by Fronetics | Oct 20, 2015 | Blog, Leadership, Logistics, Strategy, Supply Chain, Talent
It’s common to think of the people who work for a company as “employees”, but reframing language and thinking could be critical to your supply chain. Start considering your employees as “talent”. The word employee has the connotation of working for someone or under someone. It implies being one of many, whereas the word talent has a positive connotation, implying that a person has depth, value, and potential. The term talent empowers both employees and companies to be the best and seek the best in their work and their search for other skilled people.
Reframing is an important step, but it doesn’t fix common problems that plague supply chain managers and human resource departments. It’s important to think about hiring processes as a long undertaking that extends beyond an ad, job interview, and offer letter. Companies should always be thinking about retention and promotion. This is called succession planning.
According to a study conducted by supply chain management researchers at Auburn University and Central Michigan University, 37.5% of surveyed companies had no engagement in succession planning, 27% had just started to work on planning, 23% engaged in informal planning, while only 12.5% engaged in formal succession planning.
Acquire
The supply chain is notorious for having a dearth of talent. The area is growing and more talent will need to be acquired for businesses to compete. As job titles expand and shift, due to the rapid changes in supply chain management and technological requirements, many people won’t be qualified for their own job title. Looking towards universities who are teaching supply chain management, and looking to other business sectors could be critical to find the right, flexible kind of talent the supply chain will need. Considering women for these traditionally male-dominant roles will also be important as women tend to be strong in many of the soft skills needed for the future of SCM. According to Shanton J. Wilcox, vice president, North America, and lead for logistics and fulfillment at Capgemini, “many so-called tactical jobs will be replaced by positions requiring more interpersonal and relationship management skills.”
Develop
As more and more money floods into the supply chain, it will be important to avoid the Silicon Valley problem of poaching, or talent leaving for larger and larger salaries elsewhere. Investing in current employees in a meaningful, attentive way, could make all the difference. Think about their future and next steps within your company. They probably have a plan for their future, and you should as well. Make sure those plans align and be open to assisting their journey to meet their goals.
Instead of conducting exit interviews, try conducting “stay” interviews. Ask specific questions about what it takes to create the environment that would help encourage your talents’ best performance. Ask what works, and also ask what doesn’t work. Be specific and ask what causes your talent anxiety or stress. You may find a trend and be able to fix it before people leave, rather than after. Investment is a big part of development. It helps talent feel like part of a bigger picture. If you invest in them they will invest in you.
Advance
Consider talent from within. According to a Forbes article, many companies are getting it wrong in trying to hire from outside. Internal candidates may not seem as appealing or exciting as the unknown, external candidate, but companies need to be clear-minded in these decisions. “Internal successors are in many ways lower risk than outsiders, yet surprisingly few promotions are awarded internally. That appears to be because boards often prefer the devil they don’t know to the devil they do. Also, some find it difficult to imagine someone at the top after seeing him operate in a lesser role for years.”
Internal talent may not appear to be ready for the next level if the position they’re seeking is a promotion, whereas an external candidate going for the same job may be making a lateral move and appear more “ready”. One thing to consider is the knowledge the internal candidate holds and brings to the job. Getting external talent up to speed can take months if not years.
Don’t sit back and assume your employees are willing to be passive about their careers. See your employees as assets. Have a strategy. Be part of their team, and make them part of yours. See their talent and invest in them, otherwise they’ll find another supply chain company who will.
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Fronetics Strategic Advisors is a leading management consulting firm. Our firm works with companies to identify and execute strategies for growth and value creation.
We advise and work with companies on their most critical issues and opportunities: strategy, marketing, organization, talent acquisition, performance management, and M&A support.
by Fronetics | May 11, 2015 | Blog, Strategy, Supply Chain, Talent
Demand for supply chain professionals exceeds supply by a ratio of six to one. Looking forward, it appears that demand for supply chain professionals will only increase. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that demand for supply chain talent will increase by 26 percent between 2010 and 2020 – a growth rate that is twice as fast as 14 percent of all occupations.
In response to the demand for supply chain professionals, universities have introduced undergraduate majors, MBA concentrations and even entire degree programs dedicated to procurement, inventory management and global supply-chain strategy. The Wall Street Journal has gone so far as to declare supply chain management the “hot new MBA.”
The University of New Hampshire Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics is one university which offers MBA courses focused on supply chain management. Students in the school’s Supply Chain Management MBA course learn how to design, plan, and operate supply chains for competitive advantage; develop an understanding of how the key drivers of supply chain operations can be used to improve performance; and develop knowledge of logistics and supply chain methodologies and the managerial context in which they are used.
For the second year, Fronetics Strategic Advisors has had the opportunity to work with students in the school’s Supply Chain Management MBA course. Our work with the students focused on the the role and importance of content for companies within the supply chain industry.
This post begins a series which will include topical supply chain management articles written by MBA students. The students are inclusive of full-time graduate students and professionals who attend the MBA program part-time. The articles point to the diversity of this group of students as well as to the student’s breadth of knowledge on supply chain issues.
Thank you to the students and to Russell Miles, faculty lecturer in the Decision Sciences Department at the University of New Hampshire’s Paul College of Business and Economics. We enjoyed working with you and look forward to working together again next year.
by Fronetics | May 11, 2015 | Blog, Strategy, Supply Chain, Talent
Demand for supply chain professionals exceeds supply by a ratio of six to one. Looking forward, it appears that demand for supply chain professionals will only increase. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that demand for supply chain talent will increase by 26 percent between 2010 and 2020 – a growth rate that is twice as fast as 14 percent of all occupations.
In response to the demand for supply chain professionals, universities have introduced undergraduate majors, MBA concentrations and even entire degree programs dedicated to procurement, inventory management and global supply-chain strategy. The Wall Street Journal has gone so far as to declare supply chain management the “hot new MBA.”
The University of New Hampshire Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics is one university which offers MBA courses focused on supply chain management. Students in the school’s Supply Chain Management MBA course learn how to design, plan, and operate supply chains for competitive advantage; develop an understanding of how the key drivers of supply chain operations can be used to improve performance; and develop knowledge of logistics and supply chain methodologies and the managerial context in which they are used.
For the second year, Fronetics Strategic Advisors has had the opportunity to work with students in the school’s Supply Chain Management MBA course. Our work with the students focused on the the role and importance of content for companies within the supply chain industry.
This post begins a series which will include topical supply chain management articles written by MBA students. The students are inclusive of full-time graduate students and professionals who attend the MBA program part-time. The articles point to the diversity of this group of students as well as to the student’s breadth of knowledge on supply chain issues.
Thank you to the students and to Russell Miles, faculty lecturer in the Decision Sciences Department at the University of New Hampshire’s Paul College of Business and Economics. We enjoyed working with you and look forward to working together again next year.
by Fronetics | Jan 29, 2015 | Blog, Supply Chain, Talent
Millennials are Poised to Change the Supply Chain Industry
This is part two in a two-part series examining the role of Millennials in the supply chain industry. Part one highlights strategies for attracting and retaining top Millennial talent.
With supply chain industry leaders lamenting a growing talent gap, tapping the Millennial generation may be key to filling that gap. But how, exactly? A closer look at the generational characteristics emerging from the influence of digital technology and pervasive interconnectedness allows us to draw inferences about the potential Millennial contributions to the supply chain industry.
Here are four areas where Millennials are poised to change the supply chain industry.
Internet of Things (IoT)
The Internet of Things (IoT), loosely defined as the growing and pervasive use of interconnected devices, is rising concurrently with Millennials entering the workforce. Born and raised during the digital revolution, they’re accustomed to products and processes that are highly integrated and interconnected. Supply chain companies should tap Millennials to leverage their unique perspective by engaging them in creative and strategic thinking about optimizing operational processes using interconnected devices, sensors, and tracking tools and soliciting ideas to grow revenue through the production of devices.
Marketing and Sales Approaches
Targeted for advertisements from an earlier age than their parents and grandparents, Millennials have been desensitized to overt branding messages. Instead, they respond to more organic marketing and sales approaches – strategies that can be expected to carry over into their work. Further, following current trends that deploy digital and social media, Millennials will seek to shift sales and marketing activities online to develop more meaningful, solutions-based relationships with buyers.
Global Partnerships
Ubiquitous and immediate virtual access to resources, information, networks, and people make Millennials the most interconnected generation. That unencumbered access, coupled with a tendency to favor collaborative decision-making in their work, creates opportunities for global work spaces and more complex industry partnerships – particularly relevant and significant advantages to companies within the supply chain industry.
Big Data
Similar to the way Millennials relate to the Internet of Things, so too will big data emerge as a tool Millennials will use to transform the supply chain industry. Their digital confidence and understanding of the types of information and data being collected and analyzed by companies will lead to gains in supply chain operational efficiency as Millennials seek to analyze robust data and apply their findings in practical ways.
With Millennials positioned to outnumber Baby Boomers in the workplace by 2020, shifts in ideas and processes are inevitable. What other supply chain elements do you see as ripe for transformation by Millennials?
by Fronetics | Jan 29, 2015 | Blog, Supply Chain, Talent
Millennials are Poised to Change the Supply Chain Industry
This is part two in a two-part series examining the role of Millennials in the supply chain industry. Part one highlights strategies for attracting and retaining top Millennial talent.
With supply chain industry leaders lamenting a growing talent gap, tapping the Millennial generation may be key to filling that gap. But how, exactly? A closer look at the generational characteristics emerging from the influence of digital technology and pervasive interconnectedness allows us to draw inferences about the potential Millennial contributions to the supply chain industry.
Here are four areas where Millennials are poised to change the supply chain industry.
Internet of Things (IoT)
The Internet of Things (IoT), loosely defined as the growing and pervasive use of interconnected devices, is rising concurrently with Millennials entering the workforce. Born and raised during the digital revolution, they’re accustomed to products and processes that are highly integrated and interconnected. Supply chain companies should tap Millennials to leverage their unique perspective by engaging them in creative and strategic thinking about optimizing operational processes using interconnected devices, sensors, and tracking tools and soliciting ideas to grow revenue through the production of devices.
Marketing and Sales Approaches
Targeted for advertisements from an earlier age than their parents and grandparents, Millennials have been desensitized to overt branding messages. Instead, they respond to more organic marketing and sales approaches – strategies that can be expected to carry over into their work. Further, following current trends that deploy digital and social media, Millennials will seek to shift sales and marketing activities online to develop more meaningful, solutions-based relationships with buyers.
Global Partnerships
Ubiquitous and immediate virtual access to resources, information, networks, and people make Millennials the most interconnected generation. That unencumbered access, coupled with a tendency to favor collaborative decision-making in their work, creates opportunities for global work spaces and more complex industry partnerships – particularly relevant and significant advantages to companies within the supply chain industry.
Big Data
Similar to the way Millennials relate to the Internet of Things, so too will big data emerge as a tool Millennials will use to transform the supply chain industry. Their digital confidence and understanding of the types of information and data being collected and analyzed by companies will lead to gains in supply chain operational efficiency as Millennials seek to analyze robust data and apply their findings in practical ways.
With Millennials positioned to outnumber Baby Boomers in the workplace by 2020, shifts in ideas and processes are inevitable. What other supply chain elements do you see as ripe for transformation by Millennials?
