interview

No in-country experience, no job.

/ Brian Cartwright / 1 Comment

Three points nearly all the 3pl  companies are totally rigid on when hiring SC solutions / Contract Logistics BD people.

  1. Solid track record of performance selling SC / CL solutions in a 3pl
  2. Deep knowledge of specific end user industry verticals
  3. Current or previous in-country / local market experience

Sales people.jpg

In my view the first two are a no brainer but after close to ten years in the Middle East supporting 3pls I struggle to understand why companies won’t give talented people with an excellent track record in other countries a chance in a new country or region, and especially in countries where there are many expats (as expats we all got a chance to start in a new country without previous market experience).

I will use the UAE as an example because I am based here. A young talented SC solutions / Contract Logistics BDM is looking to make a move to the UAE from (for example) Europe or South Africa. He’s/she’s prepared to take a hit on the salary for a chance to learn the market, he/she understands they must, and is also totally willing to literally hit the pavement and knock on doors to build contacts, client base, pipeline and market knowledge from day one. He/she has an excellent track record of past performance, knows their stuff when it comes to understanding firstly their own companies logistical capability then is able to  identify clients they could realistically support, can analyse a clients logistics set up, and design and implement solutions. Basically they can win new business, yet because he/she hasn’t worked in UAE before no one is even prepared to meet them.

What seems to happen here in UAE far too often is that many 3pl companies, who are pretty much all looking to hire good SC CL solutions sales people, just want to know which clients the person can bring in order to quickly fill the latest new build warehouse, and usually expect results in 3 months… if this was related to transactional freight sales I kind of understand the 3 month expectation, but what’s the relevance of this in contract logistics where the sales process could be anything from 2-3 years or more in order to win a major contract.

In the logistics sector in the Middle East we clearly have a major shortage of good SC CL solutions selling people in most countries especially within the 30-40’s age range which means an even bigger problem is looming. Is it time to take a risk by hiring someone who has the industry experience but without the market knowledge if its clear they adequately tick the other two boxes?

What do you think is more important? (Feel free to add others in the comments).

  1. Solid track record of performance selling SC / CL solutions
  2. Deep knowledge of specific end user industry verticals
  3. Current or previous in-country / local market experience

A good leader see’s things in people that others don’t, a good leader is prepared to take educated risks when making hiring decisions and is prepared to stand by those decisions.

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I’m giving you a blank cheque!

/ Brian Cartwright / Leave a comment

There’s a story behind this one, so bear with me…

A couple of years ago myself and Darryl Judd the COO of the Logistics Executive Group ran a workshop in Doha for IATA’s world cargo symposium which was attended by an audience of  “future air cargo executives” the next generation of leaders.

Some of the worlds most important people in air cargo were sitting in the room that day as these are the people who are going to be running the sector in the years to come.

In order to deliver the workshop so it would be best received by this particular generation (See Education… Aligned.) we decided to run a forum using snap polls (a simple show of hands), encouraging some lively discussion along the way.

After debating a range of topics we eventually came to the subject of continuing education and personal development.

We asked for people to raise their hands if they had worked towards a formal degree qualification over the past 12 months.

About half the room shot their hands up.

We then asked who had taken part in any soft skills training in the last 12 months…  just two or three hands popped up.

Ok… so its evident (for whatever reason) that soft skills weren’t at the top of the training agenda.

We were now warming up to the killer question.

“If we gave you a blank cheque that you can use to pay for either a degree course or soft skills training… which would you choose?”.

$$$ Degree or Soft Skills? $$$

$$$ Degree or Soft Skills? $$$

Silence… for a few minutes, then discussion backwards and forwards, the room is divided… and with a final show of hands its a 50/50 split (I guess if you were personally very aware of a soft skill area where you would like to improve then you would be one of the soft skills choosers).

Their was clearly a demand for soft skills training in the room which hadn’t been identified by their employers (remember only 2-3 people had raised their hands earlier).

So is it more important to pay for the degree or better to fine tune your soft skills?

Well if you want to be leading people and growing a business and if you are going to be one of the future senior executives in an industry then you are definitely going to benefit from having highly mastered soft skills.

Ah but hang on though, will you ever get those opportunities without the degree? Could you handle a senior executive post without the hard skills gained whilst getting a degree?

Would qualification by experience also be enough instead of a degree?

There is no real right or wrong answer here as too many different factors are involved, but I would add that in a challenging jobs market you need to have as many strings to your bow as possible to give you the edge on your competition.

If you have the means and ability to get a degree then you should do it…. but also keep on honing those soft skills!

Procuring people. What’s the cost of getting it wrong?

/ Brian Cartwright / Leave a comment

Whether it’s for a start-up and this is employee number one or if there is a requirement for employing vast numbers of people an organization will always have direct costs relating to hiring and will decide whether to pay for advertising, marketing, career portal, external recruitment services or headhunting fees, assessment tests, visa’s etc etc.

The choice is there for an organization to spend as much or as little on these direct costs as they wish… but how little is too little?

It’s practically impossible to get it exactly right when hiring a person (or people) but investing time and money in developing sufficient process and procedures will increase the chance of hiring the best people in terms of cultural fit as well as ability and experience.

Finding a good balance between the cost of hiring the right people versus the cost of getting it wrong isn’t easy but when you take the time to really consider the hidden costs of making a hiring mistake then investing more time and money up front becomes a very worthwhile and necessary investment.

Hidden cost factors of a bad hiring decision;

  • Time spent hiring a replacement
  • Reduced morale of other team members
  • Disruption to clients
  • Investment in on the job training (internal and external)
  • Time taken from exit of previous hire to the replacement person reaching minimum standards to perform the job
  • Loss of confidential information
  • Damage to company brand
  • Additional work load for other employees

The list goes on and many are interlinked, but the actual cost of an employee leaving is not easily quantified as there are just so many additional factors to be considered, for example a key employee with a very specific skillset will have a greater impact when leaving an organization than that of someone in a role which is easily replicated. Smaller businesses will also be more affected by one person leaving than larger businesses.

I guess the best advice is don’t cut corners and always think about what could be the cost of getting it wrong.

Consider the hidden costs...

Beware of the hidden costs.

How does your organization calculate the cost of replacing an experienced employee?

I look forward to reading your comments.

Planning your personal route to market.

/ Brian Cartwright / Leave a comment

So you’ve decided its time for a move…

Before you even write your CV and commence your Job Search you should really have a plan in place.

A few very basic things to consider.

  • What’s the ideal job that you have enough experience for and the right qualifications to take on right now?
  • Which companies would you like to work for?
  • Where are they based?
  • Do they have a career portal?
  • Who are their competitors?
  • Which are the best online jobs boards to use in order to find the type of job you are looking for?
  • Who are the main recruiters which specialize in your area of experience in the region where you are looking to work?
  • Can you leverage the networks of any of your existing contacts, ex-colleagues, friends, social media or industry groups to help open doors and make connections with key decision makers at the companies you wish to work for?
  • Are your salary expectations realistic?

Be realistic.

  • Apply to jobs which you are definitely qualified & have relevant experience for
  • Be aware that the jobs market is constantly changing, especially in recent years. It could be that the package you earn today is already above the current market average
  • No one wants to go backwards but bear in mind the days of a 20-30% pay increase to move jobs are long gone

Stay Focused.

  • Think of your job search as a sales pipeline… you are the product!
  • Make a plan, set yourself targets and aim for quality of applications, not quantity
  • Track your activity (A good old Excel sheet will do just fine)
  • Once you have a plan in place and an idea of what you are aiming for you can tailor your resume to suit (Next Phase)

You can spend your time applying for thousands of jobs which aren’t quite right or spend the same amount of time applying for a smaller number of jobs where you absolutely have the right experience and therefore more chance of a positive response.

Its not a perfect science but get as close to the latter as possible and your potential for success has already increased!

Plan your personal RTM

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Process makes perfect.

/ Brian Cartwright / Leave a comment

The recruitment process is often an area of frustration for hiring managers, external recruiters and prospective employees alike, its particularly frustrating for potential employees searching for new jobs.

People who were initially very excited about a new job opportunity can quickly become disillusioned if the steps to getting the job are too complicated, too slow or not clearly defined with definite time frames and regular communication through each stage in the process.

process

First impressions count!

For employers it’s important to consider the candidates experience from the first time they make contact.

Will they have a good impression of the company throughout the process?

If an applicant has a bad experience when applying to work for an organization its potentially damaging to the brand itself (more about that in my previous post… “The People’s Value Chain”).

Word travels fast!

Even if an applicant is unsuccessful in their application it doesn’t have to be a negative experience, the key is that they are given proper feedback with regular communication throughout the process.

If organizations want to attract and retain top talent then its essential to get people engaged and keep them engaged from day one.

I am sure every employer can recall a time when they have failed to hire an outstanding candidate who they really wanted on board so the big question should be why ?  and what can be done to stop this happening again…

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