Technological and digital developments are increasingly permeating the business world, and this has implications for the requirements that personnel must meet. How does an entrepreneur ensure that he gets and keeps the right people in? Logistics Manager of the Year 2019 Job Sonke and Young Logistics Talent 2019 Nick Vreeswijk give tips.
The economy is growing and the demand for services from logistics service providers is increasing. Moreover, the sector is strongly influenced by technological and digital developments, as a result of which companies will need more and different personnel in the future. The demand for ICT specialists and planners is increasing and staff will need more digital skills. At the same time, part of the workforce will retire and rejuvenation is needed. These are the main conclusions of the report 'Logistics personnel of the future' published by ABN Amro this spring.
Job Sonke, Logistic Manager of the Year 2019, and Nick Vreeswijk, Young Logistics Talent 2019, can talk about it through their practical experiences in the search for employees.
Properties
Before starting the search for young talent, it is useful to know what the new generation of employees must meet, says Sonke, Manager European Distribution Centre at Hollister. "We divide young talent into three levels: executive, managerial and staff. Talents learn improving their logistics skills, at all three levels, on the job, but a good work attitude, mentality and work ethic are not attributes that can be taught. We therefore select staff on these traits." Vreeswijk, operations director at Cyclone Post & Bicycle Couriers, agrees with Sonke that a potential new employee's personal attributes are more important than logistics skills. "The most important condition for talents is that they take responsibility and initiative themselves."
There are two options for a company to recruit young people: post a vacancy itself or partner with a temporary employment agency. Vreeswijk chose to look for himself on behalf of his company and has found that especially the opportunity to grow is a reason for young talent to join a company. "We recruit our bicycle couriers, both college and university students who do the work alongside their studies, by offering future prospects. For example, a bicycle courier can advance to higher positions through a planner position. We find that this makes work in logistics more interesting for young people."
Flexible working hours
Sonke has been working with an employment agency for many years. "That agency knows which candidates we are looking for and whether they fit our culture. They sometimes say they have found a person who is very similar to someone already working for us." According to Vreeswijk, it is important for young people that employers have flexible working hours. "Flexible working hours are a thing of the past," Vreeswijk says. "Certainly not for younger workers, who don't want nine-to-five working days. But the possibility of working from home is also important. I myself only work four days a week because I have a child. This should just be possible nowadays, as should parental leave. We had already introduced partner leave of two weeks at Cyclone before it was legally introduced."
Training
What definitely also belongs on the list if an employer wants to be attractive is training, says Sonke. "It is an important requirement. We offer a lot of international training, and courses such as management skills, interview skills, dealing with difficult situations and time management. We don't offer specific logistics training; our courses focus on improving personal skills that make it easier to take the next step in your career. Young talents are very much searching and have little or no professional experience. This is where these personal courses can help. In terms of content, they have more than enough knowledge after a four-year college or university degree. They don't need to take additional courses for that."
According to Vreeswijk, personal preferences also play a role. "Our employees take a so-called PerformanceTypes test, making them aware of their own preferences as well as those of colleagues. This allows you to use each other's natural strengths and work together in the best possible way."
Recognised training company
How do you then ensure that employees do not disappear to another company within just one year? Sonke argues that offering internship opportunities is the best way to bind logistics talent to your company. "We ourselves are busy setting up such an internship process. We are a recognised training company for MBO level. That was the first step for us. We have a number of supervisors who can supervise that. The next step is to recruit one or two college or university students each year to work on a project, although it is important to supervise them well. This way, the knife cuts both ways. Firstly, knowledge enters our organisation, and secondly, you link yourself to knowledge institutes, thus sharing knowledge between them."
The young talents who have ambitions are not able to advance at every company to the position where they eventually want to end up. Sonke: "The young talents I speak to here don't look much further than one or two steps in their career. For example, I also ask during job interviews where they want to be in one, three or five years. Then they often mention management level as the highest achievable. Only a few dare to say they want to become a company director, but that is more to show their ambition. In our organisation, there are a number of higher positions available in which talents can develop. Talents who want to hold many different positions to make steps in their career are better off working for larger logistics organisations with different branches and disciplines."
Vreeswijk hears more ambitious noises. "I recently heard from an employee that he wants to set up his own company. I only applaud that, but I did say to him that it would be best for him to develop here for a few years first before taking that step. I think it's great to see that these talents are so ambitious."
Labour market at Logistica
This article is a contribution from evofenedex. During the Logistica and ICT & Logistiek trade fairs, evofenedex will highlight the Labour Market theme in several content sessions. Want to future-proof your company's personnel policy and logistics process? Visit Logistica and ICT & Logistiek from 5 to 7 November.
