written by: Nick Gioconda, Director, HR/Learning & Development
Introduction
For the last few years, we have seen the labor market quickly change and evolve,. As the market continues to advance so too does the technology available to utilize for hiring initiatives. Over the course of my 20+ year career in human resources, hiring practices have moved from placing an advertisement in the newspaper to posting available positions on social media and analyzing respondents using artificial intelligence (AI). As the labor market changes and new technology becomes available, our internal HR Department has had to adapt their talent seeking strategy to attract top candidates to open positions.
Evolution of Hiring Initiatives
Within the logistics industry, the labor market has made a turn to where we now have more candidates than available positions. This creates a unique opportunity for employers to find the best match possible for open positions within their organization. Prior to the pandemic, we were experiencing a shortage of labor within the logistics industry, due to changing behavior and fulfillment expectations. This shortage was only exacerbated as the pandemic made it difficult to locate and onboard readily available labor. Since then, we have experienced that the labor market has rebounded, bringing forth a plethora of quality candidates, dedicated to securing and maintaining their jobs.
Hiring Initiatives at MDL
At MD Logistics, we pride ourselves on promoting team members, from within, to fill available roles. However, to continue our strategic growth as a company and offer new and innovative, customized solutions for our client’s supply chains, looking outside of the organization to fill roles becomes necessary.
Our unique company culture and word of mouth networking have always been our number one driver to attract top talent, and this continues to be the case. We know that many times, the best “recruiters” are members of our very own team. This is why we have an employee referral program in place, rewarding team members who refer new, potential members to the MDL team.
As a best practice, MD Logistics utilizes multiple hiring initiatives to fulfill both hourly and salaried positions. We have found great success communicating open opportunities at MD Logistics via our company LinkedIn and Facebook pages and on our website – www.mdlogistics.com.
In addition to communicating open positions online, we attend a variety of jobs fairs throughout the year as well. In-person events are a great way for our Team to talk to individuals who have an interest in a career within the logistics industry. Because our company culture is an incredibly important aspect of our organization, meeting applicants who are a good fit with our culture is of upmost importance.
We work hard, we play hard, and we work to create a family atmosphere. We are very transparent about this during the interview process, so all applicants know what to expect, should they get the job they are applying for. Over the last 28 years as an organization, we’ve been able to determine that those who have had long tenures with MD Logistics have been individuals who embrace and create our culture.
We have also found tremendous success utilizing our professional networks to market open positions within the organization. Working with external recruiters and temporary agencies, enables us to reach individuals who might not have heard about our company through other hiring avenues. Our HR and Leadership Teams are able to use various industry connections to attract top talent as well by leveraging both local and national HR and logistics business networking groups.
Another tool we utilize is an applicant tracking system (ATS) to accurately manage applicants through each stage of the hiring process. By leveraging the ATS, we are able to post available positions and invite individuals to submit their applications and resumes through the platform, ensuring all information is kept both organized and confidential. The use of this technology allows our HR team to make sure that an applicant’s education, skills and relevant work history is matched up to the appropriate vacant position – all attributes that are important to creating the best match.
Looking to the Future
As we look to the future of the logistics labor market, I see an increased importance placed on the utilization of data and technology. The further adoption of technology, specifically AI, will continue to develop and aid companies in finding the perfect candidate by analyzing resumes, job skills, and applications, to match candidates with the role most appropriate for their skillset and experience. The need to review data more thoroughly, and use that data in conjunction with AI during the recruiting process has never been more apparent. In turn, I have a feeling applicants will also become more technologically savvy in crafting their resume and searching for open positions. We have already started to see this trend and anticipate this will grow in the future. As a result, the MD Logistics HR Team has been making the necessary adjustments to collaborate more with technology and the use of AI to ensure we are staying competitive within the hiring space. Our Team is our organization’s competitive advantage within the logistics industry and ensuring that we are actively recruiting top talent, ensures that we remain a key player within the industry for both existing and potential clients.
Conclusion
As the labor market and hiring initiatives continue to evolve, the HR Team at MD Logistics remains poised to adapt our strategies and initiatives to ensure we remain competitive within the market. Using the technology that is currently available to us as a single source of entry, job postings can be sent to multiple job platforms in an instant. Hunting for qualified candidates is also much easier via various social networking sites. If we are looking for a candidate with specific skills, we can select those skills and let the platform reveal individuals that have not only listed those skills in their work history but are also interested in finding a new job. We are excited about where the market is headed and remain poised to use new technologies to find the best cultural fit for our organization.
If you would like to join the MD Logistics team, take a look at our available positions or email a copy of your resume to HR@mdlogistics.com!
