Leverage mobile technology to attract new talent

Mobile technology can be used to attract new talent to the logistics industry – and keep them. The new generation of employees – Gen X and Gen Y (or millennials) – don’t like the demanding work-life balance of the industry, but they do like the hightech tools, said an author of the Hiring Monster blog recently. He noted that with baby boomers rushing toward the retirement finish line, transportation and logistics employers were searching for new ways to fill their soon-to-be-vacant seats. And mobile technology seems to be the answer. This technology is transforming the freight industry, which has an increased demand for skills and experience in the development and management of mobile applications, bar code systems and remote tracking technologies, amongst others. Furthermore, according to Hiring Monster, mobile telecommunication that allows workers to stay in close contact with their families has dissolved some resistance to the scheduling demands and made it easier to win career recruits to the industry. Mobile technology should also be used as a recruiting platform, says Juliette Attwell, head of marketing and operations at the Johannesburg-based agency, RecruitGroup. “With millennials and Gen-X estimated to make up 75% of the workforce globally by 2015, the use of smart phones and tablets to look for and apply for jobs is as normal as putting shoes on your feet,” she says. Therefore, companies attracting staff need to make sure that their websites are responsive and easily navigable and treat their mobile sites with as much care and consideration, perhaps even more so, than their regular websites. Attwell adds that more and more companies are harnessing the power of Facebook, Twitter and Linked In to recruit. “Whole internal divisions and strategies have been built around this in order to attract talent through these mediums,” she says, commenting that this trend will continue, with more South African companies following the trends of the United States and the United Kingdom and harnessing the power of social media. Having said that, the RecruitGroup states in a blog that nearly 60% of companies in South Africa have resorted to making use of specialist recruitment agencies in attempting to source skilled employees. “To date it remains one of the fastest and most efficient methods of securing skilled employees in South Africa. The total amount of time and effort spent on securing individuals on the job market can literally be brought down to just about zero with the assistance of well-established and professional specialist recruitment agencies. In fact, companies that fail to take advantage of the speed with which the industry operates often find that their wish list of potential employees evaporates within days should they not act fast enough.” INSERT & CAPTION The use of smart phones and tablets to look for and apply for jobs is as normal as putting shoes on your feet. – Juliette Attwell