Attracting and Retaining Talent

Taking the survey results into consideration, what do companies in the industry have to offer in order to be able to attract and retain talent in today’s tight labour market?

It is crucial that companies have clear development plans, which outline long-term prospects and opportunities within the company as well as ways of obtaining them. Training offered has to be in line with these development plans ensuring that employees acquire the skills necessary in order to develop within the organization. Moreover, it has to be ensured that employees are challenged enough at all times.

Furthermore, a desirable work environment is the key to keeping logistics professionals. Therefore, a company’s culture should enforce respect, support, recognition of achievements, and acknowledgement of each individual’s contribution. The management should facilitate positive interaction between employees by giving them the opportunity to connect on a personal level and to build teams. Simply organizing a social activity now and then or an annual company trip once a year will not do the job. It is crucial to have a clear HR strategy in place, which is consistently implemented and enforced. This way attraction of talent and employee retention can be improved.

Salary alone does not ensure employee attraction and retention. This is actually good news for companies as it suggests that they can really make a difference and improve how they are perceived by employees without having to necessarily increase their HR costs.

Employer of choice

Human capital is a company’s most important resource. More emphasis should be put on HR Marketing to ensure that the company is branded as an “employer of choice” and that the company’s culture and its unique attributes are communicated to potential employees. In the words of Justina Liow, Director of Europhia Consulting: “In the nineties, the buzzword was the ‘employability’ of the individuals to better equip themselves with relevant skills and experience for the labour market. Today, it is about ‘employerbility’. The employer must invest time and effort in HR Management and Strategies to become an “employer of choice”.

The next survey module within Europhia’s global Survey Series 2007/2008 will give deeper insight into attributes of an employer of choice, answering the question “What makes a good employer?”