Top 3 Mistakes Companies Make During the Supply Chain Hiring Process

Recruiting new employees is both time-consuming and expensive. Organizations like yours know that bad hires can lead to considerable long-term costs.

Hiring for an integral area like supply chain is even more tedious since this area of the business is interdependent upon other departments in the company. It’s imperative that you hire competent and experienced talent who are the right fit for your organization.

Jobs in the supply chain industry are growing at a rate of 7 percent annually. Recruiters are always in search of competent experts who add value to their clients’ organizations long term.

In general, here are some common hiring mistakes that employers make when looking for great candidates—not just for supply chain, but for all critical positions within the company.

Focusing too much on the resume

The right kind of resume may secure an interview for a candidate, but there’s more to a person than bullet points on paper. While it nicely summarizes the candidate’s past jobs and accomplishments, it can’t say anything about their soft skills.

Moreover, companies that rely on search software for parsing resumes need to realize that the content of resumes can be easily manipulated to fool the software and still maintain correct and truthful facts.

Experience is important, but there’s a high possibility that a person with less experience who fits the culture is a better fit than a person who checks all the boxes on a job description.

The best-case scenario is one in which the company hires an experienced candidate who’s also a good fit; this means they can hit the ground running and deliver immense value for your organization.

Not paying attention to soft skills

Supply chain jobs require people who are adaptable and can develop interpersonal relationships so they can effectively communicate with various individuals, departments, and vendors. These soft skills are important and can determine whether a candidate is cut out for a supply chain job.

Recruiters often overlook soft skills—like problem-solving and communication skills—in favor of experience or achievements on paper. Sure, there are successful people who cannot communicate well, but their organizations have to make special provisions for them. With most organizations, having people on the team with poor soft skills makes the supply chain less effective and costs the company in the long run.

Failure to check references

Sometimes a candidate may seem like the perfect fit; their skills meet your expectations and they had a great interview. But something doesn’t seem right.

Even for a stellar candidate, you should always verify their stated accomplishments. When companies fail to check references, they don’t get a deeper insight into the candidate’s character and work ethic. Since laws protect candidates, employers looking to fill supply chain positions can gain a lot by what a former employer DOESN’T say about a candidate rather than what he or she does say. Check all the provided references. Also, check “back door” references – people you may know and trust who have worked with the candidate but who are not named by the candidate.

How to avoid these mistakes

Supply chain jobs offer career growth and are financially rewarding. The high pay reflects the field’s importance, as it facilitates the distribution of your finished products.

If your company wants to avoid a bad hire when you’re looking for a supply chain professional, engage an executive search firm like Brookwoods Group. Our team of experts has the necessary insights to find candidates who are a perfect fit for your organization.

We understand that experience, skills, and deep industry knowledge are important when finding the right candidate. However, the person you hire needs to seamlessly fit into both your company and your team’s culture and values. A recent Forbes article said that 89 percent of hiring failures are due to a lack of cultural fit.

Brookwoods Group’s executive recruiters will seek out and vet top talent that matches your specific needs.

Contact us to get in touch with our team of recruitment professionals.