Talent is our organization’s main asset
“Talent is our organization’s main asset”. Apart from an absolute truth, this is one of the most recurring statements in the speech of CEOs and business leaders when addressing employees in the frame of meetings and events’ celebrations.
However, how does the activity look like when it comes to Talent Acquisition and Talent Management in the Logistics industry? Thorough studies on this subject, platforms like Glassdoor and several public/private institutions in the EMEA region seem to agree on certain trends and standards:
- The average time from the moment a white collar vacancy comes up until the new talent is in place is around 90 days.
- Staff turnover in the first 3 months from start date is near 22%.
- Regarding the level of satisfaction of employees with their own role, survey metrics show a range between 60-70% of detractors/neutrals, 3 months after joining.
The above, along with massive other data and indicators, reflects an immense cost in terms of productivity, work environment, staff turnover/burnout and employee’s lack of trust, while the financial impact for the organization is ultimately enormous.
“Talent is our organization’s main asset” should not be just a declaration of will, but serve as the kick-off of a well-developed plan to acquire and nurture talent to the highest level according to the business needs. No excuses, no appeals. Logistics enterprises need to further develop their vision towards this subject and make a commitment to upgrading its level of professionalism so as to improve competitiveness in the market.
Making logistics enterprises increase competitiveness, by upgrading their standards in Talent Acquisition and Talent Management. This is the exact goal Barcelona Talent Logistics is established for, while delivering excellence in 5 key stages along the way:
- Talent Need Analysis: this is where one of the main problems usually lays. The lack of in-depth understanding regarding the exact need that the business requires, makes the purpose of acquiring the right talent unfeasible. A clear insight into the role, its requirements, work environment, organizational culture, reporting lines, department’s structure or company’s concept must be the base line for each single process to acquire talent.
- Talent Mapping and Segmentation: this activity should be always conducted previous to the recruiting need coming up. A proper identification of all potential candidates for a particular role is a work to be done upfront, not to delay the process for the acquisition of talent later on. A thorough knowledge of the logistics talent community and powerful software for talent segmentation and lead nurturing is crucial for the success of the strategy in Talent Acquisition.
- Candidate Assessment: behavioural patterns are far better predictors of future performance than any other indicator in most of the roles in Logistics. However, are we assessing behaviours properly, along with traits, qualities, hard skills, cognitive capabilities, expectations, motivations, financial needs,…? Once again, a great part of this activity must be performed upfront, not to lose efficiency afterwards, throughout the process. Additionally, technology and artificial intelligence need to be applied within this stage, as we will need massive data to be exchanged with leads and candidates, while avoiding time-consuming tasks for them.
- Decision-Making Process: hiring managers and business leaders are the ones to decide what exact talent to be hired for a particular role. However, decisions made in this stage may lead to losses/profits in dozens of thousands of euros. Therefore, this is actually the stage where more clearly Talent Acquisition experts must provide valuable and structured information to the business, so as to maximize the chances of making the right choice.
- Appraisal and Performance Management: certainly, acquiring the right talent, at the right moment, in the right place is a great advantage to make the business succeed. However, employees life-cycle is influenced by a wide range of factors, which need to be assessed on a regular basis by experts in Talent Management. Thus, managers will have access to up-to-date data and thorough analysis concerning the talent under their scope, for them to lead their teams appropriately and create, consequently, a positive impact on the financial performance of the business.
Logistics is one of the most added value activities across companies, thus it must be left to Logistics experts. Talent is the most valuable asset in your company, thus it must be left to Talent Acquisition experts.
José del Moral
Chief Executive Officer
Alineem estratègies i sumar esforços per potenciar l’activitat industrial a les pimes | Alineamos estrategias y sumar esfuerzos para potenciar la actividad industrial en las pymes.
