-filled day,” says Vinson. For instance, the customer center holds a four-week training class to help new employees in its call center.
“The orientation is much different than any other I’ve ever experienced,” Rinehart says. “Employees have everything they need to succeed.”