Logistics: 5 tips to retain your employees in the second half of their career

1/ Promote dialogue and set up reviews

Mid-career is the opportunity to take stock of one’s career, one’s path within the company and one’s projects. Unfortunately, the logistics sector has a high turnover, so you need to encourage dialogue with your employees and encourage them to talk about their ambitions: you can offer them a technical and personal assessment to evaluate their level of satisfaction and their aspirations. There is nothing to stop you from calling on a coach to carry out this support and analysis. Another solution: offer them a skills assessment. The results of this assessment will give you some ideas to follow in order to better orient your long-time employees. You will thus avoid having employees who are out of breath and who disengage themselves due to a lack of new perspectives.

2/ Valuing the experience while meeting the new needs of the company

In 2021, an Orange Business study (FR) underlined the desire of 8 out of 10 managers to accelerate the digital transformation of their supply chain. An effective digitalization, bringing more automation and optimization of processes and therefore generating better performance. At the same time, this strong digitalization is changing the jobs, which require a rich and transversal experience, from the supplier to the consumer, but also a long experience in the field and precious human qualities, leadership and a strong capacity to adapt. We can mention for example the logistics innovation manager, the sustainable supply chain manager or the chief supply chain officer. Who better than a logistics employee in the second half of his or her career to fill these new roles? This is an opportunity for employees who wish to upgrade their skills.

3/ Re-engage through gamification

Why not offer your employees challenges in the form of games to motivate them? With dedicated resource management solutions, you can challenge and inspire them. This type of solution has gamification techniques integrated into business processes such as picking, packing and slotting.

These machine learning modules allow you to encourage employees to beat their personal bests in different activities. This will give them a new perspective on their daily work life and may reveal unsuspected skills that are necessary for them to take on new tasks.

At the same time, this solution enables continuous re-optimization of task priorities and resource allocations in the warehouse, ensuring that service levels are always met.

4/ Invest in AI to reduce low-value tasks

With supply chains becoming increasingly complex and agile, machine learning applications in logistics stand out by improving processes, reducing the repetitiveness of low-value tasks and increasing productivity and competitiveness. According to a Gartner study, by 2024, 50% of supply chain organizations will invest in technologies supporting artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced analytics capabilities. This technology enables, for example, inventory automation, intelligent inventory management, order picking automation, parcel sorting automation, transport visibility and delivery route optimization. Developments that are far from displeasing to logistics employees. Questioned by the AFT Transport & Logistique (2022 survey – FR), they say they are little or not worried about the technological changes that will affect the sector (63%). Across all ages, 85% say they are particularly interested in new technologies and 95% believe that if their job changes in the future, they will be able to adapt to new developments and equipment.

5/ Encourage flexibility and listen to new aspirations

Because it’s often difficult to recruit good people in the logistics industry, it’s essential to retain employees over the long term. Your talent management policy must address your company’s communication and image (both internally and externally). To keep your mid-career employees from leaving for the competition, they need to feel heard and valued. This includes competitive compensation, bonuses, the possibility of telecommuting, challenging and innovative assignments, etc. According to the AFT Transport and Logistics study (March 2022 – FR), 91% of employees (all generations) surveyed attach great importance to their work/leisure balance, and 81% express the fact that it is important for them that their working hours fit in with their social and family life.