3PL Perspectives
NO MATTER WHAT size or amount of success your logistics company has, the chances are that your organization has had to deal with some difficulty regarding talent in recent years. This is primarily due to the shift to a “candidate-driven” market. There are more open positions than candidates willing to make a change. So, what can companies do? You need quality candidates for your organizational machine to run! But how do you attract quality candidates when there are so many hurdles in your way?
Today, we cover nine common hurdles companies face in hiring and how you can overcome them.
1. Remote & Hybrid Jobs
Since 2020, many of us have had the experience of working from home due to COVID-19. This opened the eyes of many to want to continue working from home even when many returned to the office or switched to a “hybrid” model. Companies responded to this demand by offering even more remote and hybrid opportunities than ever before.
What this means for your company is that your competition has increased significantly. You aren’t just competing with other companies in your city anymore. Many companies are going to be looking for the same position that you are but allow their candidates to work remotely or on a hybrid schedule. Your response to this must be to stand out from the crowd at a national level. Can you improve your benefits and culture or offer other perks? What can you do to stand out from local companies and other companies offering these remote and hybrid opportunities?
2. Slow Hiring Process
The saying, “time kills all deals,” has never been truer than right now. With some companies, all it takes is one to two interviews to know if the candidate is right for the position. If you have a rock-solid process, that’s all you will need. Some companies fail when they have multiple hiring authorities on top of multiple interview stages while taking days, if not weeks, before they get back to their prospective candidates or recruiters to update them on how they are progressing. Yikes!
While you are taking your time to contemplate if this is the right player, your competitor is going to swoop in and take them right out from under your feet. Second interviews with top-tier candidates are no longer a guarantee. Your opportunity and company have got to be top-notch to make the candidate want to come back for round two. Candidates care much more now about open communication and speed. Expedite your hiring process in any way you can by taking out unnecessary stages and communicating often with candidates in your hiring pipeline.
3. Deal Seekers
The cost of living is increasing, meaning people need more money to live their standard of life. The last thing you want is a candidate to pick another company because they were willing to offer slightly better benefits or $5,000 more in a base salary than you were. Be prepared to pay up for talent.
Think of it this way—when the freight market is short on capacity, how much negotiating power do you have with a carrier? It is the same way for talent now, and it looks like that’s not going to change any time soon.
You might want to find someone on the lower end of your salary range in pursuit of a good deal, but hiring the right fit, regardless of cost, is always the way to go. That person who was affordable at the time now has to be fired, and you wasted months of investment and training on them. Now you are out several thousands of dollars, not to mention lost revenue, and have to re-do the hiring process (however long that takes), and then you have to train another person. Do your best to avoid this hiring deja vu moment!
4. Forgetting About Benefits
Salary is not the only motivating factor. Benefits matter. Come up with the best benefits package that your company can. Examples could be unlimited PTO, 401(k) match, car allowance, phone allowance, or a free gym membership. Benefits also can be less tangible, like going out for lunch on Fridays. Hiring is a game of inches and adding one of these bonuses to your benefits package could sway a strong candidate in your direction!
5. Bad Branding
Having a clear and engaging brand is key to attracting quality candidates. Is your website up-to-date? Are you active on social media? Great companies shoot themselves in the foot when a candidate goes to do their research online. Make sure you understand your mission statement and that it’s clearly communicated from your logo to your website all the way down to your culture. When you get a good foundation of a solid brand, the house practically builds itself.
6. No Elevator Pitch
A candidate needs to understand what is unique about your organization, environment, and opportunity, all within the first interview. How would your employees respond if a candidate asked, “Why your company?” In sales, you sell the “sizzle,” not the steak. It is hard to attract talent to a company that looks like plain vanilla. The “Why your company?” moment is an excellent opportunity for an employee to communicate the elevator pitch of the organization. Consider providing employees with an example of elevator pitches for the interviewing process.
7. Lack of Mobility
The most popular day to search for jobs is Monday. It tapers off throughout the week before plummeting over the weekend. This means that candidates are looking for jobs while at work! Most people know their computer activity is being monitored, so job searches and background research are conducted on their mobile phones.
Unfortunately, according to a study by CareerBuilder, only 20% of Fortune 500 companies have a mobile-optimized career site. Make sure your website is optimized for mobile!
8. Hiding Your Culture
Even though some of us are completely remote and/or hybrid, there is still a culture worth documenting. What does it look like to work for you? A great way to showcase the culture is by making a few videos to put on your website and YouTube. Film current employees in their element with b-roll footage and include a few testimonials of what it’s like to work for your company. Do your best to give a “behind the scenes” look at your office.
9. A Confusing Process
What is your process from a candidate’s application to accepting the offer? Is an automatic response sent to notify that the information has been received? How is that communicated to the candidate if the candidate is interviewed and not considered for the role? Set expectations and do not leave candidates in the dark. Be clear about your process, when they can expect feedback, and how quickly a decision will be made. Take time to evaluate this with your internal hiring team. You will be glad you did.
With these potential obstacles present in the market today, hiring in this market is challenging but not impossible. Now that you know about the nine most common hurdles in hiring, you can overcome them! By following our tips, you’ll be well on your way to securing talented executives for your organization.
