Answering a “hirer” calling: interview with Charlie Saffro
To kick off our three-part series of interviews focusing on today’s labor challenges, we talked to Charlie Saffro of CS Recruiting about hiring and retention—specifically, what works and what’s a waste of time and money. Here’s what she told us.
Diane Rand is Associate Editor and has several years of magazine editing and production experience. She previously worked as a production editor for Logistics Management and Supply Chain Management Review. She joined the editorial staff in 2015. She is responsible for managing digital, editorial, and production projects for DC Velocity and its sister magazine, Supply Chain Quarterly.
Finding and maintaining adequate staffing is arguably the biggest challenge supply chains face today. Warehouse managers struggle to find enough workers to keep their facilities running. Trucking companies are chronically short of drivers. And technology companies and service providers can’t find the talent they need to move their operations forward.
As the labor crisis worsens, DC Velocity is offering three perspectives on finding and retaining a first-class workforce. The interviews in this series, which will continuein our March and April issues, were conducted for “Supply Chain in the Fast Lane,” the podcast coproduced by our sister publication, Supply Chain Quarterly, and the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP).
In this first installment, Supply Chain Quarterly Managing Editor Diane Rand speaks with Charlie Saffro, president and founder of CS Recruiting. Saffro has more than 14 years of direct recruiting experience within the logistics, transportation, and supply chain industries.
Q: Your firm specializes in supply chain and logistics recruiting. What positions are companies having the most trouble filling, and what skills are most in demand?
A: It is probably one of the most unique markets I’ve seen since I began recruiting in this space. Sales talent across the board is very much in demand right now. We generally see a need for sales talent all 12 months of the year, but a lot of companies build up their operational teams in Q1 and Q2, and then are ready to bring in the [recruiters] to sell for the second half of the year.
Beyond that, I would say that we’re seeing some really unique niche positions, particularly on the shipper side of the business. These positions could be within manufacturing, procurement, distribution, or the transportation function, but they are generally specific to either a mode or a commodity where employers want to invest in a game-changing hire that can come in and help them build out their area of expertise. We are seeing roles like that at all levels, though I would say manager and up is what’s trending right now.
Q: You presented a session at last fall’s CSCMP Edge Conference with the intriguing title “You can’t recruit if you can’t retain.” Can you explain what you mean by that?
A: Yes. We see ourselves as different types of recruiters in the sense that we really focus on matching the right person with the right company, and we are very focused on the human as part of the process.
I truly believe that in order to recruit well, you have to start with a solid retention strategy. Assuming a business is established, it already has at least one employee, and that is where the recruiting process begins. Having a culture and a certain vibe in the way a company treats its employees internally is what it’s all about right now. Employers need to start by looking internally and figuring out what they offer to their current team members. Where do they fall short? Because at the end of the day, that all translates right back into their recruiting strategy and tactics.
Not only are you creating “culture champions” and word-of-mouth referrals, but you are also fostering a positive perception of your talent brand when you can retain well. Then, as you transition into that recruiting step, you are able to sell an exciting opportunity to candidates. You can use examples of team members who have had successes and examples of how your culture works and how your employees feel because those are really what candidates are looking for right now. I truly believe that it starts with retention, and then you leverage that culture and that retention piece that you’ve built to recruit new talent for your team.
Q: On the other side of the coin, what are the most common reasons that supply chain managers leave a company? Is it all about the money or is it something else?
A: It is not all about the money anymore. Definitely money is a factor—I can’t deny that everybody works to support themselves and achieve financial security. I put money into the same bucket as benefits and maybe some additional incentives.
However, since the onset of Covid, I think the mentality in the candidate market has changed dramatically. Maybe money was the number-one reason people looked elsewhere before the pandemic, but now it is probably the fourth or fifth reason.
When it comes to why people leave a company, I’d say the number-one reason is workplace toxicity—companies that have toxic environments. That is really what we hear most often from candidates that are either actively or passivelylooking for a new opportunity. A toxic environment can stem from a number of things. It can be poor leadership, poor management, lack of recognition, or burning people out by not recognizing or understanding their capacity limits.
There is also a [whole population] out there that feels they are approaching the ceiling in their company, meaning that they won’t be going anywhere unless their boss goes somewhere, and their boss won’t be going anywhere unless their boss goes somewhere.
Candidates want to feel challenged. They want responsibility, and they want to do more. So when they hit that ceiling—that is, they feel they’re ready for the next step but the company isn’t there to support them—they’ll go out and look externally to grow their career vertically.
Those are really the two things that are coming up before money right now in terms of why people are leaving. What I call “culture” is the first reason, and opportunity is the second.
Q: What are some retention practices you’ve seen that truly work?
A: I can speak from experience here. When I started my firm, I was a one-woman show for the first year, and then I slowly built a team. Today, we have 40 employees, so I really try to practice what I preach. I use my team as an opportunity to beta-test and experiment—to take ideas and see how our team responds to them. What I’ve found is that it comes down to employees wanting to be seen and heard.
There are a number of tactics and policies that companies can implement in this regard, but it starts on day one with the interview process. Candidates want companies that communicate with them, that are transparent with them, and that want to get to know who they are beyond their résumé.
Then once that candidate has joined the company, employers really need to pay attention to the onboarding and development process to ensure the new-hire feels connected to the team from day one. Introduce them to various team members, and maybe let them shadow [their new colleagues] and get to know the people they’re going to be working with.
Then as they start to notch up some wins, you need to have a really solid recognition and appreciation program in place. Recognition and appreciation don’t always have to cost money. They certainly can, but it can also be public and private shout-outs, handwritten notes, or announcing internal promotions on a public platform like LinkedIn. What all of these retention tactics come down to is one-on-one attention from leadership. Employees want to be seen and heard.
Q: What are some retention practices you’ve seen that are not effective?
A: We joke about it now, but putting in a pingpong table or hosting a happy hour at five o’clock every Thursday doesn’t work anymore. I personally worked at a really great company in my second job out of college. It was in marketing, and the company’s “retention tactics” included some amazing perks. We had an in-house chef who would make us three meals a day. We had an in-house masseuse, and believe it or not, we were required to get a massage once a week.
While it was great and it really appealed to me at that point in my career, now I look back and I kind of chuckle because those were just strategies to keep me at the office and keep me working. And, yes, it made my job a pleasure, and I enjoyed it more because of those perks. But that is the stuff that is just not working anymore. You have to think beyond providing a keg or a foosball table.
What is working is flexibility. When employees have flexibility, they feel trusted, and when employees feel trusted, they are happy and they’re going to be more productive and more passionate about the work they’re doing.
Q: Those remind me of the perks universities used to offer to attract new students. It is not really important anymore, right?
A: Exactly. We are not in first grade, and we’re not going to be incentivized by a pizza party or pajama day anymore. It is going to have to go beyond that. Whether your employees come to the office or work remotely, there are different ways to keep them excited about the job and the company. Again, it really comes down to treating them like humans. That’s the easiest way to summarize it.
Supply chain planning (SCP) leaders working on transformation efforts are focused on two major high-impact technology trends, including composite AI and supply chain data governance, according to a study from Gartner, Inc.
"SCP leaders are in the process of developing transformation roadmaps that will prioritize delivering on advanced decision intelligence and automated decision making," Eva Dawkins, Director Analyst in Gartner’s Supply Chain practice, said in a release. "Composite AI, which is the combined application of different AI techniques to improve learning efficiency, will drive the optimization and automation of many planning activities at scale, while supply chain data governance is the foundational key for digital transformation.”
Their pursuit of those roadmaps is often complicated by frequent disruptions and the rapid pace of technological innovation. But Gartner says those leaders can accelerate the realized value of technology investments by facilitating a shift from IT-led to business-led digital leadership, with SCP leaders taking ownership of multidisciplinary teams to advance business operations, channels and products.
“A sound data governance strategy supports advanced technologies, such as composite AI, while also facilitating collaboration throughout the supply chain technology ecosystem,” said Dawkins. “Without attention to data governance, SCP leaders will likely struggle to achieve their expected ROI on key technology investments.”
The British logistics robot vendor Dexory this week said it has raised $80 million in venture funding to support an expansion of its artificial intelligence (AI) powered features, grow its global team, and accelerate the deployment of its autonomous robots.
A “significant focus” continues to be on expanding across the U.S. market, where Dexory is live with customers in seven states and last month opened a U.S. headquarters in Nashville. The Series B will also enhance development and production facilities at its UK headquarters, the firm said.
The “series B” funding round was led by DTCP, with participation from Latitude Ventures, Wave-X and Bootstrap Europe, along with existing investors Atomico, Lakestar, Capnamic, and several angels from the logistics industry. With the close of the round, Dexory has now raised $120 million over the past three years.
Dexory says its product, DexoryView, provides real-time visibility across warehouses of any size through its autonomous mobile robots and AI. The rolling bots use sensor and image data and continuous data collection to perform rapid warehouse scans and create digital twins of warehouse spaces, allowing for optimized performance and future scenario simulations.
Originally announced in September, the move will allow Deutsche Bahn to “fully focus on restructuring the rail infrastructure in Germany and providing climate-friendly passenger and freight transport operations in Germany and Europe,” Werner Gatzer, Chairman of the DB Supervisory Board, said in a release.
For its purchase price, DSV gains an organization with around 72,700 employees at over 1,850 locations. The new owner says it plans to investment around one billion euros in coming years to promote additional growth in German operations. Together, DSV and Schenker will have a combined workforce of approximately 147,000 employees in more than 90 countries, earning pro forma revenue of approximately $43.3 billion (based on 2023 numbers), DSV said.
After removing that unit, Deutsche Bahn retains its core business called the “Systemverbund Bahn,” which includes passenger transport activities in Germany, rail freight activities, operational service units, and railroad infrastructure companies. The DB Group, headquartered in Berlin, employs around 340,000 people.
“We have set clear goals to structurally modernize Deutsche Bahn in the areas of infrastructure, operations and profitability and focus on the core business. The proceeds from the sale will significantly reduce DB’s debt and thus make an important contribution to the financial stability of the DB Group. At the same time, DB Schenker will gain a strong strategic owner in DSV,” Deutsche Bahn CEO Richard Lutz said in a release.
Transportation industry veteran Anne Reinke will become president & CEO of trade group the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) at the end of the year, stepping into the position from her previous post leading third party logistics (3PL) trade group the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA), both organizations said today.
Meanwhile, TIA today announced that insider Christopher Burroughs would fill Reinke’s shoes as president & CEO. Burroughs has been with TIA for 13 years, most recently as its vice president of Government Affairs for the past six years, during which time he oversaw all legislative and regulatory efforts before Congress and the federal agencies.
Before her four years leading TIA, Reinke spent two years as Deputy Assistant Secretary with the U.S. Department of Transportation and 16 years with CSX Corporation.
Serious inland flooding and widespread power outages are likely to sweep across Florida and other Southeast states in coming days with the arrival of Hurricane Helene, which is now predicted to make landfall Thursday evening along Florida’s northwest coast as a major hurricane, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
While the most catastrophic landfall impact is expected in the sparsely-population Big Bend area of Florida, it’s not only sea-front cities that are at risk. Since Helene is an “unusually large storm,” its flooding, rainfall, and high winds won’t be limited only to the Gulf Coast, but are expected to travel hundreds of miles inland, the weather service said. Heavy rainfall is expected to begin in the region even before the storm comes ashore, and the wet conditions will continue to move northward into the southern Appalachians region through Friday, dumping storm total rainfall amounts of up to 18 inches. Specifically, the major flood risk includes the urban areas around Tallahassee, metro Atlanta, and western North Carolina.
In addition to its human toll, the storm could exert serious business impacts, according to the supply chain mapping and monitoring firm Resilinc. Those will be largely triggered by significant flooding, which could halt oil operations, force mandatory evacuations, restrict ports, and disrupt air traffic.
While the storm’s track is currently forecast to miss the critical ports of Miami and New Orleans, it could still hurt operations throughout the Southeast agricultural belt, which produces products like soybeans, cotton, peanuts, corn, and tobacco, according to Everstream Analytics.
That widespread footprint could also hinder supply chain and logistics flows along stretches of interstate highways I-10 and I-75 and on regional rail lines operated by Norfolk Southern and CSX. And Hurricane Helene could also likely impact business operations by unleashing power outages, deep flooding, and wind damage in northern Florida portions of Georgia, Everstream Analytics said.
Before the storm had even touched Florida soil, recovery efforts were already being launched by humanitarian aid group the American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN). In a statement on Wednesday, the group said it is urging residents in the storm's path across the Southeast to heed evacuation notices and safety advisories, and reminding members of the logistics community that their post-storm help could be needed soon. The group will continue to update its Disaster Micro-Site with Hurricane Helene resources and with requests for donated logistics assistance, most of which will start arriving within 24 to 72 hours after the storm’s initial landfall, ALAN said.