Logistics companies are queuing up for young graduates. After all, they are flexible, pro-active and have the latest knowledge. But many of these companies are not set up for that new employee. They apply fixed working hours, offer little influence on decision-making and pay no attention to work-life balance. Everything the young college graduate does not believe in
People tend to parrot what others say, often without thinking about the consequences. Our little world of logistics is no exception.
We regularly receive calls from transport and logistics organisations asking us to help them fill a vacancy.
Fortunately, this has been happening a bit more often recently than in previous years; the recession seems to be coming to an end, so it’s time to invest in staff again.
Time and again we hear: ‘We’re looking for a young higher vocational education graduate who’s willing to get stuck in on the operational side’, followed by the usual list of qualities such as hands-on, driven, analytical, results-oriented, a people manager, and so on.
We invariably ask companies: what are you going to offer this young higher vocational education graduate, apart from ‘a dynamic environment and competitive terms of employment’? Or: why a higher vocational education graduate?
Many fail to provide an answer or resort to terms such as ‘flexible’ or ‘adaptability’, simply because they’ve heard or read them somewhere.
It seems so obvious, young people adapt easily to new circumstances, are pro-active and have the latest knowledge, but is it so obvious that this leads to an improvement in the overall performance of the organisation?
Not ready for the new employee
Most companies are not set up for that new employee. Top-down ruled, according to fixed procedures, with fixed working hours, little opportunity to influence decision-making, little attention to work-life balance and/or use of social media.
Sustainability and innovation are powerful terms in the vision statement, but they’re barely recognisable within the company.
In fact, they are everything that this new employee does not believe in.
The young higher vocational education graduate has a great ability to adapt and switch gears – that’s a fair assumption – but going back in time is impossible for this employee!
Key words
Attracting young higher vocational education graduates places extremely high demands on an organisation. A new vision, structures, leadership, their own commitment and development are the key words here, alongside careful guidance for existing staff.
Look before you leap, because Max Verstappen in a standard road car won’t achieve Formula 1 performance. That can only be achieved by building the entire organisation around the young talent; otherwise, Max will be in a different seat next year.
Editorial LogistiekProfs
