When an applicant goes on an interview, he or she usually is pretty well prepared. But what about the people on the other side of the interviewing table?
When an applicant goes on an interview, he or she usually is pretty well prepared. After all,
most job seekers are aware of the need to do their homework before an interview,
and they take advantage of the resources offered by outplacement and
coaching services, social and business web sites, newspaper and magazine articles, and
professional organizations.
But what about the people on the other side of the interviewing table? Are they
equally well prepared? Are they trained to effectively evaluate the candidates they are
meeting? Are they treating applicants with respect and leaving them excited about working
for their companies?
To find out, I asked executives at 23 Fortune 500 companies about their hiring
processes and how their companies managed their staffs' interviewing behavior
and attitude. These were all large companies in a variety of industries,
including chemical, computer, consulting, consumer products, electronics,
paper products, pharmaceutical/medical, publishing, mineral/ metals, and retailing.
The executives were assured that they and their companies would not be identified,
so that they could speak openly.
The results of my informal survey were very interesting. Twenty-one of
the companies had established formal processes for interviewing candidates.
Ten offered formal help and training on the interviewing process
and provided interviewing tools, such as lists of questions to ask and
forms for documenting and measuring candidates' skills and abilities.
Only one company, however, certified its managers in interviewing and
offered them refresher courses.
Of the 23 responding firms, not one provided education on how to
treat candidates and what courtesies to extend to them. With the exception of three
industries (consumer products, retail, and consulting), the interviewing process was not
designed to motivate candidates toward anything beyond the position that they were
being interviewed for.
The lack of thorough training for hiring professionals is troubling, because a poorly
conducted interview can have negative repercussions for you and your company now
and in the future. Most immediately, it could result in a candidate refusing to continue the
interviewing process or possibly even refusing your offer. People refuse positions for many
reasons, but you never want to lose a person you wish to hire as a result of your actions.
As for the future, there is always the possibility that the people you interview today
may someday be on the other side of the table interviewing you for a position. Or they may
be a customer of your product or service, either professionally or personally. We all
have long memories when it comes to people who have treated us poorly, and if given a
choice, we try to avoid purchasing products from or doing business with them.
Tips for working with applicants
How should you treat applicants for positions? Here are some recommendations for
anyone involved in the hiring process.
First, be positive and show enthusiasm about the position, your company, and the
person you are interviewing. A positive attitude should be evident whenever applicants
interact with someone involved in hiring, beginning with the first person in your company
to contact them and continuing throughout the interview process.
Treat all candidates professionally. Even if a candidate is not the right person for your
current position, you should continue to treat him or her with respect. In the future, there
could be another position that is right for that person. Moreover, you want good candidates
to think highly enough of your organization that they will want to apply for other
opportunities.
Take the time to extend some common courtesies that will make candidates feel comfortable.
For example, be sure the day and time of the interview is convenient for both interviewer
and interviewee. Be sure to take travel arrangements into consideration; you
want to see candidates at their best, not suffering from the effects of overnight travel at
an early-morning interview.
Give applicants enough time and sufficient information
to prepare for their interviews. Send them the material
they will need to understand the position; the interviewing agenda,
with the names of the interviewers and their titles; an organizational chart; and recent
information about your company. Verify that they have received and understood the information
you sent. Follow up on all communications and correspondence, especially e-mails and voice
mails.
Set limits on your interviewing process and have reasonable expectations of candidates. Do
not "overinterview" them. If, for example, your process consists of two telephone interviews,
six face-to-face interviews with a total of 10 people, psychological testing, and a formal
presentation by the candidate, you may end up with no survivors!
Don't try to evaluate candidates too heavily on psychological grounds, looking for the
deep-seated reasons for their past failures and what they learned from them. Personality
("chemistry"), work experience, accomplishments, and references are more important. Indeed, I
sometimes wonder if members of some selection teams I've encountered would be able to meet
their own criteria and make it through their own hiring processes. Remember, you are not a
behavioral or social psychologist, and you're not hiring nuclear scientists.
Further to that point, you should use testing as a tool for separating out those candidates who
exhibit extremes in behavior or lack the technical expertise you need, not
as the major criterion for eliminating them from consideration. Such an
approach can backfire. For example, some other recruiters and I have worked with a medical company
that requires candidates to take a psychological test before they interview. Applicants who
pass that hurdle then go through additional testing. Not one of my candidates or the other
recruiters' candidates qualified. Yet passing the tests did not predict success. The company had extremely
high turnover, and within nine months of being hired, its
three new directors were sending us résumés and looking for
new positions. What is the point of conducting such stringent testing if it produces
results like those?
Finally, treat people who are unemployed with respect, and don't act as if their being unemployed
is a symptom of incompetence. In today's economy, we all—even the most competent, talented,
and experienced among us—face this possibility. Be sensitive to candidates who are in
this position, and don't take away their pride. I once worked with a candidate who suggested
that everyone should lose their job once in their careers so they could understand how frustrating
it is and how vulnerable we all are. He thought that such an experience might change interviewers'
and companies' attitudes and sensitivity toward applicants who are out of work. Sad to
say, he has a point.
Conditions certainly have changed since the mid-2000s, when jobs were plentiful and companies
were having difficulty finding qualified supply chain professionals to fill openings. Today's
high rate of unemployment means that there are more strongly qualified candidates available now
than there were in the recent past. That situation will change at some point, though. When it
does, hiring managers will need to make use of the good reputation they have earned by treating
interviewees with the respect they deserve.
A hefty 42% of procurement leaders say the biggest threat to their future success is supply disruptions—such as natural disasters and transportation issues—a Gartner survey shows.
The survey, conducted from June through July 2024 among 258 sourcing and procurement leaders, was designed to help chief procurement officers (CPOs) understand and prioritize the most significant risks that could impede procurement operations, and what actions can be taken to manage them effectively.
"CPOs’ concerns about supply disruptions reflect the often unpredictable nature and potentially existential impacts of these events," Andrea Greenwald, Senior Director Analyst in Gartner’s Supply Chain practice, said in a release. "They are coming to understand that the reactive measures they have employed to manage risks over the past four years will not be sufficient for the next four.”
Following supply disruptions at #1, the survey showed that the second biggest threat to procurement is seen as macroeconomic factors, which include economic downturns, inflation, and other economic factors. While more predictable, those variables can substantially influence long-term procurement strategies.
And the third-most serious perceived risk was geopolitical issues, including tariffs and regulatory changes, and compliance issues, including regulatory and contractual risks.
In addition, the survey also revealed that “leading organizations” are 2.2 times more likely to view energy availability and cost as a top risk; indicating a focus on future emerging risks. As electrification drives demand for power, brittle grid infrastructure raises concern about whether the energy supply can keep pace. Therefore, leading organizations recognize that access to energy will become a significant future risk.
The market for environmentally friendly logistics services is expected to grow by nearly 8% between now and 2033, reaching a value of $2.8 billion, according to research from Custom Market Insights (CMI), released earlier this year.
The “green logistics services market” encompasses environmentally sustainable logistics practices aimed at reducing carbon emissions, minimizing waste, and improving energy efficiency throughout the supply chain, according to CMI. The market involves the use of eco-friendly transportation methods—such as electric and hybrid vehicles—as well as renewable energy-powered warehouses, and advanced technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) for optimizing logistics operations.
“Key components include transportation, warehousing, freight management, and supply chain solutions designed to meet regulatory standards and consumer demand for sustainability,” according to the report. “The market is driven by corporate social responsibility, technological advancements, and the increasing emphasis on achieving carbon neutrality in logistics operations.”
Major industry players include DHL Supply Chain, UPS, FedEx Corp., CEVA Logistics, XPO Logistics, Inc., and others focused on developing more sustainable logistics operations, according to the report.
The research measures the current market value of green logistics services at $1.4 billion, which is projected to rise at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.8% through 2033.
The report highlights six underlying factors driving growth:
Regulatory Compliance: Governments worldwide are enforcing stricter environmental regulations, compelling companies to adopt green logistics practices to reduce carbon emissions and meet legal requirements.
Technological Advancements: Innovations in technology, such as IoT, AI, and blockchain, enhance the efficiency and sustainability of logistics operations. These technologies enable better tracking, optimization, and reduced energy consumption.
Consumer Demand for Sustainability: Increasing consumer awareness and preference for eco-friendly products drive companies to implement green logistics to align with market expectations and enhance their brand image.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Companies are prioritizing sustainability in their CSR strategies, leading to investments in green logistics solutions to reduce environmental impact and fulfill stakeholder expectations.
Expansion into Emerging Markets: There is significant potential for growth in emerging markets where the adoption of green logistics practices is still developing. Companies can capitalize on this by introducing sustainable solutions and technologies.
Development of Renewable Energy Solutions: Investing in renewable energy sources, such as solar-powered warehouses and electric vehicle fleets, presents an opportunity for companies to reduce operational costs and enhance sustainability, driving further market growth.
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Peter Weill of MIT tells the audience at the IFS Unleashed user conference about the benefits of being a "real-time business."
These "real-time businesses," according to Weill, use trusted, real-time data to enable people and systems to make real-time decisions. By adopting that strategy, these companies gain three major capabilities:
Increased business agility without needing a change management program to implement it;
Seamless digital customer journeys via self-service, automated, or assisted multiproduct, multichannel experiences; and
Thoughtful employee experiences enabled by technology empowered teams.
The benefits of this real-time focus are significant, according to Weill. In a study with Insight Partners, he found that those companies that were best-in-class at implementing automated processes and real-time decision-making had more than 50% higher revenue growth and net margins than their peers.
Nor is adopting a real-time data stance restricted to just digital or tech-native businesses. Rather, Weill said that it can produce successful results for any companies that can apply the approach better than their immediate competitors.
Weill's remarks came today during a session titled “Becoming a Real-Time Business: Unlocking the Transformative Power of Digital, Data, and AI" at at the “IFS Unleashed” show in Orlando, Florida.
“ExxonMobil is uniquely placed to understand the biggest opportunities in improving energy supply chains, from more accurate sales and operations planning, increased agility in field operations, effective management of enormous transportation networks and adapting quickly to complex regulatory environments,” John Sicard, Kinaxis CEO, said in a release.
Specifically, Kinaxis and ExxonMobil said they will focus on a supply and demand planning solution for the complicated fuel commodities market which has no industry-wide standard and which relies heavily on spreadsheets and other manual methods. The solution will enable integrated refinery-to-customer planning with timely data for the most accurate supply/demand planning, balancing and signaling.
The benefits of that approach could include automated data visibility, improved inventory management and terminal replenishment, and enhanced supply scenario planning that are expected to enable arbitrage opportunities and decrease supply costs.
And in the chemicals and lubricants space, the companies are developing an advanced planning solution that provides manufacturing and logistics constraints management coupled with scenario modeling and evaluation.
“Last year, we brought together all ExxonMobil supply chain activities and expertise into one centralized organization, creating one of the largest supply chain operations in the world, and through this identified critical solution gaps to enable our businesses to capture additional value,” said Staale Gjervik, supply chain president, ExxonMobil Global Services Company. “Collaborating with Kinaxis, a leading supply chain technology provider, is instrumental in providing solutions for a large and complex business like ours.”
For example, millions of residents and workers in the Tampa region have now left their homes and jobs, heeding increasingly dire evacuation warnings from state officials. They’re fleeing the estimated 10 to 20 feet of storm surge that is forecast to swamp the area, due to Hurricane Milton’s status as the strongest hurricane in the Gulf since Rita in 2005, the fifth-strongest Atlantic hurricane based on pressure, and the sixth-strongest Atlantic hurricane based on its peak winds, according to market data provider Industrial Info Resources.
Between that mass migration and the storm’s effect on buildings and infrastructure, supply chain impacts could hit the energy logistics and agriculture sectors particularly hard, according to a report from Everstream Analytics.
The Tampa Bay metro area is the most vulnerable area, with the potential for storm surge to halt port operations, roads, rails, air travel, and business operations – possibly for an extended period of time. In contrast to those “severe to potentially catastrophic” effects, key supply chain hubs outside of the core zone of impact—including the Miami metro area along with Jacksonville, FL and Savannah, GA—could also be impacted but to a more moderate level, such as slowdowns in port operations and air cargo, Everstream Analytics’ Chief Meteorologist Jon Davis said in a report.
Although it was recently downgraded from a Category 5 to Category 4 storm, Milton is anticipated to have major disruptions for transportation, in large part because it will strike an “already fragile supply chain environment” that is still reeling from the fury of Hurricane Helene less than two weeks ago and the ILA port strike that ended just five days ago and crippled ports along the East and Gulf Coasts, a report from Project44 said.
The storm will also affect supply chain operations at sea, since approximately 74 container vessels are located near the storm and may experience delays as they await safe entry into major ports. Vessels already at the ports may face delays departing as they wait for storm conditions to clear, Project44 said.
On land, Florida will likely also face impacts in the Last Mile delivery industry as roads become difficult to navigate and workers evacuate for safety.
Likewise, freight rail networks are also shifting engines, cars, and shipments out of the path of the storm as the industry continues “adapting to a world shaped by climate change,” the Association of American Railroads (AAR) said. Before floods arrive, railroads may relocate locomotives, elevate track infrastructure, and remove sensitive electronic equipment such as sensors, signals and switches. However, forceful water can move a bridge from its support beams or destabilize it by unearthing the supporting soil, so in certain conditions, railroads may park rail cars full of heavy materials — like rocks and ballast — on a bridge before a flood to weigh it down, AAR said.