Hays Logistics Personnel - July 2010

Hotspots

Operational Shift Managers are needed in the warehouse and distribution environment Inventory and Demand Planners remain in high demand to maintain absolute control of stock holdings. There has also been an increased focus on sales and operational planning with businesses striving to improve communication between sales and the supply chain.

Distribution Centre and Warehouse Managers are another area of demand. While these roles generally only come about in response to internal staff promotions, re-structures or resignations, there has certainly been an overall lift in job numbers. On the 3PL side, new business wins will also drive activity.

Transport Planners and Managers are in demand as businesses move towards building successful 4PL models and centralise their transport strategies. We expect this trend to continue and in turn we will see a demand for Commercial Transport Managers, Senior Transport Planners and Analysts.

The coming quarter

Traditionally the new financial year brings with it a flurry of recruiting activity from most businesses. A fresh budget provides the means to strengthen teams where necessary. In other cases headcount freezes continue to be lifted after strong recoveries from the last 18 months. Traditionally, a new financial year also sees businesses gain or lose key contracts. With this comes a lot of activity in terms of staff re-deployment or recruitment.

Employer trends

When making offers to permanent staff, employers often need to tailor their offer to suit and secure their preferred candidate. Often this is by including a car over a car allowance in the package, or by removing the car all together and increasing the base salary.

Employers are also increasingly recruiting on a temporary-to-permanent basis, since many vital roles are immediately available.

Candidate trends

As above, the new financial year will create recruiting activity as candidates leave their secure roles in search of a new and exciting opportunity. Unless employers have communicated career development plans clearly with their staff, they are likely to question their future and begin to explore other opportunities on the market.

Thus, for employers with a strong talent pool, we suggest you do everything you can to retain your team before they seek or attract interest from outside the business.