CTL’s white paper on the crisis of supply chain’s skills shortage, which was published in 2010, generated a huge response and helped to spark an industry-wide debate on how the profession can develop a more effective talent pipeline. However, one vital piece of the puzzle continues to be overlooked: the role of human resource (HR) managers. These professionals are on the front line of the battle to recruit, develop, and retain the supply chain management (SCM) practitioners’ companies need to stay competitive and maintain growth in highly uncertain markets. Yet, they have not had a voice in the SCM talent debate.
One possible reason for this lack of engagement is that the HR department is often viewed as a bureaucratic function that tends to be on the periphery of strategic decision making. Another is that, up until fairly recently, supply chain management was regarded as a low-level activity that did not merit dedicated HR resources. This remains the predominant view in some companies.
More enterprises are recasting SCM in a strategic role, however, and the profession is evolving in line with the changing business environment. These changes require a new mix of skills at a time when most industries are projecting shortfalls of qualified staff in key supply chain areas.
Meeting these demands – particularly in organizations where SCM is a core competency – is a difficult HR problem. If seasoned supply chain practitioners struggle to secure the talent they need, how can HR managers who have had relatively little exposure to operational issues hope to fill the pipeline?
An obvious answer is that the two disciplines should work together to find solutions. But first, SCM leaders need more information on HR’s current supporting role, and they must recognize that the level and nature of that support have to change. As a first step in this learning process, we asked HR and talent management specialists about their roles in three key areas:
- The current relationship between HR and SCM with particular regard to supply chain talent management issues.
- What HR managers need to know to help their SCM functions build and maintain a more efficient talent pipeline.
- How HR can acquire the necessary supply chain and logistics domain expertise.
The main goal of this paper is to present our findings and to stimulate discussion about HR’s involvement in the broader SCM talent debate.
For more information on supply chain and logistics training opportunities through CTL, visit our education page