The last few years have been a blur of transformation. The pandemic and its aftermath had a profound impact on many aspects of life, including how we work. Changes in employee work habits, trends such as the Great Resignation and “quiet quitting,” and layoffs have all forced organizations to confront staffing challenges and rethink their hiring and compensation policies. The logistics and supply chain industry, like all others, has felt the effects of these developments. According to LinkedIn, resignation rates for supply chain managers increased by 28% between 2020 and 2021.
Given overall employment trends, these figures come as no surprise, and they represent a significant and ongoing challenge for the logistics and supply chain industry. High turnover and worker shortages have a direct impact on workplace productivity and continuity. These challenges, particularly in logistics and supply chain, have far-reaching, cross-industry ramifications, as evidenced by recent supply chain disruptions.
The fact that recruiting and staffing are both expensive and time-consuming adds to the problem. According to some estimates, filling an open position can cost up to three or four times what the position pays once interview time, lost productivity, and hard costs are factored in. This can be especially difficult for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which may not have the funds to keep up with recruiting needs, nor the internal bandwidth to manage an ongoing hiring process.
Understanding Scaling Options
One solution to the hiring problem is to outsource. Outsourcing key roles such as customer service, inside sales, accounting, bookkeeping, tech development, and more can benefit supply chain and logistics providers significantly. Larger organizations have traditionally been more open to outsourcing. According to Capital Counselor, larger organizations are 66% more likely than smaller organizations to outsource work. Outsourcing, contrary to popular belief, is a great option for SMEs for a variety of reasons.
Outsourcing is a more cost-effective way to staff quickly and remain agile in a changing environment. While economic forecasts are improving, there remains some uncertainty about the coming months and years. Outsourcing allows you to quickly build a workforce when needed and adapt quickly if conditions change, all for a fraction of the cost of hiring locally.
Extending reach while maintaining culture
Outsourcing also enables SMEs to select from a larger pool of candidates. Recent advances in digitization and automation have drastically altered the way supply chain and logistics companies operate, necessitating the hiring of a technologically savvy workforce that is not always readily available locally. Outsourcing gives you access to a larger pool of talent with a broader range of skill sets, which helps ensure you have the right people on the job. Outsourcing can also help SMEs reach a larger audience, tap into new customer bases, and deliver productivity gains by executing work around the clock.
Many SMEs value the small business culture that comes with knowing and collaborating with colleagues. Small businesses value open communication and control over their employees and operations, which may cause some to be hesitant to outsource. However, advancements in outsourcing technology should put those fears to rest. Today’s outsourcing technology platforms enable SMEs to constantly interact and connect with individuals, maintain office culture, check status, gauge hours and output, and more – all while maintaining security across regions. This accessibility enables SMEs to treat outsourced talent as true teammates and communicate with them as such. It also provides the two-way visibility required to ensure success for both parties.
Additional puzzle pieces
Of course, outsourcing is only one possible component of an effective SME scaling strategy. A company cannot scale and grow unless it increases sales, either by growing current business or recruiting new customers, which means a focus on customer experience and new business is critical. To avoid falling behind the times, keep an eye on market needs and add in-demand skills to your team – either through outsourcing or local hiring. Similarly, smart technology investments can help eliminate time-consuming manual tasks and make a lean team more productive and scalable.
Outsourcing is a powerful option that SME leaders should not overlook, regardless of strategy. Smart outsourcing can assist SMEs in increasing profitability, improving efficiency, and streamlining business processes, while also responding quickly to changing market needs. Recent labor shortages and shifting employment dynamics have posed significant challenges to the supply chain and logistics industries. However, with the right approach and tools, SME leaders in the space can ensure their companies have access to the right talent at the right time, allowing them to weather the storm and support increased productivity in the coming years.
Source : sdcexec
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About Skyhigh.Vip
Skyhigh.Vip is a global institutional investor with a vast interest in Arts / Construction / Education / Business Services / E-Sports and various other growth industries.
Several of its popular portfolios include GO Chambers which is the world’s largest business chamber listing provider with over 30,000 active chambers as its members.
Outsource Guru is the global choice for Business Process Outsourcing that offers a full stack of services for all aspects of business process flow and together with Flexgigzz.com as a platform for freelancers aims to provide best services for many businesses.
For growth industries there is Point of Authority for a professional E-sport team and gaming hardware superstore, and there is AtelierAuction which is an investable art auctioneer and being in the art scene for decades.
