Inside Logistics editor Emily Atkins
Inside Logistics magazine is celebrating a milestone this year; we celebrate 65 years of publishing in 2020! And although we’ve changed our name a few times over the years, we are still going strong as new members of the seniors’ club and have no intention of retiring.
That’s because we love the supply chain and all the fascinating people, processes and technology that are brought to bear to solve the many and various challenges of getting goods where they need to be, when they need to be there. We’re happy that you’re along for the ride, and thank you for your support over the years. We hope to continue to build the conversation with our readers as supply chain management continues in its rapid evolution.
While we enjoy an enriched work environment, not everybody is quite as happy. Salaries are down this year, bonuses are weak and fewer people are expecting to get a raise.
These are some of the findings you’ll read about when you turn to our 2020 Survey of the Canadian Logistics Professional on page 16. While job satisfaction numbers have been relatively stable over the past few years, we still see up to a third of employees in some sectors and job categories looking to jump ship to a new company or job this year.
With labour shortages turning up as the second most concerning topic on our readers’ minds this year (after the perennial favourite, controlling costs), this makes the question of retention strategies quite interesting. Most of our respondents say better pay is the main attraction for changing jobs, but with costs a concern and fears of an economic downturn top of mind, how can employers compete?
My comment above about enjoying an enriched work environment might be one of the keys to keeping staff engaged. A University of Waterloo researcher recently found that making a job meaningful is key in retaining workers, at least at the early career level in seasonal, front line jobs (see page 20 for more details).
While figuring out what enrichment means will be different in every work environment, the idea bears consideration, especially with the new values that millennials and younger employees bring to the job. Any advantage that keeps employees happy and at work should be considered.
Please share your thoughts on these or any other issue with us.
Until next time.
