The Right Mix: Addressing Talent Shortage in Supply Chain

Your employees define the level of success your business can reach. Therefore, recruiting and retaining your top talent to meet business goals becomes your top priority. In a recent survey by MHI, a supply chain industry trade association, 57% of the respondents stated hiring and retaining qualified workers is this year’s greatest challenge, along with 56% struggling with ongoing specific talent shortages.   

Taking a closer look, the question that most of us, supply chain managers are faced with is, how do we go about the extra mile to recruit and retain a healthy workforce? In order to answer this, it is important to first highlight the common reasons as to why our industry is facing this challenge.  

Causes of Supply Chain Worker Shortage:  

There are a combination of reasons adding to the labour shortage in the industry.  

Some of them are: 

1. Ageing population:  More experienced workers are reaching their retirement age with an ageing population. This is creating a gap in the workforce and therefore, a shortage of qualified and experienced workers. Younger population lacks experience which adds to additional costs and time to recruit and train them. 
   
   
2. Changing industry landscape: Organisations are facing difficulties in finding the right people and with the right skills to fill up job vacancies. This is because of the rapidly changing landscape of the supply chain industry. With new technologies right around the corner, it is becoming increasingly hard for the employers to keep pace with the changing scope of job functions.
   
   
3. Lower wages: One of the top reasons why employees leave an organisation is in search of better wages. If you want to retain your employees, offering wages which are in accordance with the industry standards can make employees feel motivated to stay for longer with your organisation.  

Strategies to Retain your Workforce:  

To retain your workforce, as supply chain managers you need to adapt your workplace to provide benefits and training opportunities that align with the preferences of your employees, broaden your approach to staff recruitment, and develop a strategy for handling future turnover. Here are 5 strategies that you can apply to retain and attract employees into your supply chain units.  

1. Internal promotions: Promoting your employees internally creates an environment of security and opportunity within the organisation. If a company invests in employees’ career, 94% of the respondents to a Clear &Co. survey have stated that they are much more likely to stay longer. Upskilling and offering employees to move across different departments also increases job satisfaction, helps place people where they might be a better fit without having to start with the recruitment process from the beginning.
   
   
2.  Embracing new technologies: Welcoming new technologies, can increase efficiency and streamline processes. By providing supply chain professionals with the necessary training and resources to use these technologies, organisations can create a work environment that is attractive to potential employees.
   
   
3. Listen to your employees: According to Supply Chain Brain, 89% of workers surveyed are more likely to stay at a company that encourages and listens to feedback, and two-thirds of workers surveyed want the opportunity to provide monthly inputs to their employers. Checking up on your employees monthly or even responding to their feedback reduces absenteeism and employee turnover.
   
   
4. Use analytics to adapt in advance: Using digital management and people tools to manage labour flows can help identify problems within a company. Analytics can also help you become aware of new needs and skills emerging in the field, and the data can give you a head start in training employees to move into those specialised roles.
   
   
5. Encourage collaboration: Creating cross-functional teams within the organisation will help in increasing employee productivity and visibility. It will also foster a more connected and a collaborative work culture.  

Conclusion:  

Overall, a comprehensive workplace strategy which is aligned with business goals will help in retaining and attracting top talent. Listening to your employees, embracing new technologies, using analytics to forecast future changes and encouraging collaboration among teams along with a mix of recruitment strategies can assist organisations in building a strong and dependable supply chain team.