Miloš Malaník (DPD): Corporate culture isn't built on paper — it's built in the depot, among the couriers

What does a company look like through a CEO's eyes when he disguises himself as a rank-and-file courier? Miloš Malaník, CEO of DPD, describes what going “undercover boss” taught him about operations and people, why office staff need to experience a day at the depot, and how they built a corporate culture from the ground up that actually works. He believes success doesn't start in spreadsheets, but in how a company thinks about respect, collaboration, and the customer experience.

Everyone in leadership thinks they know how operations work. But the moment you go through a full shift yourself at a sorting hub or on a delivery route, your view of reality changes. That's exactly what happened to Miloš Malaník, CEO of DPD, when he went “undercover boss” and immersed himself in his own company's operations for several days. He didn't just walk away with experiences from filming — he walked away with concrete changes too, like a new safe-place delivery policy that grew out of real demand from both customers and couriers.

“Ever since, I've made sure office staff go out into operations too. You can't just know things from behind a desk,” he says. Corporate culture is, for him, the key to success, and shouldn't just be values on the wall. At DPD, they were built from the ground up — through workshops with employees, out of which came five core values: teamwork, quality, flexibility, respect, and enthusiasm.

To keep the values from being just words, they get built into real situations — like annual employee reviews or resolving conflicts. DPD's leadership also follows a simple rule: “Whatever we tolerate becomes the standard.” That's why they openly address even minor signs of disrespect, even something as small as the tone of an email.

With a vision of “becoming the most admired parcel carrier,” DPD has focused not just on customers, but on employees, partners, and even its own foreign headquarters. Everything gets measured — from employee satisfaction, to customer NPS, to surveys among external carriers.

How do you convince subcontractors that customer experience matters? DPD created an interactive video that put couriers in front of real decisions from their everyday work — wait a little longer at the door, or drive off? Leave the parcel with a neighbor, or come back again? The video was such a success that the company rolled it out in other countries in its region too.

And what about integrating competitor Geis Parcel during the pandemic? Even though it was done entirely online, DPD pulled it off without external consultants. “Our parent company gave us a Company of the Year award. Apparently, they didn't even notice an acquisition had happened. And I consider that our biggest success.”

What else will you find answered in the podcast?

• What does “comfort” mean in corporate culture, according to Miloš Malaník?
• Exactly how did merging the two companies play out during the pandemic lockdowns?
• How does DPD set KPIs for “admiration” from employees, clients, and its parent company?
• Why does even a billing clerk need to understand her role in the customer experience?
• And what should companies do if they want people to genuinely believe in their values?