[photopress:Cargop_handling_peronnel_shortage.jpg,full,alignright]A recent China Supply Chain Council Human Resources Summit said the greatest problem facing the growth of China supply chain operations is the increasing shortage of management talent.
According to a much-cited Mckinsey survey, the logistics industry is facing a demand for 75,000 new employees a year in an industry that graduates only 5,000 annually.
One of the problems, Diana Yang, co-leader of Hewitt Associates’ talent and organization analytics business, observes that ‘contract logistics is such a relatively new idea in China, having developed only in the past five years.’
Diana Chan, a principal of Heidrick and Struggles, an executive recruitment specialist based in Shanghai said, ‘We now have real time access to information, transparent inventory and more predictive sales forecasting on a very advanced technology platform.’
The effect of such changes, which have only happened in the last 5-10 years, has left a massive shortage of skilled workers to operate and manage this sophisticated global supply chain.
According to a recent survey of 60,000 respondents, initiative and communication were two of the most sought after leadership criteria. These skills are often lacking in China, since they are not taught in schools and cultural norms mean that generally Chinese employees are less aggressive than their western counterparts.
According to some experts, in China there is a 50/50 chance of a new employee leaving in the first two years. Ivo Hahn of Xecutive Recruitment reported the top reasons why senior managers jump ship are when they are offered international training (66%) followed by salary increases (53%) and coaching and mentoring (51%).
Source: Cargonews Asia