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New Certificate Prepares In-Demand Warehouse Talent

warehouse

New Certificate Prepares In-Demand Warehouse Talent

 

 

It’s no wonder that positions on the frontlines of e-commerce are the number-one job on the rise right now. According to a LinkedIn jobs report, hiring for these roles has grown 73% year-over-year, and demand continues with more than 400,000 current openings. Plus, projections show that there will be as many as 600,000 more spots to be filled by 2029.

Warehouse clerks, material handlers, assemblers, forklift and machine operators, pickers, packers, truck drivers, and so many other warehousing professionals are the backbone of supply chains around the world. They ensure that products are connected with the people who need them. And amid skyrocketing e-commerce rates, these talented professionals are needed now more than ever before.

Walmart recently signaled its long-term investment in the field by putting out a call for permanent full-time and part-time order pickers, freight handlers, forklift operators, technicians and managers at more than 250 Walmart and Sam’s Club transportation offices and distribution centers. While in years past the company hired thousands of seasonal workers to support e-commerce operations, the current focus on permanent positions showcases the growing importance of expert distribution and delivery.

This demand for warehouse workers is consistent around the world too. Flipkart opened four new warehouses in India last month, creating 12,000 new job opportunities. In England, Europa Warehouse is having trouble finding the staff it needs to support its new high-tech facility. And nearly 80% of warehouse occupiers in the Asia-Pacific region plan to expand their real estate footprints within the next three years.

Become a warehousing employer of choice

Warehousing employers are well aware that competition for talent is fierce — and they’re rising to the challenge. Today’s warehouse jobs offer many perks, including a variety of shift options; flexible schedules; an average pay of $20.37 an hour; a diverse workforce; and opportunities to use high-tech equipment, such as automated storage and retrieval systems, automated guided vehicles, robots and more. Also, because of the supply-demand imbalance for workers, employers are offering hiring bonuses, wage hikes and tuition reimbursement. As a result of the “Great Resignation,” potential workers are looking for more than pay and benefits. They want to feel valued and have opportunities for career growth.

Perhaps the best way to show employees that they are valued — and worth investing in — is through education and upskilling. To that end, ASCM has launched a warehousing certificate program developed in partnership Prologis Inc., the global leader in logistics real estate, to prepare workers to fulfill the record number of warehousing jobs available now and in the future. The Supply Chain Warehousing Certificate program provides individuals with an extensive overview of warehousing, distribution, inventory management, product storage, packaging and shipment, sustainability and more.

This first-of-its-kind program includes a real-world curriculum with input from industry leaders. The 20-hour, self-paced, online course offers an extensive overview of warehousing, distribution, inventory management, product storage, packaging and shipment, sustainability, and more. The program is open to anyone, and ASCM can organize a tailored approach for groups of employees to support a corporation’s needs.

After passing the comprehensive final exam, participants will receive a printable certificate along with a digital badge issued by ASCM that can be displayed on their social media profiles. Earning this certificate shows employers that this individual has the knowledge and capability to effectively problem-solve and identify opportunities, handle shipping documents and tracking methods, improve order accuracy and efficiency, use inventory management systems, manage holding costs, make effective decisions about transportation carriers, understand KPIs, follow environmentally sustainable work practices, and Apply different performance metrics to measure the success of a facility in the warehousing and distribution industry.

Although the program is primarily designed for entry- and mid-level warehousing workers, it also provides critical knowledge for those already working in sourcing, purchasing, supplier relationship management and contract management. By earning the certificate, these team members can gain a better understanding of roles and cross-functional operations. Plus, when leaders are more attuned to warehousing best practices, they can guide their supply chain organizations to success.

eco-friendly

How to Attract Millennial and Generation Z Employees with Eco-Friendly Initiatives

By 2030, millennials and Generation Z (Gen Z) will be the central working force in society.

According to the 2018 Deloitte Millennials study, three-quarters of millennials and Gen Z respondents indicated they consider a company’s social and environmental commitments in deciding where to work. Two-thirds even said they would not accept a job that didn’t have a strong sustainability program. To make your business more appealing to younger generations of workers, you’ll want to think about going green.

Sustainability doesn’t always mean reusable water bottles and recycling, though that’s definitely part of building a sustainable business. Sustainability can also mean eliminating paper processes, streamlining workflows, and updating your business operations to create less waste. In these days of rapidly-changing work environments and shifting priorities, sustainability is something to keep at the forefront of your business plans.

Find your sources of waste

What’s the first thing you think of when it comes to eliminating eco-unfriendliness in business? My mind went right to the fact that companies have largely moved to paper-free internal communications. There are more opportunities to go green than just shifting to instant messaging and email communications, though! Even allowing for employees to work remotely is a sustainable practice that your company might already be participating in.

In order to identify more ways to be more eco-friendly, think about where waste comes from in your business. Is there any low-hanging-fruit like removing paper plates from the lunch room or offering composting bins around the office? Acting on the more apparently unsustainable elements of your business gives you a tangible place to start, and might just inspire more sustainability across the board.

Once you’ve tackled those more apparent waste generators, consider which departments might use the most paper or the most manual processes. Is there a way to streamline those departments and create less waste? Now is the time to get creative and re-think antiquated processes!

Re-imagine workflows and processes

This is where sustainability meets creativity. Changing up processes might seem counterintuitive. Doesn’t re-training require paperwork? Actually, it doesn’t take much to make it eco-friendly when you have the right partners and systems in place. Updating antiquated systems is an underutilized opportunity for increased sustainability!

For example, many unsustainable workflows exist in accounts payable (AP) departments. From sending physical checks to keeping paper records, there are a lot of manual processes (not to mention a lot of paper) going on in the back office.

If you’re hoping to attract millennial or Gen Z employees to your AP team, you might want to look into AP automation. You can automate the entire payment workflow, address the growing fraud and security risks associated with ACH payments, and ensure the resiliency of payment workflows all without using a shred of paper.

If it’s possible to make your AP department sustainable, it’s possible to find eco-friendly opportunities in pretty much any department! Once you’ve refined your processes and streamlined previously wasteful departments, it’s time to share.

Be public about your sustainability efforts

There’s nothing wrong with a bit of bragging about sustainability efforts. It might inspire more eco-friendly ideas from current employees, consumers respond well to companies that are environmentally friendly, and sustainability messaging can be a valuable recruitment tool.

In 2021 the Journal of Cleaner Production found that younger people are willing to accept a lower salary to work for sustainable companies. This isn’t to say that implementing sustainable processes and initiatives is the key to lowering overall company spend, but it is incontrovertible proof that sustainability really matters.

Going green isn’t only important to potential recruits. According to a 2020 study by IBM, “Nearly eight in 10 respondents indicate sustainability is important for them. And for those who say it is very/extremely important, over 70 percent would pay a premium of 35 percent, on average, for brands that are sustainable and environmentally responsible.”

Obviously, you don’t want to print a load of paper flyers or hire a plane to skywrite about your sustainable initiatives, but email blasts and website posts are paper-free and effective ways to share what you’ve done to become more eco-friendly. You might even consider forming a “green committee” to keep the sustainable ideas flowing.

Sustainability efforts can help you recruit employees, save money, and even increase your bottom line. Whether that means composting leftovers or automating entire departments, sustainability is worth keeping at the forefront of your mind and your business plan.

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Sarah Thibeau is the Digital Media Specialist at Nvoicepay, a FLEETCOR company.

2020

Survey: Business Leaders Start 2020 with Lingering Concerns About Talent Shortages & Recession Risk

A new survey reveals that the world’s chief executives view the risk of a recession as their biggest external concern in 2020. Attracting and retaining talent ranks as their top internal concern. They also feel unsettled by trade uncertainty, political instability, and more intense competition from disruptive technologies. However,
they plan to counter such forces by developing more innovative cultures and new business models.

Conducted annually since 1999 by The Conference Board, this year’s survey gauged nearly 750 CEOs and nearly 800 other C-Suite executives from mainly four regions: Europe, Latin America, Asia, and the United States. As part of the survey, participants weighed in on which external and internal issues warrant the most immediate attention in 2020.

External Concerns in 2020

Recession fears top the list

Global: For the 2nd year in a row, CEOs and other C-Suite executives globally rank a recession as their top external worry
in the year ahead.

US: For US CEOs, a recession rose from being their 3rd biggest concern in 2019 to their top one in 2020. The issue surpassed cybersecurity, their top concern in 2019.

Elsewhere: A recession also tops the list of concerns of Chinese and European CEOs, and is the runner-up for Latin American and Japanese CEOs.

Widespread concern over trade uncertainty

Global: CEOs globally rank uncertainty about global trade as their 2nd biggest external worry in 2020.

US: It ranks as the 4th biggest worry of US CEOs, tied with its affiliate issue: global political instability.

China: Chinese CEOs rank trade uncertainty as their top worry, tied with their fear of a recession.

Latin America and Europe: CEOs there rank it 1st and 3rd, respectively.

Chinese CEOs feeling the effects of economic sanctions

China: Chinese CEOs rank the effects of economic sanctions as their 5th biggest external worry, tied with the issue of more demanding customers. Their concern about sanctions is the highest-ranking by any country by a big margin.

What it reveals about US-China trade tensions: The role technology plays in this conflict is deep and enduring. Tariffs are likely to be temporary and easily subject to negotiation, but technology blockades, via economic sanctions, are not.

Competition intensifies

Global: For CEOs globally, fiercer competition rose from being their 4th top external worry in 2019 to their 3rd in 2020.

US: For two years in a row, US CEOs cite the issue as their 2nd top external worry.

China: For Chinese CEOs, concerns about fiercer competition rose from being their 7th in 2019 to their 3rd in 2020.

Cybersecurity budgets increase, but strategy remains elusive

Bigger budgets: More than 70% of responding CEOs globally plan to increase their cybersecurity budgets in 2020.

But unclear strategy: Almost 40% of responding CEOs globally say their organizations lack a clear strategy to deal with the financial and reputational impact of a cyber-attack or data breach.

Climate change heats up

Global: For 2020, CEOs globally ranked the impact of climate change on their business as 9th, up from 11th in 2019.

Driving the momentum: CEOs in Latin America (4th, up from 10th in 2019) and Europe (8th, up from 13th in 2019).

“The ongoing concerns about recession risk among business leaders reflect the slowing economy of the past year and the uncertainties about the outcome of the trade disputes and other policy concerns,” said Bart van Ark, Chief Economist at The Conference Board. “However, given a slightly better outlook for the global economy and an easing of trade tensions, we anticipate that a drumbeat of negative sentiment – which can become a self-fulling prophecy – can be avoided, and that we  will see more confidence about business prospects in 2020.”

Internal Concerns in 2020

The number-one priority: attracting and retaining top talent

-Widespread agreement: Regardless of a company’s location or size, attracting and retaining top talent ranks as the number-one internal stressor for CEOs and other C-Suite executives globally in 2020.

-What’s intensifying the talent battle? A tight labor market, among other issues. CEOs globally, for example, cite the tight labor market as their 5th biggest external worry in the year ahead.

Developing innovative products and cultures are a key focus

Create new business models because of disruptive technologies: CEOs and other C-suite executives globally rank it their 2nd top internal priority.

Create a more innovative culture: CEOs and other C-Suite executives globally rank it their 3rd top internal priority.

Widespread commitment to cultivating leaders for the future

Global: CEOs and other C-Suite executives globally rank developing “next-gen” leaders as their 4th top internal priority.

Japan: Japanese CEOs rank this issue as their number-one internal priority, ahead of all other internal issues.

Women C-Suite executives more concerned about equal pay for equal work

Women: Globally, implementing equal pay for equal work ranked as their 6th top internal priority.

Men: Globally, the issue ranked as their 15th top internal priority.

“The global challenge in acquiring and retaining talent requires companies to be more strategic – knowing not only what qualities and skills to recruit for, but also how to recruit more efficiently and effectively,” said Rebecca Lea Ray, Ph.D., Executive Vice President of Human Capital at The Conference Board. “To support such efforts, they can consider leveraging artificial intelligence, a valuable tool when used with the proper understanding and safeguards.”

Mature-Market CEOs vs Emerging-Market CEOs

The survey results reveal much agreement between CEOs in mature economies (436 respondents) and emerging markets (304 respondents). But, some stark differences exist when it comes to which issues they plan to prioritize in 2020.

3 External Differences

Tight labor market
-Mature-market CEOs rank the issue as their 3rd biggest external concern. Emerging-market CEOs rank it 10th.

Uncertainty about global trade
-Emerging-market CEOs rank the issue as their number-one external concern. Mature-market CEOs rank it 4th.

Declining trust in political and policy institutions
-Emerging-market CEOs rank the issue as their 5th top external concern. Mature-market CEOs rank it 8th.

3 Internal Differences

Create new business models because of disruptive technologies
-Emerging-market CEOs rank the issue as their 2nd top internal priority. Mature-market CEOs rank it 4th.

Manage mergers and acquisitions
-Mature-market CEOs rank the issue as their 7th top internal priority. Emerging-market CEOs rank it 12th.

Build a more inclusive culture
-Mature-market CEOs rank the issue as their 8th top internal priority. Emerging-market CEOs rank it 16th.

“When it comes to creating new business models because of disruptive technologies, there is more urgency among  emerging-market CEOs than those in more mature economies,” said Chuck Mitchell, Executive Director of Knowledge,  Content, and Quality at The Conference Board. “This should raise a warning flag about possible complacency considering the current speed of disruption. The truth is that, today, companies no longer enjoy the luxury of a decades-long lead time to adapt to the digital revolution.”

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Media can contact The Conference Board for a copy of the full survey results.

The Conference Board is the member-driven think tank that delivers trusted insights for what’s ahead. Founded in 1916, they
are a non-partisan, not-for-profit entity holding 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status in the United States. www.conferenceboard.org

Republished with permission