7 Best Practices for Improving Logistics Recruitment

Logistics recruiting is becoming more difficult, particularly in terms of finding qualified candidates for logistics and supply chain management positions. Companies are now employing strategies to address this issue. This blog explains some of the best practices used to improve logistics recruitment.

Staffing is serious business. Recruitment firms bring high-quality processes and precision to this business. They understand what clients want. They understand the vision and growth strategy of their clients. So, they are able to find the human resources and talent required to help their clients realize their business goals.

A high-quality recruitment firm works in tandem with the leadership teams of their client organizations. They know precisely what needs to get done, how to get it done and who is required to get it done.

Talent acquisition should be a core competence

The business of recruitment is not about filling positions and meeting headcount targets. Well, it is certainly not the case anymore. Today, a recruitment firm brings a core competence to their client company’s growth strategy. And that core competence is the expertise of talent acquisition.

A top draw recruitment firm understands their clients’ business goals. It sources and helps onboard talent that can make these business goals a reality.

This core competence is relevant for all sectors. However, here are a few key benefits of working with a recruitment firm that is focused on the logistics business.

Being the extended arm of HR

A good recruitment partner does not function like a typical vendor. They don’t just deliver goods or services. They partner with your HR team. They are, and function like, an extended arm of your HR department. As a legal entity they are outsourced. But for all practical purposes, they own the mandate of talent acquisition. And, therefore, they remain focused and accountable on that mandate.

Knowing the bigger picture

So, when working with a recruitment firm, treat them as a partner in progress. Share your company’s vision, purpose and business goals transparently, clearly. This is when the partner can be effective and perform well. Whether you need temporary workers or you need to fill leave vacancies or you need top performers to grow your logistics business or manage your operations efficiently, make the big picture evident to the recruitment firm. When a recruitment firm knows why they have to do something, they always deliver better.

Choosing a specialist firm

The days of generalist recruitment firms are long over. You need a specialist firm as a partner. In the logistics business, the partner firm’s network of professionals in the space counts big time. When the partner firm knows where to look for talent to help meet your requirements, it saves you a lot of time and effort. Agility is the name of the game today. You need to move quickly on reviewing candidate profiles, on interviewing them and on making them offers. Otherwise a nimble-footed competitor in the logistics sector may move ahead of you. So, the recruitment partner must work quickly, keeping pace with your needs and staying ahead of your competition at all times.

Reviewing the firm’s credentials

A high-quality recruitment firm will have a very professional leadership team. The firm’s website will profile each team member and share access to their LinkedIn bios. When you review the firm’s online and social media presence, you will see how their quality of thought leadership can help you with your growth strategy. Such a firm also has marquee clients. The very fact that these clients engage with the recruitment firm shows how effective and efficient their delivery model is. As a logistics player, you want to work with a firm that has impeccable credentials and an illustrious track record. A good firm has both.

Robust hiring process

A good recruitment partner will transparently share their recruitment process. Just as a logistics player cannot have gaps in their supply chain and delivery processes, they cannot also have a weak hiring process. Examining the recruitment partner’s processes and evaluating them qualitatively will help you make your choice. Only a partner who is confident of their performance and delivery model will transparently share their process architecture with clients. When you see a recruitment firm being willing to do this, you must know that you have a winner as your partner.

Evaluating key performance indicators

A recruitment partner is good only when they go beyond being able to identify candidates or getting them to accept an offer and join. They are effective only when the candidates have stayed on the job long enough or until project mandates are fulfilled. Ask the recruitment firm to share key performance indicators. In the logistics space, 20 % weightage applies for identifying talent, 35  % weightage is for them joining and 45 %, the highest, weightage is for the candidates staying on. A good recruitment partner should be able to showcase evidence of 45 % retention rates with their placements.

In conclusion

Go beyond the ordinary. If you are in the logistics sector and if you need good quality talent, then look for the best recruitment partner. Such a partner ideally will be practicing recruitment as a fine art. Their processes will be transparent. And their talent pool, their network and their understanding of the logistics business will be exceptional. Now, you want such a deep understanding and high levels of professionalism in your partner. When you work with such a firm you will find that your growth strategy gets a boost and your team gets some high-performance players.

Visit Xpheno, our website, to find job opportunities in Logistics. We are a staffing firm that aims to organize opportunities for skilled and unskilled Indian talent. We have been aiding the scaling journey of high-growth sectors like Fintech, Agritech, Edtech, Logistics, Pharma and D2C in India.