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Winning the talent race

   Transportation and logistics as a sector is facing employee shortages as it isn’t viewed interesting and cool to work by most job seekers. The fifth volume in a series of reports by consulting firm PwC under the theme of Transportation and Logistics 2030 the focus is on “winning the talent race”.

   The report is based on the assumption that the transportation and logistics industry is confronted with an image that’s less than ideal. Jobs in this sector are normally associated with unpleasant working conditions and a less than attractive career path. Will companies in this sector nonetheless succeed in capitalising on their advantages and winning the best employees? Will they be able to build a strong employer brand? These are some of the many questions that you will find answers for in the report. PwC puts together a global panel of experts and asked them a series of questions using a RealTime Delphi methodology. Will transportation and logistics executives be standing in the winner’s circle in 2030?

   Many transport jobs are considered to be low-paying dead-ends. The report depicts that logistics companies in emerging countries need to invest heavily in training, development and education for their young joining workforce. In developed countries, training the next generation and adapting the workplace to the needs of older employees will be key. By making sure current workers are satisfied, companies can improve their employer brand. Whilst staff perceptions aren’t the only factor in building an employer brand, they are an important element.

   According to the report, recruiting strategies should be improved. Attracting more women to this male dominated sector won’t be easy, but companies that succeed will have access to a rich new labour pool and will witness increased profits. Companies should aim at eradicating diversity management as a marginal issue in transportation and logistics.

   Anne-Cathrin Schreiber, Chairwoman of Task Force Leadership & Lifelong Learning, Business and Professional Women (BPW) Europe expressed her opinion when asked about women’s particular skills that would benefit the transport and logistics sector. She says, “In a globalised and complex world, interconnected thinking and acting is becoming more and more important. Many women tend to think holistically, having a big, complex picture of the business field its resulting consequences to companies’ stakeholders in mind. Women are often team players who improve the company atmosphere with their ability to integrate and interconnect other people’s experiences, opinions, ideas, wishes and understanding. They are able to realise relevant essentials in a short time. Women usually have a natural ability to communicate and share knowledge and experience, to consult and mentor other employees (consciously and unconsciously!), making them strong managers and decision makers. They have good expertise in active conflict solving, considering underestimated psychological aspects. She adds, “Many men may be characterised as avoiding problem solving. Therefore, especially in relationship management matters women’s social competence may be of fundamental relevance to important decision making processes.”

   Transportation and logistics companies are lagging behind other sectors in terms of recruiting and hiring. The shipping sector is already trying some new strategies to fill open spots. Some companies are using current employees to help recruit new hires by paying bonuses to staff that bring new forwarding and shipping agents on board. In 2008, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) launched the campaign ‘Go to sea!’ together with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and other partners. The programme was designed to attract more workers to the sector and includes a website with detailed information about careers at sea.

   Along with the traditional ways of recruiting staff, companies must also use new recruiting channels like social media. There’s already a ‘Social Media for Logistics’ group on LinkedIn. LinkedIn and other sites focused on professional networking are also offering companies special packages to raise their company profile to potential job seekers and enhance the site for possible candidates to fit specific positions. This will help them to increase their visibility to potential employees and gain an edge over competitors in reaching out to inactive job seekers. Recruiting isn’t likely to get easier for the transportation and logistics industry in the near term. International hiring may help some companies. Reaching out to talent pools like women, young people, mature workers and career changers may be another good strategy. These were some of the major suggestions of the Delphi panel.

   Transportation and logistics companies suffer from negative image. One important way to overcome this is to build their employer brand, finds the report. This can be done through realizing company’s untapped potential and then using different marketing platforms and communication channels to get the message across to young people, career counselors, business people and the media.

   Transportation and logistics companies need to take a critical view of their remuneration systems and benchmark their salaries as they provide lower wages as against other industries. Salary isn’t the only way to compensate employees, companies should look at improving benefits packages and working conditions too. In this multifaceted industry, job profiles range from pilots and seafarers to truckers and rail drivers.

   When the Delphi Panel asked about the challenges faced by the transportation and logistics sector in Africa, Inge Mulder, CFO of South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) says, “South Africa SANRAL has made significant progress over the last 5 years with regard to the acquisition of talent and the retention of talent. However, the shortage specifically with regard to experienced engineers remains a challenge in South Africa. Younger engineers are coming through the ranks, however, they do not have the requisite years of experience that come from having implemented large scale infrastructure projects. As we all know such projects require capital investment. This investment was dormant for many years until the recent investment impulse.”

   The Delphi panel consisted of 94 panelists from 24 countries on five continents representing transport modes logistics, shipping, railway, aviation and road. Thirty seven percent of the respondents originated from emerging markets mainly industry, science and associations and politics. The panelists were properly assisted through the entire process by them.

   The report concludes advising the transport and logistics companies to adopt these effective strategies to address talent issues and improve their human resource management and strategy. With these, the sector can go a long way to optimize their human resource profile.