How can companies can meet customer demands for faster and more efficient delivery of products? By hiring the right people.

Recruitment and hiring within the supply chain and logistics space can be a challenge, especially in a market where candidates have a plethora of job options. Still, there are certain steps that employers can take to ensure that they’re not only getting a candidate, but the right one for the job.

In today’s job market, candidates are thinking long-term — where they can go in future, what opportunities will be available at that time, and what the next three to five years look like for their professional development.

Companies and hiring managers should be open to having these types of conversations. Typically, they occur outside the standard interview process, with managers striving to make candidates feel heard in an informal setting.

Attractive compensation packages have always been important, but in the current job market, conversations around pay are becoming more frequent and transparent. Many job descriptions include a sign-on bonus that comes with the title.

Candidates today aren’t afraid to ask for what they want, or turn down an offer they believe isn’t worth their while. Because of this, a company must put its best offer first. Otherwise it could become trapped in back-and-forth negotiations, and risk losing a candidate simply because the taxing process has become a turn-off. Prospective employers must put all their cards on the table to begin with. 

In addition to transparent and upfront visibility into compensation, today’s candidates are looking for incentives to sweeten the deal. Such perks help them feel that they’re getting an extra something out of the organization that they’ll be investing so much time into.

At the same time, incentives don’t have to be grand gestures like providing full funding for an executive MBA program, or a month-long sabbatical every year. They could be as small as a cell-phone reimbursement plan, a gym membership or even the day off from work on the employee’s birthday.

Aside from compensation and incentives, one of the most asked questions by a 2022 candidate is: “Is this position remote?” Following the pandemic, a five-day, in-office work week can be a rarity and, in some cases, not a necessity for the business. When it comes to the supply chain and technical operations space, however, being fully remote isn’t always an option. You can’t run manufacturing from a home office, and you need boots on the ground to see how lines are running and what the workflow is doing.

To find a happy medium, companies should offer a different version of flexibility — for example, requiring employees to work an eight-hour day, but letting them start and stop when it works best for them.

The supply chain industry, while ever-changing and complex, craves and deserves top talent. Today, however, its potential job candidates have more choices than ever before, and companies must meet them where they are and with what they want. Otherwise, they’ll be overlooked, and miss out on what could be the right talent for long-term success.

Emily Prendergast is executive director of DSJ Global’s Phaidon International.