Companies must buy into long-term benefits of training

The dire shortage of sales executives in the freight industry remains one of the single biggest challenges, and it’s unlikely to be resolved any time soon. “Companies are reluctant to take on sales staff who do not have specific industry sales experience and the result is that the same sales people move from company to company,” says Communicate Personnel general manager Durban, Morne Steffens. While one or two companies do get involved in training graduates there are far too few, says Steffens. An additional problem when recruiting sales staff, he adds, is the disconnect between actual abilities and abilities on paper. “And because they are so scarce they are able to command high salaries – and the more they earn, the higher their targets and the more difficult it becomes to achieve these targets.” Entry clerks who are able to do their own tariffing are also in high demand, says Steffens. “These days all tariffing is done through systems, so often the younger generation is not familiar with tariffing of general cargo off-the-cuff. The hands-on experience completing VOCs, penalties, acquittals, adjustments and the like is key to limiting errors and saving money,” he says. The bottom line is that companies need to buy into the long-term benefits of training – not only for their own businesses but for the industry at large. “People often see training as a chore and want their staff to have the knowledge and skills when they join the organisation. “We need to change management’s mentality. They shouldn’t see it as an expense, because they will get ROI from it. “Some of the bigger international freight forwarders do take on graduates or interns, allowing younger, inexperienced people to enter the industry with great success.” And there’s no shortage of courses, says Steffens. “So it is just a case of getting buy-in from more companies to invest in staff from a training perspective.” INSERT & CAPTION People often see training as a chore and want their staff to have the knowledge and skills when they join the organisation. – Morne Steffens