Guest Post

How to Hire Supply Chain Professionals Who Will Stay

June 15, 2020

Written by guest contributor Megan Ray Nichols, a freelance stem writer and the editor of Schooled By Science. For more from Megan, you can follow her on Twitter or subscribe to her blog here.

The labor market right now is chaotic, and demand is fluctuating wildly. As a result, there’s more pressure on the supply chain than ever before. Companies are hiring fast to make up for job shortages and handle heightened demand, but many are struggling to hire workers who’ll stick around.

Fortunately, with the right approach to recruiting, finding candidates who are likely to stay with the company is possible.

Here are techniques that recruiters can use to help businesses hire and retain supply chain workers, even when labor market conditions aren’t ideal.

Treat Job Postings as a Marketing Opportunity

Sometimes, recruiters wanting to cover their bases and recruit highly skilled staff will pack job postings with keywords and skill requirements, even for low- and mid-level positions with limited pay and benefits. While a dense job listing can ensure skilled workers are more likely to apply, they can also discourage people who are qualified for the position but don’t match the skills or experience asked for in the posting.

A laundry list of job responsibilities can also signal that a job may have a seriously heavy workload — encouraging potential hires to look elsewhere.

Any posting may be the first encounter a potential hire has had with your brand. Take advantage of the space you have to telegraph job responsibilities and expectations, as well as the perks of working with your company.

You’ll also want to be specific in the skills you need for a position. Even responsibilities that seem similar — like business intelligence analysis or auditing warehouse performance  — may require significantly different skill sets. Work with HR, supervisors or employees currently in that role to create the best possible summary of a position.

Take Advantage of Virtual Recruiting Tech

When recruiting, you want access to the biggest pool of candidates possible so you’ll have the best chance of picking the right fit for the position. Look for enthusiastic workers while screening candidates. Those who are excited about the position and who know what they’re getting into tend to be much more productive and are likely to stay at the same company for longer. In fact, employee engagement can reduce turnover by as much as 59 percent.

If you’re going to recruit and retain supply chain workers during a disruption of the labor market, things will be more complicated than usual. Virtual recruiting tech can ensure continuity of hiring, even when conditions aren’t ideal. This tech can also help you screen more candidates than usual with the use of online video interviews and digital assessments.

You also won’t have to worry about covering travel and lodging for out-of-town candidates.

Virtual recruiting can also make things a little easier for potential hires. Workers often apply to hundreds of positions while searching for a job. Virtual recruiting can make it more convenient for these candidates to attend an interview, especially if they’re out of state.

The same tech can also allow for remote onboarding, which lets you walk through job responsibilities with a new hire. If there have been any miscommunications about responsibilities, hours, contract length or pay, you’ll be able to hammer them out before an employee starts working.

Streamline the Hiring Process

The average corporate job posting receives more than 250 applications — a serious number of resumes to sort through, especially if you’re hiring for multiple positions at a time.

Rush through those applications, and you run the risk of overlooking employees who may be the perfect fit for the job.

Where possible, look for ways to streamline your resume review and hiring workflow. If you’re not using recruiting software, it may be worth adopting technology that simplifies things. Some solutions can quickly scan through resumes for essential keywords, or highlight workers who meet requirements regarding education or work experience. They can also help you manage and schedule interviews, so you don’t risk leaving a candidate hanging or overscheduling.

Best Practices to Hire and Retain Supply Chain Workers

Finding skilled workers who are likely to stay with your company isn’t always easy. Most positions receive hundreds of applications, many of them from workers who aren’t qualified or a good fit for the job. Fortunately, with the right strategies, recruiters can simplify the hiring process and bring on the workers who will stick around.

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