retain-supply-chain-talent

What Does Top Supply Chain Talent Look for in an Employer?

By Published On: January 8, 2020

Is your organization struggling to retain top supply chain talent? 
If you have high turnover within your supply chain department, it may be time to take a look at how you can internally optimize aspects of your department in order to retain talent and create happier, longer-tenured employees.
While a paycheck is extremely motivating, there are other important factors to consider that keep employees satisfied and more likely to stay within your supply chain organization: 

Potential for Career Growth 

Employees want to work for an organization where they can learn, grow and develop both personally and professionally. The ability to receive promotions and pay raises motivates employees to succeed. Having the opportunity for internal advancement can be used to your advantage, as potential new hires will be enticed by the ability to move up within one organization without having to move around. 

Company & Job Stability

No one wants to work in a hostile environment that’s volatile and regularly changing.
Job Seekers want to work for employers that meaningfully invest in their employees with a low turnover rate, so providing a sense of growth and stability is a great way to keep employees motivated within your organization. This is especially important in the ever-changing field of supply chain management. Showing how stable your organization’s growth has been over the years is also attractive to many individuals.

Good Work/ Life Balance

It can be tricky, but finding the balance between a meaningful life outside the office as well as being able to deliver on work responsibilities is important for employees. Overloading someone with too many responsibilities that take up their time outside of work can lead to burnout. 
Recognizing the need for a balance and providing the opportunity to cultivate their lives outside of the workplace is imperative for success. Employees value the ability to deal with family or personal issues without working through a lot of red tape. Being able to work from home as well is another great selling point especially if the salary isn’t extremely competitive. 

Strong and Positive Culture & Work Environment 

As stated before, while financials are important, it’s even more important that the candidate fits into the overall company culture and environment. Does your organization foster an encouraging, fun, productive environment? Is success recognized? Having a good culture is what individuals care about in life. People tend to stay within a role where they feel the work environment is healthy, positive and rewarding. 

Sound Values & Vision

While companies are doing business, the people in the organization want to be surrounded by others that have similar values and goals for the future. Establish and share with current and future employees what your company believes in. When top supply chain talent knows decisions are made off of the core values, a strong sense of trust and stability is developed.
Employees are looking to work within an organization that is going somewhere with goals and potential. Without a strong sense of vision, there may not be much job seeker appeal.

Driven Leadership Team 

An important but occasionally overlooked characteristic that candidates look for in an employer is the importance of a strong leadership team and the opportunity for mentorship. Supply Chain executives that mentor, advise and encourage their employees along their career journey is a strong draw, especially in the supply chain discipline.

While salary and benefits are an important part of attracting the top supply chain talent, it’s just as important to ensure your organization provides the opportunity for growth, long term stability, a strong leadership team, and stands by the values and vision.
While compensation may get them into the door, the other factors are what helps to retain supply chain talent in your organization. 
If you’re looking for tips and advice on supply chain hiring and retaining talent, be sure to sign up to join our hiring community today!