Supply Chain Recruitment: 6 Tips for Success

Last year, over four in five organizations experienced a significant supply chain disruption. If you're part of the 82% of supply chain leaders bracing for more disruptions and challenges this year, you're likely looking for ways to minimize the obstacles. 

Acquiring the right talent can make sure you're braced for whatever might come, which can help to prevent bottlenecks, downtime, and angry customers. Supply chain recruitment isn't always easy, but we've put together this guide to help you through the process.

Use these tips to find the right candidate. 

1. Focus on Upskilling and Reskilling

Upskilling is teaching an employee new skills, while reskilling involves teaching them new skills with the intention of helping them to perform another role. Both will help you retain employees and may even help employee morale by making your workers feel valued. 

Upskilling closes talent gaps. It makes workers feel involved and helps them to grow in their careers. For instance, they might continue their education or take an online course to obtain a license or certification. 

Reskilling teaches employees new skills that they can use if they're promoted to a different role. The benefit of reskilling is that you can fill open positions sooner and promote from within the company. You're training employees for promotion, which keeps them around longer. 

How does this help with supply chain recruitment? If applicants see that you're a company that prioritizes education and learning new abilities, they're more likely to choose to work for you rather than work at a dead-end job. 

2. Captivate Them With a Stellar Job Description

You can't expect to find the best talent without a thorough and transparent job description. Avoid cliches and generic writing, as your job listing will never stand out that way. Skip the fluff and get to the point, but use your company tone or brand voice to make it authentic. 

The ideal job description must contain the following: 

• Qualifications
• Responsibilities
• Required skills/knowledge
• A company introduction
• Job title
• Opportunities for growth
• Useful past job experience/skills
• Information about the company culture

The listing doesn't have to be overly long if you include the above points. In short, applicants should be able to get an idea of what the job entails, whether they'd be a good fit, and what future opportunities are open to them. 

Taking the time to write a detailed description is worth it, as you're more likely to find a better fit for the position, and you can weed out less qualified candidates. 

3. Remain Flexible

Excelling in supply chain management means learning to adapt. More than ever, employees see the benefits of working from home. A hybrid work policy that allows for some remote work attracts more applicants. 

Try to remain flexible and consider each employee's situation. If someone needs to leave early to pick up their son or daughter, allow them to come in earlier and leave sooner or continue to work from home. 

The reality is that more employees look for flexible working solutions, and you need to keep up if you want to attract the best talent. Consider which roles within the company can translate to remote work and how you can accommodate certain needs. 

If you want to encourage more employees to come into the office, consider offering perks such as buying them lunch or breakfast on certain days or a relaxed dress code on Fridays. 

4. Consider Hiring Contract Employees

Back in 2019, only 5% of full-time work was performed remotely. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, more companies and employees are seeing the possibilities of working from home. Today, around 27% of full-time employees work remotely. 

One possibility that can help you grow your company is to hire contract or freelance employees. However, it's crucial to be upfront about your reasons for hiring freelance workers. 

Is the position temporary, or is there a chance for permanent employment? If it's only short-term, how long will the contract last? Workers need to plan for their futures, and a temporary position with no chance of further employment may not appeal to them as much. 

5. Partner With Universities

Partnering with universities that have supply chain degree programs is a valuable way to connect with new talent. Have some of your employees attend career fairs and talk to interested students. Connect with some of the professors to learn more about the courses and discover top-performing students. 

Universities also benefit from partnering with successful companies. For example, discussing how students have gone on to pursue successful careers after enrolling is an excellent way to generate interest in the school. 

6. Utilize Supply Chain Recruitment Services

Recruiting employees isn't easy, and you need hours to promote the job position, go through applications, and find the perfect applicant.

You'll spend valuable time conducting interviews only to discover that an applicant isn't a good fit. In some cases, you may go through the onboarding and training process only to have that employee quit. 

How do you find qualified applicants to fit supply chain jobs? One of the most efficient ways is to use a supply chain recruitment service. 

You'll have instant access to a global network of professionals, including employees suited for anything from a junior position to leadership roles. 

Another benefit is that you know you're hiring talent with the right amount of experience and the right mindset for the position. For example, there are many issues that can impact the global supply chain procurement process. You need someone that can keep a level head and react quickly to remedy the situation. 

Experience the Benefits of Supply Chain Recruitment Services

If you use these tips, it should make supply chain recruitment far easier. Remember to partner with others and use the resources available to you to make the process faster and to find the perfect candidate. 

Are you interested in learning more about recruiting employees and improving your procurement strategy? If so, contact us to talk about our services and see how Procuremensh can help.