A shortage of talent across the supply chain industry has posed significant problems for many businesses over recent years. Building out an effective supply chain team has become increasingly challenging. Finding supply chain talent can be difficult, but it’s also well worth the effort and investment as you work to build supply chain responsiveness and ensure that you have the resources you need on hand.
Just what is involved with hiring supply chain talent, and what do you need to take into consideration as you build your team and decide what comes next? Look at these critical elements.
Hiring the Right Talent
When it comes to hiring the right talent for your supply chain team, it’s important to consider what type of talent you need. Often, it can prove difficult to find people with the hard skills and experience you may want to build out an effective supply chain team. There are more openings in the supply chain industry than there are people to fill them. However, by looking for team members with the right skills, you can shape them into effective members of your supply chain team.
That may mean looking for employees with soft skills who can be trained to adapt to the hard skills your organization needs. Look for skills like:
- Email marketing skills
- Communication skills
- Problem-solving skills
- Strong understanding of business ethics
- Financial management skills
Ideally, you may want team members with supplier and inventory management experience. However, when those employees aren’t available, you may want to broaden your search to include team members who have the soft skills they will need to eventually excel in that position.
How to Solve Supply Chain Hiring Problems
Trying to find the right talent to fill out your supply chain team can be difficult. However, there are several things you can do to solve those hiring challenges.
1. Create Open Internships
If you have a college or university nearby, chances are, you will also have students who are looking for internships. Work with those campuses to determine how interns could fit into your business: what roles they could fill, and how they could get on-the-job skills they might need to excel. For example, you might look for students involved in:
- Financial management degrees
- Engineering degrees
- Logistics degrees
It may surprise you how many students would be great candidates for interns with your business. By working in supply chain logistics with your company, they may then develop a further interest in everything the industry has to offer.
2. Check What You Can Offer
For a job in supply chain management or logistics to appeal to candidates, you need to be clear about what you’re offering. Today’s job market has shifted to take employee needs into consideration more than ever before. Employees have choices about where they want to work, especially in supply chain management. As a result, your business needs to provide competitive options, including:
- Salary
- Benefits
- Time off
Focus on what your business has to offer and why an employee might want to work for you. If you cannot describe those reasons, you may want to take a closer look at what your company can offer.
3. Provide Mentorship Opportunities
Can you offer mentorship to employees who might come into your supply chain team with little experience? Mentorship can make a dramatic difference in developing an employee’s skills and helping them find their place in the industry. How can you mentor new team members and help move them into positions of authority within your business?
4. Get the Word Out
To find the right hires for your supply chain team, it’s important to get the word out about what you’re offering. Consider how you can spread the word about your open position and the talent and skills you’re looking for. You may want to:
- Participate in local career fairs. Local career fairs are a terrific way to connect with potential talent that is looking for a job.
- Post on job boards that include relevant skills or industries.
- Work with recruiters who can help connect you with people with a variety of skills.
- Use your network. You may want to expand your network to include professors and local colleges and universities, who can help connect you with students who are graduating soon.
By spreading the word about your open positions, you increase the odds that you will find someone who is able to manage those responsibilities and take over the role with confidence.
5. Raise Brand Awareness
To improve your ability to attract members to your supply chain team, make sure you maintain high overall awareness of your brand and your business in the local community. Let students and residents know who you are and what you do. Share what initiatives you’re part of and why they are important to you. Keep in mind that today’s employees are often highly focused on businesses that align with their values, and make sure you present your brand in a way that highlights the things that are most important to you and how you participate in social, environmental, and economic improvements.
6. Update Your Website
Make sure your website clearly displays who your business is and what you have to offer. Talk about the initiatives you’ve contributed to and how you have been part of the local community. Showcase the unique elements of your brand and how it’s going. Your website is a great public “face” for your business. By keeping it updated, you increase the odds that employees who might be interested in connecting with your brand will be able to figure out who you are and everything you can offer.
Maintaining your supply chain team, and ensuring that you have the right skills in those team members, is a critical part of building your supply chain management system and ensuring that it keeps running smoothly. In fact, your employees could be the difference between a highly effective supply chain and one that fails to meet your goals. Are you ready to transition to a more effective supply chain management solution and experience its benefits? Contact us today to learn more about what we can offer.
