Supply chain management is the whole process that a product or service goes through before reaching the consumer. Depending on the type of business, supply chain management may include planning, sourcing, manufacturing, delivering, and returning goods and services.

The primary focus of supply chain management as a whole is to minimize cost and maximize productivity. Sacrificing one for the other isn’t considered an optimum solution and can be implemented without any planning. 

If you install more machinery and hire more laborers, you can increase productivity. No surprise. But achieving that without investing the presumed resources is the job of supply chain management. 

An HR professional working in supply chain management, while finding the right talent, must be aware of several facts that contribute to the effectiveness of supply chain management. This list includes the general principles of hiring, supply chain orientation (SCO), and organization-specific guidelines. 

We are going to focus on the last two components. As an HR manager in the supply chain, you need to learn and apply these elements in your recruitment process to find the right talent. 

1. Creating Strategic Partnership

Working in a supply chain requires individuals to work in various fields that overlap with each other. An HR professional needs to know about the importance of strategic partnership between the suppliers & organization and between employees. 

When hiring the right talent, you need to verify that the person is capable of analyzing a situation and making logical judgments depending on that. They might also have to take responsibility for each other and solve issues that arise. You may also need to work with workforce retention solutions that hire frontline workers for you. They can hire a talent for the supply chain management through their experience and sources. 

As an HR manager in the supply chain, you also need to take into account the long-term organizational goals while choosing the right talent. If a talent isn’t capable of respecting and adhering to the organizational goals, they wouldn’t be the right choice despite their experience. 

Traditional relationships in other fields are replaced by strategic partnerships in supply chain management. The right talent for supply chain management needs to look beyond opportunism and embrace a co-dependent, firm-specific approach that focuses on long-term partnerships rather than short-term gains. 

2. Building Trust

Just like a strategic partnership, the supply chain employees need to trust each other and the process. This is achieved by making sure that every member of the supply chain works towards a common goal and can fulfill their obligations. 

Your job as an HR manager in the supply chain is to maintain trustability and hire a talent who is responsible for what they do. Experienced employees are somehow better in this aspect. They know how to gain trust and make others comfortable around them. 

A key aspect of hiring the right talent is listening to the employees. HR professionals in supply chains are required to listen to the existing teams and workers to incorporate their feedback into the hiring process. Since supply chains are dependent on coordination between members, it’s important to listen to them before making a decision on hiring. 

To increase trust between parties, you need to know and embrace a philosophy that encourages joint planning, transparent information sharing, and risk reduction activities. When hiring a new talent, you need to consider these elements too. If they aren’t a team player and don’t value the opinions of others, they aren’t the ones for your organization. 

3. Protecting Organizational Confidentiality

Supply chain partnership relies on trust and long-term mutual benefits between suppliers and the organization. The supply chain management system predominantly focuses on protecting supply chain partner interests. Protecting specialized assets, proprietary information, and other sensitive assets need to be maintained by your organization. 

Since your organization requires confidentiality about the partners, the right talent must have the integrity to not fall prey to external influence and greed. In many cases, businesses have faced huge monetary and reputational losses due to sabotage. Especially if you are hiring talent for a management role, consider background checks. 

As an HR professional in supply chain, you are responsible to hire a talent who can comply with the organizational requirements and are capable of maintaining confidentiality. They also are expected to share common goals, common norms, and economic integrations. 

4. Strength of Dependence

Supply chain management systems strongly depend on various partners and services. For example, if your organization runs on Windows PCs, you are dependent on Microsoft for its services. 

Your dependence may also extend to particular suppliers that you source your raw materials from. For example, car manufacturing sectors source their raw materials from metal and electronic industrial partners. 

Whatever be the case, you need a talent who can sustain and operate within the bounds of that symbiotic relationship. Especially if you are hiring a talent for management and executive roles. Make sure that the talent has the necessary certification and skill to function properly. 

You, as an HR manager in supply chain, must know the compliances and the stronger and weaker dependencies to hire the right talent. If your prospect was unable to comply with the norms in their past jobs, consider reviewing their skill levels to understand if they are fit for this job or not. 

5. Interdependence Between Departments

Automobile assembly lines are examples of pooled interdependence. As HR professionals in industries with pooled interdependence, you are looking for a talent who functions perfectly without structured coordination and guidance. 

Sequential interdependence requires the processes to be done sequentially. In the clothing industry, spinning fibers, knitting, dyeing, cutting, and sewing need to happen sequentially to make a complete product. The right talent needs to work in a dependent environment and in collaboration with other departments for the best outcome. 

The IT industry is the best example of reciprocal interdependence. The teams need to perform in coordination with each other daily and process information that’s available through other teams. This kind of complex interdependence is fit for a talent who can communicate and collaborate with different teams on a regular basis. 

Depending on the requirement of the interdependence of your organization, you must hire a talent who can embrace the coordination levels and work accordingly. 

The Bottom Line

Being an HR professional in supply chain management needs you to be mindful of the organizational goals and partner interests. In addition to adhering to the basic hiring practices, you need to hire a talent who can maintain trust, manage partner information, and nurture synergy. The dependence on partners and interdependence on other teams within the same organization also needs to be considered when hiring the right talent.