Supply Chain Talent Our Most Important Resource
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SUPPLY CHAIN TALENT OUR MOST IMPORTANT RESOURCE A REPORT BY THE SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT FACULTY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE APRIL 2015 GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN INSTITUTE Sponsored by NUMBER SIX IN THE SERIES | GAME-CHANGING TRENDS IN SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGING RISK IN THE GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN 1 SUPPLY CHAIN TALENT OUR MOST IMPORTANT RESOURCE TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary 3 Introduction 5 Developing a Talent Management Strategy 7 Talent Management Industry Research Results and Recommendations 12 Eight Talent Management Best Practices 19 Case Studies in Hourly Supply Chain Talent Management đƫ$!ƫ.!0ƫ.%2!.ƫ$+.0#!ƫ ĂĊ đƫƫ1,,(5ƫ$%*ƫ!$*%%*ƫ* ƫ.!$+1/!ƫ!./+**!( Challenges 35 Summary 36 Supply Chain Talent Skill Matrix and Development Plan Tool 39 2 MANAGING RISK IN THE GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN SUPPLY CHAIN TALENT OUR MOST IMPORTANT RESOURCE THE SIXTH IN THE GAME-CHANGING TRENDS SERIES OF UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE ƫ ƫ ƫ ƫƫ APRIL 2015 AUTHORS: SHAY SCOTT, PhD MIKE BURNETTE PAUL DITTMANN, PhD TED STANK, PhD CHAD AUTRY, PhD AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE HASLAM COLLEGE OF BUSINESS BENDING THE CHAIN GAME-CHANGING TRENDS IN SUPPLY CHAIN The Surprising Challenge of Integrating Purchasing and Logistics FIRST ANNUAL REPORT BY THE A REPORT BY THE SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT FACULTY FACULTY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE The Game-Changers Series SPRING 2014 SPRING 2013 of University of Tennessee Supply Chain Management White Papers These University of Tennessee Supply Chain Management white papers can be downloaded by going to the SPONSORED BY Publications section at gsci.utk.edu. NUMBER TWO IN THE SERIES | GAME-CHANGING TRENDS IN SUPPLY CHAIN THE ABCs OF DCs DISTRIBUTION CENTER MANAGEMENT: A BEST PRACTICES OVERVIEW A REPORT BY THE SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT FACULTY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE FEBRUARY 2015 GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN INSTITUTE Sponsored by NUMBER FIVE IN THE SERIES | GAME-CHANGING TRENDS IN SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGING RISK IN THE GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN 1 GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAINS MANAGING RISK IN THE A REPORT BY THE SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN FACULTY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE NOVEMBER 2014 A REPORT BY THE SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT FACULTY AT THE ITY LOS UAL T C UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE Q AR RY GO SUMMER 2014 TO N E V IN S M O T S U C S R E T S A S I D L A R U T A N T E E R M R I O R C R I R S E M B C Y Sponsored by NUMBER THREE IN THE SERIES | GAME-CHANGING TRENDS IN SUPPLY CHAIN NUMBER FOUR IN THE SERIES | GAME-CHANGING TRENDS IN SUPPLY CHAIN 2 Executive Summary lobal economic growth since the recent recession is creating a crisis in supply chain talent management. Demand for top talent increases as supply chain volumes and complexity rise, but the supply of that talent is decreasing. According to the GBureau of Labor and Statistics, as of February 2015, only 62.8 percent of the American population had a job or were actively seeking work—the low- est level since 19781. This means shortages in every area of the supply chain, from blue-collar laborers to senior executives, and as more Baby Boomers Our people reach retirement age those shortages are likely only to increase. Executives see the writing on the wall: 91 percent of CEOs recognize a need to change their strategy for attracting and recruiting talent, although amazingly 61 percent claim they have not taken the first step to do so2. The time to hesitate is through. Your ability to ensure your supply chain talent . will determine the success of your business in the coming decades. The labor shortage presents a problem for the global economy across the board, but the crisis is particularly pertinent to supply chain talent. What makes Supply Chain Talent Unique? A. Supply chain management continues to evolve. The scope and charge vary highly across organizations as supply chain teams are being asked to assume responsibility for large swathes of the business. This has led to significant shortages for talent and the need for existing talent to have a dramatically diferent outlook about their roles and expectations. B. Supply chain talent must not only have the skills to master their own area of responsibility, typically technical in nature, but also lead multi-functional processes which span the business (i.e. S&OP/IBP, program management, supplier evaluation, demand/forecasting alignment, significant capital investment decisions). C. Efective supply chain resources must be able to manage the external resources and organizations that comprise modern supply chains (i.e. material suppliers, 3PLs, transportation companies, government/ customs organizations, customer interfaces). D. E fective supply chain resources must understand the end-to-end, integrated supply chain. Supply chains consist of broad, complex, MANAGING RISK IN THE EGLOBALXECUTIVE SUPPLY SUMM CHAINARY 53 diverse, and technically challenging processes to master and lead. These include: suppliers, procurement, logistics/planning, manufacturing, engineering, warehousing, and transportation. E. Most supply chains are global, requiring a high level of interpersonal skills to manage, communicate, and interact with very diverse cultures. Typically these interactions utilize virtual tools that require higher level interpersonal skills. What is Included? Our goal with this white paper is to make a clear case for why supply chain talent should be your highest priority—above the current quality .%/%/Čƫ+/0ƫ+),.!//%+*ƫ0.#!0/Čƫ* ƫ!2!.50$%*#ƫ!(/!ċƫ!ƫ3%((ƫ/$.!ƫ!/0ƫ practices from companies that are already finding that focusing on talent accelerates resolution to difcult business challenges. In this paper, we will address: K ey aspects of developing a talent strategy; Results from industry research on talent management and critical recommendations based upon that research; E ight talent management best practices gleaned from work with best-in-class industry partners; T alent management issues in two key hourly supply chain employee categories (drivers and warehouse technicians); and H ow to assess your own supply chain talent development needs by providing a supply chain skill matrix and development plan tool. Our Most Important Resource In 2015, supply chain talent management is arguably the most difcult and unique of all business requirements. The skills necessary to be successful in a supply chain organization are diverse, complex, and broad. This, combined with the current market situation where the demand for most of these skills/experiences exceeds the supply, creates a huge business challenge. Our benchmark companies consistently manage talent with the following mindset: supply chain people are truly our most important resource. Our people are the most difcult asset to replace and the primary resource that drives supply chain results. Applying the following approach to talent management, based of of our research and the best practices from our benchmark interviews/case studies, will help enable you to make supply chain talent a competitive advantage for your business. 64 MANAGINGEXECUTIVE RISK SUMM IN THEARY GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN Introduction he importance of talent in the success of an organization is some- thing we understand early in life. Think back to those moments on the school playground when it was time to choose teams for a game of kickball, football, or whatever activity dominated your recess time. TWho was chosen first? Was it the best players or those who got along well with others? Or was it those who had distinguished themselves in some way? Even as schoolchildren, we clearly recognized the overriding importance of analyzing our talent needs and then attracting, recruiting, developing, and retaining the best fits for the tasks at hand. As professionals and leaders it is even more obvious that success in achieving our organizational goals is built upon having the right people in the right places. Consider the primary emphasis on talent found within professional sports franchises, medical research teams, or political coalitions. These are all groups of people striving for remarkable results where the value of having the correct blend of skills, attitudes, and experiences cannot be understated. In fact, those groups that happen to come within striking distance of a major goal without the benefit of premium talent are usually summarily dismissed as flukes or miracles. The importance of managing and developing talent is certainly not a new concept to business. In the classic business book Good to Great3, author Jim Collins emphasizes the primacy of people (talent) over direction (strategy) using a metaphor of getting the right people on the bus in the right seats, and removing the wrong people [before beginning a journey]. Critics of this approach point to the idea that organizations never intentionally hire inferior talent or knowingly sabotage themselves from achieving remarkable results. However, our experi- ence interacting with hundreds of companies demonstrates that supply chain leaders often unintentionally deprioritize talent management to the detriment of organizational performance. Our goal with this white paper is to make a clear case for why talent should be the highest priority—above strategy, cost compression targets, and everything else—and to share best practices from companies that are already finding a focus on talent will successfully address many other business challenges. In the following sections we will address: Key aspects of developing a talent strategy; Results from industry research on talent management and critical recommendations based upon that research; MANAGING RISK IN THE GLOBALINT SUPPLYRODUC TIONCHAIN 57 Eight talent management best practices gleaned from work with best-in-class industry partners; Talent management issues in two key hourly supply chain employee categories (drivers and warehouse technicians); and Provide a supply chain skill matrix and development plan tool for use in assessing your own supply chain talent development needs. Some Terms Talent Management—The organizational systems and processes by which companies analyze, find, recruit, develop, and retain their supply chain human resources in support of their business strategies.