Anyhow you look at it, people are the most important stakeholders in your supply chain operations. As customers, they are all that matters; as resources in the supply chain, nothing works without them. Getting it right is important.
In this article, we will focus on getting the right people as resources in your supply chain operation. Modern technology is very much technology driven. And it has paid its dues.ย
The single difference between modern and traditional technology is its integration of tech solutions. However, the people in the supply chain control and navigate these for efficiency.
Getting the right people in place can spell all the difference for your supply chain management. It can determine the success and effectiveness of your supply chain operations for a while.
Hiring these people can be tricky. How do you know the right ones, and how do you find them?
What are these tips for hiring the right people in your supply chain?
HereWe will explore five critical tips for hiring the best people in your supply chain. We will also explore mistakes to avoid.
1. Allign with the organizationโs strategic goals
Sounds simple enough, right? However, not many businesses or organizations hire with the companyโs goals in mind. This often leads to redundant hires, costing the supply chain more money.
Aligning with the organization’s goal will entail finding what direction the organization is moving into and then hiring people with specific skills who can help out.
For instance, more African supply chains are embracing tech. It makes sense to hire people inclined to technology if your supply chain will succeed with it. It also reduces the cost of training programs.
When your hiring goals align with the organisation’s, you will have a staff that can get the supply chain to achieve its goal. And you do not have to keep repeating the hiring experience because it will last.
2. Emphasize soft skills
As much as supply chains can get very technical, it is still important to ensure that the people you hire have the required soft skills to match. Technical and operational expertise is all good, but what happens when these people cannot work with the team on the ground?
Your supply chain becomes difficult to manage, and having enough of them will lead to disruptions throughout the supply chain.
The best way to avoid this is to hire people with technical skills while focusing more on soft skills such as communication, teamwork, and multitasking.
Another thing you should note in the hiring process is that technical and operating skills are more teachable than soft skills. This should be enough to prioritise soft skills in your hiring process.
3. Assess cultural fit
Every decent business has a certain culture that everyone coming on board buys into. The culture can be laid back, more youthful, or target-oriented.
Whatever the culture is in your organization, it is important to get people who will fit with that culture. That way, they can hit the ground running as soon as possible. The team can also enjoy the benefits of cohesiveness, which allows everyone to put in their best effort.
Hiring people with the right cultural fit makes communication, teamwork, and other soft skills easier to extract, amplifying the productivity of the team and each individual.
4. Test for technical and industry knowledge
Although this is not as important as soft skills, it is also a nice have for your supply chain professionals. Getting people with soft skills, technical skills, and industry knowledge is a win-win for your supply chain.
Depending on the level of hire, having technical skills and industry knowledge is a pointer to the professional’s ability to improve themselves. Hiring people with technical skills is also a cost-saver for your supply chain.
You donโt have to invest much in training the individual. When you are in a pickle between technical and soft skills, pick the person with the soft skills and a basic understanding of the technical skills.
5. Clearly define job roles and responsibilities
Putting up a job board across multiple platforms is normal when hiring people. You will have difficulty finding the right people if the roles, responsibilities, and expectations are unclear.
It will attract multitudes of qualified and unqualified candidates, making it difficult for your supply chain to select the right people. Today, AI helps with these, but some unqualified candidates still manage to slip through.
Always ensure you have the right information on the boards to prevent an over-application. You will streamline the entire process and make it much more easier.
What are some mistakes to avoid when hiring people in your supply chain?
There are mistakes hiring officials typically make when getting the right people into the supply chain. This eventually causes problems for the entire process.
1. Paying attention to office politics:
This often impacts how people get hired into the supply chain. Hire-ups may have people they prefer for no tangible reason and try to pressure the hiring official to get them. The problem with this is when things donโt work like they tend not to, the hiring official is to blame.
2. Rushing the hiring process:
People tend to rush the hiring process when there is a sense of urgency. This will often lead to the supply chain taking the wrong person and having to repeat the process soon enough. It will affect the resources and time of the supply chain.
3. Focusing solely on one pillar rather than a well-rounded approach:
There are several pillars to the hiring process, especially in the supply chain. You want to focus on technical, soft, and industry skills. With these three in place, you have the perfect candidate.
However, many hiring managers tend to focus on just one of these pillars, which makes it difficult to get the right person.
4. Ignoring red flags:
When hiring managers feel like they have the opportunity to land a really good talent, they tend to ignore red flags. This eagerness or excitement usually comes back to hunt them.
FAQs on hiring the right supply chain professionals
๐ค๐ญ: ๐ช๐ต๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ผ ๐ต๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐พ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐น๐ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ณ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น๐?
Hiring the proper experts ensures a competent and successful supply chain team, which boosts operational excellence, cost-effectiveness, and general business performance.
๐ค๐ฎ: ๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐น๐ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐๐?
Proficiency in supply chain management, analytical abilities, problem-solving, flexibility, communication, and a solid grasp of market trends and technological advancements are all necessary.
๐ค๐ฏ: ๐๐ผ๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ ๐ต๐ถ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐น๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ’๐ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐น๐ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐?
You may gauge a candidate’s understanding through focused interview questions, case studies, and conversations regarding their experience managing supply chain issues and process optimization.
Conclusion
Hiring the right people is important to the supply chain, and the tips listed here will help any hiring team make the most of the experience. The right professionals will always have the positive impact you desire on your supply chain.
Countries:: Nigeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, Sierre Leone, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote dโIvoire, Togo, South Africa, Mozambique, Egypt, Niger, Senegal, Tanzania, Madagascar, and Cameroun.
Obinabo Tochukwu Tabansi is a supply chain digital writer (Content writer & Ghostwriter) helping professionals and business owners across Africa learn from real-world supply chain wins and setbacks and apply proven strategies to their own operations. He also crafts social content for logistics and supply chain companies, turning their solutions and insights into engaging posts that drive visibility and trust.
