Logistics companies agree that the lack of talent in the sector is one of the main problems they face. Therefore, They decide to bet on the training of their workers to retain talent in their companies. This is one of the main conclusions of the Observatory ‘Logistics sector: evolution, challenges and demand for specialized profiles’, organized by elEconomista.es and Eurofirms Group.
In it, Raúl Sánchez, Country Leader Spain of Eurofirms Group, presented the study of the Spanish multinational talent management company, which revealed that What logistics workers value most is stability, being the most important thing for 52% of the candidates. And their main concerns are salary, excessive workload and lack of recognition. Even so, the level of satisfaction on the part of employees about their companies stands at 7.6 out of 10.
The report also highlights one of the main demands by employees, that They focus their requests on training, demanding studies in software specialized in logistics management, mobile applications and process automation.
Although the logistics sector has been transacting digitally for more than a decade, logistics continues to constantly evolve due to the challenges it faces in the market and have witnessed in recent years a transaction to digital. Faced with this change, companies assessed how they have carried it out and how they can continue to do so.
Ramón Pérez, Senior Manager National Sales and Marketing & Communication of GLS Spain, stated that “the main problems we encounter are efficiency to be profitable, which is why everything that is invested in digitalization is aimed at being efficientdespite the fact that the context is very complicated.” Pérez also highlighted the lack of loyalty among young people with companies: “Today’s youth value their quality of life more than earning money, which is why it is so complex to build customer loyalty. talent within companies”, placing it as one of the main challenges to face.
Talent search
Clara Ramos, head of training and development at GXO Iberia, also spoke about the need to permanently find talent, who highlighted the profile required in the company: “What we are looking for is curious people who want to learn new things, work in team and want to collaborate, although we also need resilience since we are constantly evolving and we need people who know how to adapt to changes. Given this, the solution proposed by GXO is to analyze the context in which they operate since “We work on the development of people and analyze the challenges we face to try to understand the problems of workers and the needs they have and try to come up with a joint solution taking into account the needs of the company”.
Due to the lack of qualified personnellogistics companies have chosen to create their own schools and study centers that allow them to train workers with the needs they have and thus incorporate them directly into the labor market, but with a key factor in mind, that they are not the only competitors: “There is a lot of competition for talent, at all levels, because we do not compete only among ourselves, but also with other companies and other types of companies that are looking for the same thing as you,” highlighted Clara Ramos, from GXO Iberia.
Juan Sánchez, vice president of human resources at DHL, valued the creation of his own training school as a talent acquisition tool: “If we all fight for the same workers in the end we will not find them, but if you create an internal school and you train your own workers, the labor market expands. This is always accompanied by good conditions and salaries,” he expressed. Given the development of its own workers from the base, Nuria San Román, head of Recruiment at ID Logistics, maintained the idea of ”creating new positions” since technological profiles are expanding in recent years.
Ricardo Barrios, director of the Master of Logistics at the Alfonso X El Sabio University (UAX), also participated in the debate. valued the connection between university and company, the ability to link training with the requirements of the companies and the existence of two types of profiles in their master’s degree: “On the one hand there are those who finish the degree and go on to the master’s degree to specialize, and on the other hand there are workers who want to acquire higher knowledge of the sector”. Thus reinforcing the idea that workers require more training to be more competitive.
Improve the image of the sector
The Eurofirms Group report highlights that workers are not prescribers of their own sectorto which, the Country Leader Spain of Eurofirms Group, Raúl Sánchez, highlighted that companies must work to improve the joint image of the worker because “workers are the best ambassadors,” Sánchez highlighted.
From DHL, its proposal to give better visibility was based on the creation of its own school, since “this means that a warehouse worker feels important and sees that a senior manager helps him and is with him in that process”, Perez confirmed. While, From GXO they are clear that they have to convey that the projects are interesting “Although we also have to provide continuous training to employees, combining it with knowledge, loyalty, attracting talent, and maintaining those who are already there,” Ramos suggested.
Meanwhile, from the UAX, Barrios pointed out that he works to “make the sector attractive and make the success stories visible, starting from the faculty so that they understand the evolution that can be made and we also try to teach students the different ways being close to the companies”.
Changes in regulations that affect the sector
Regulatory changes in the logistics sector are constant due to the needs to comply with the environmental requirements demanded by the European Union to reduce CO2 emissions. Given the modifications that companies face, Ramón Pérez, GLS, highlighted the importance of “having an ebitda margin that allows you to make large investmentswhich are essential to be able to adapt to changes.
On the other hand, Clara Ramos highlighted the advanced role that GXO plays in sustainability: “We already have various processes in our warehouses automated, which allows us to be more committed to sustainability and we have now implemented a sustainable supply chain and our centers are zero emissions.”
The commitment of large companies to sustainability is fundamental and they must remain immersed in reducing emissions, although Juan Sánchez (DHL) stated that consumers do not want to pay for it: “We all want sustainability, but it is true that consumers do not want to pay for itdespite the fact that all this requires an investment.
There The fundamental role of environmental awareness comes into play, which is essential to understand that the adaptation that companies make to try to affect the environment as little as possible entails a large outlay that companies have to face and recover with their commercial activities. On the other hand, Nuria San Román, ID Logistics, highlighted the role of raising awareness among her clients: “For us it is easier because the client asks us directly.”
With everything from private universities also highlight the adaptation of their study plans so that future professionals know the regulations and needs of today’s world and those that they will have to face when they enter the labor market.
For this reason, from Eurofirms Group also work on ESG criteria and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through awareness and investmentalthough there is a long way to go for companies to understand the objectives they have to set, and for clients to understand that meeting them entails a higher price for services. A work that Eurofirms Group complements with its constant search for solutions that allow it to improve and adapt to the needs of the market, ensuring the perfect fit between company and candidate.
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