Where Has the Talent Gone?

The labor participation rate is still under the pre-pandemic rate. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the rate is still running almost 1% below the pre-pandemic rate. This is no surprise to clients as they simply do not have the talent needed for key positions in Manufacturing, Planning, Purchasing, Customer Service, and more. Read more about the Skills Gap in our article.

We believe there are several key reasons for this continuing trend:

• Baby boomer retirements: 44% of the Baby Boomer generation are at retirement age. By 2030, the youngest of the largest generation in history will be older than 65.
• Pandemic career changes: The pandemic made people realize that they wanted to find what would fulfill them, and several have changed careers. Also, Families changed their view on how to raise children. In some situations, one parent changed and/or reduced focus on his/ her career (unless flexible) while his partner stayed focused on her career.
• Current Leadership: The generation following Baby Boomers (Generation X) is not as large. Across clients, whoever is remaining in a leadership role (typically a Baby Boomer, Generation X or Millennial employee) is completely overwhelmed and running around like a chicken with his head cut off.
• Newer employees: Generally, they are gaining experience, but do not have the knowledge to “figure out complex issues”.
• The advancement of technology: Technology continues to advance as companies realize they must embrace ERP systems, automation and robotics, artificial intelligence, predictive analytics and more. This has reduced the need for low skilled resources, but it has increased the need for high-skilled resources.

Lack of training & mentoring: For many years, companies could hire talent from the competition. Although this is still possible, there are fewer and fewer resources with the practical experience, systems and data knowledge, and process expertise to fill the roles.

Client Examples

We wish it was an exception, but clients are scrambling (and frequently in chaos). This situation is no longer the exception. It has become the norm. As key people leave the organization or critical changes occur, the resources simply do not exist to successfully navigate these situations as smoothly as they did previously. Thus, clients are scrambling on a day-to-day basis.

For example, multiple clients pop to mind with a key planning, supply chain or operations resource who is completely overloaded. This team member is “juggling multiple balls in the air while doing jumping jacks”. In essence, they are running around filling gaps, resolving issues, and bringing up topics proactively. However, internally, the resource is seen as the issue because she is always racing to keep up with Sales changes, rescheduling due to production ramp up challenges, uncovering system issues, and bringing up potential problems. There was a ‘brain drain’ of expertise and this resource continues to absorb additional tasks to try to keep the balls in the air.

The process is dependent on the system, and the system is dependent on the resources (design, setup, training), the data and transaction disciplines. In our examples, there are completely different situations (challenges, leadership styles, geographies, ERP system maturity, etc.). Yet the result is the same. If the process is dependent on a person, the process will not succeed. On the other hand, the process, system and resources need to be upgraded (including training and education) in conjunction with one another. Our consulting role is to partner with the client to assess the situation, design an upgraded path forward, and partner with the client to roll out and achieve sustainable results.

What it used to take to deliver bottom line results for clients absorbs around 20-30% more effort on average than it did pre-pandemic due to this skills gap (even with our greater experience and internal process upgrades). In some cases, it requires 50-100%! If this situation was an outlier, we wouldn’t be concerned, but it is no longer an outlier. Thus, we are pivoting and will be aggressively highlighting the key issues, warning signs and plans of attack earlier in the process. It will be less comfortable for clients to absorb this news earlier (with less time to absorb the facts), but we are experienced in seeing the signs and knowing the best route to “right the ship”, and so we will force these uncomfortable corrections early on. Fasten your seat belts!

Strategies for Success

There are a few key recommendations to start to “right the ship”.

• Leadership & Culture: There are fewer resources to bring on board to jump in, figure out a situation and “right the ship”. People follow people; not companies. Thus, you must have exceptional leaders. The only way you will have exceptional leaders is to have an excellent company culture. Of course, company culture goes back to leadership. There are no magical solutions. It take a LOT of hard work, excellent people, the willingness to take risks and invest when no one else is investing, and establish a performance management process that weeds out the poor performers and recognizes the star performers. Read more about this topic is our article How to Attract People to Your Company.
• Training, education & mentoring: These are NOT the same topic. You can no longer rely on hiring key resources away from the competition. Instead, you must develop them. Provide training (step-by-step processes), education (the why behind what you are doing and how it fits into the big picture), and mentoring (follow me and watch my example as I’ve been there and done that).
• Supplement resources: Clients are supplementing with consultants, contractors, interim temporary resources etc. Although we are jumping in as consultants to assist clients with critical priorities, we are jointly prioritizing bringing them up-to-speed so that they can sustain the process upgrades on their own.
• Appreciate different pools of talent: Retired workers might be exactly what you need to help you over the hump and/or bring folks up-to-speed. There are other groups such as veterans to pursue as well.
• Revisit your job requirements: What do your most successful employees do differently? It might be that they need fundamental skills training but not a college degree. It might be that they need certain characteristics for certain roles but not specific experience. It might be practical ERP knowledge instead of the specific ERP system experience.
• Meaning, Flexibility & Opportunities for Advancement/ Learning: The name of the game to attract, engage and sustain employees is to ensure meaning, flexibility and opportunities for advancement and/or learning.

Talent is such a critical topic that we will keep our eyes and ears out for unique strategies and fresh ideas for success. Please keep us in the loop with your ideas and success stories as well. It will be a key differentiator in the next decade.

If you are interested in reading more on this topic:
Where is Your Supply Chain Talent?

The post Where the Talent Has Gone & Strategies for Success appeared first on LMA-Consulting Group, a supply chain consulting firm.

No client has enough high-skilled talent. In fact, it is the single largest issue facing executives. The skills gap is severe for high-skilled roles. Yet any company that wants to succeed is automating, digitizing, and utilizing advanced technologies such as robotics, additive manufacturing, and predictive analytics. These advanced programs automate low-skill jobs and increase the need for high-skill resources. Do you have the talent?

Where Has the Talent Gone?

So where has the talent gone?

• Baby Boomers shrinking: Baby boomers are retired or retiring at a quick pace, and the generation is shrinking. As the largest generation in history (although recently surpassed by the Millennial Generation), the brain drain is extreme. Although many clients do not fully appreciate the issue until it is too late, the experience and dedication that is retiring is extreme.
• Gen X Stretched: The generation following the Baby Boomers (Gen X) is no where near as large, and the pandemic seems to have spurred folks into early retirement or a change of career. The remaining leaders are simply swamped and running around like chickens with their head cut off – and extremely frustrated unless appreciated.
• Work life balance has shifted: The 24/7 days that were common for decades are no longer common or desired. Although it is no longer common, the expected results and profit growth has not changed. Thus, there is a quandry.
• Increased Demand: As advanced technologies are utilized, the demand for high-skilled talent increases.
• Shortage of technical talent: Technical colleges and apprenticeships have not kept up with demand.
• Lack of training & education: We haven’t invested like we should have in training, education, and mentoring. It was “easy” for many years to simply hire the talent needed. Now we must build it.

Client Examples

Unfortunately, there are countless client examples we could provide on the lack of talent as it is a widespread problem. A widespread and surprising issue that has arisen recently across multiple industries, client sizes, and geographies is the lack of fundamentals. For example, two of our best clients have expressed frustration that such a bedrock topic such as inventory accuracy is requiring consulting support. Although it is certainly not rocket science and shouldn’t require a supply chain consultant to figure out, it continues to create consulting project bottlenecks.

Thus, both clients ended up needing support to roll out transactional process disciplines to improve customer service and meet audit requirements. From our project perspective, we could not build a house on a faulty foundation, and so we had to start by shoring up the base. We supplemented internal talent by collaborating across functions, figuring out how to best utilize the ERP system to support business processes, documenting processes and rolling out process disciplines while integrating with the daily routine, developing metrics, and providing training and education. Once we had a sustainable process in place, we upgraded business processes with advanced processes such as SIOP (Sales Inventory Operations Planning) and ERP and technological improvements such as business intelligence and predictive analytics.

In two other client examples, base process disciplines such as date changes were not occurring. Unfortunately, when fundamentals such as updating sales order dates and work order dates are not occurring, manufacturing, purchasing, shipping, and the rest of the organization can become disjoined and chaotic. In one client, the client incurred 800 hours of changeover time because no one could determine the schedule, and the sales team required that the schedule change back and forth to satisfy customers. Thus, we works hand-in-hand with the production site to roll out a production schedule and brought past due down to close to zero and doubled schedule adherence.

In another client, the planning team received hundreds of emails a day from Sales on orders yet didn’t have clarity on date expectations from the customer or from Purchasing as to when materials would be available. Something had to change! Clearly, the situation caused unnecessary chaos. Thus, we worked with the client to upgrade process disciplines, define the use of date fields and timing of transactions, and roll out training, education and metrics across the board. Email traffic went down and customer service went up rapidly.

The Bottom Line

There is a lack of talent. No matter where in the world we ask, thus far, we’ve received the answer that there simply isn’t enough talent. The leaders that take control and attract, retain, and develop talent will thrive and have more opportunities than ever before. The countries with proactive leaders who find creative solutions to this talent shortage will lead the rest. Where will you stand?

If you are interested in reading more on this topic:
Lost Revenue Due to Lack of Resources: How to Attract People to Your Company

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Manufacturing is making a resurgence in the U.S. and other countries around the world. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there is a shortage of 550,000 stable manufacturing jobs to be filled in manufacturing businesses nationwide. There is no doubt the Skills Gap is in full force if you observe manufacturers offloading, prioritizing customers, and struggling to fulfill demand because of a lack of people. In union industries, employees are threatening strikes and across the board, wages are increasing which leads to intense inflationary pressures. It is a tricky time to navigate yet the best will figure out how to scale successfully.

The Resurgence Will Continue

The manufacturing resurgence will continue as businesses address extreme supply chain risk, unpredictable costs, the need to meet changing customer needs, and U.S. incentives ramp up. For example, Joseph P. Quinlan, head of CIO Market Strategy at Merrill and Bank of America Private Bank has described the current environment in the U.S. in a June 2023 market outlook report, as “the early stages of a manufacturing supercycle pivoting around renewable energy, electrical vehicles and batteries/charging stations, and semiconductors, in addition to rising spending in more traditional areas like ports, highways, grids, airports and the like.” As of April, spending on manufacturing construction — new factories was tracking at a $189 billion annual rate, triple the average rate in the 2010s ($63 billion).

In consulting with manufacturers how to leverage SIOP (Sales Inventory Operations Planning), supply chain management, and ERP to scale successfully, it is clear that there is plenty of scrutiny on make vs buy decisions (reshoring, nearshoring, offloading, expanding capabilities), customer and product profitability analyses, and strategies to scale successfully to meet customers’ requests and expansion plans. The resurgence will continue yet talent remains scarce.

Fulfilling the the Need for Expansion & Scale

There are several strategies smart manufacturers are pursuing to fulfill the need for expansion and scale as it relates to talent. The most successful include the following:

• Training & development: There is a renewed interest in training and developing employees to expand their skills and learn about new and advanced methods to perform their roles.
• Mentoring: One of the best ways to accelerate the learning process is to find a mentor. Mentors bring experience to the table and provide insights that cannot be found in a book. Exemplars can show the way forward. If you can entice experienced employees and retired employees to provide guidance, progress will be robust.
• Apprenticeship programs: Manufacturing thrives on apprenticeship type programs with on-the-job training with immediate feedback and corrective information.
• Automation, robotics & digitization of the supply chain: Only the successful will look for ways to automate whatever is repetitive, use robots for those tasks that can run through the night without interaction, and digitize the end-to-end supply chain to bring efficiency and to more quickly meet customer needs.
• 3D printing / additive manufacturing: Why produce what you can print upon demand? If an aerospace engine and a miniature house can be printed, what’s holding you back?
• ERP & related technologies: Every client can better use their ERP system to achieve results and automate mundane tasks. Prioritize utilizing this already-existing asset and expand the use with related technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), IoT (internet of things), digital twins, AV/VR (audio visual/ virtual reality), and much more.
• Retention: Often, the most successful clients are simply those that retain key talent. It sounds easy, but it requires effective leadership, flexibility, investment into employees (training, cross-training, experiences, etc.), and competitive compensation. People follow people. People do not follow companies.
• Supplement your employees: We are not the typical supply chain consultants as we will jump into the details with a client and partner with key resources to bring results to fruition. More and more clients are pursuing this type of strategy to supplement their workforce by providing support to key talent while advancing their capabilities and ensuring results. To learn how to select a supply chain consultant, read our article.

As the manufacturing resurgence accelerates, the need for talent will increase. Employ key strategies to fulfill this demand for talent and address the Skills Gap. Please contact us with your success stories and your questions for how to succeed during these volatile times. And, please keep us in the loop of your situation and how we can help your organization get in a position to thrive for years to come. Learn more about these topics in our blog and download your complimentary copy of our recently released special report: The Road Ahead: Business, Supply Chain & The World Order

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Undoubtedly, the answer is yes.

What is the metaverse?

According to the Oxford Languages dictionary, the metaverse is a virtual-reality space in which users can interact with a computer-generated environment and other users.

In manufacturing and supply chain, AR (augmented reality), VR (virtual reality) and digital twins (digital representation of an intended or real-world physical product, system or process) are a few exciting opportunities with a multitude of uses. They are especially valuable in today’s business environment with limited high-skilled resources available, concerns of recession (leading to the need to manage costs), and the need for a superior customer experience. I recently talked with Manufacturing Dive about the vast potential of metaverse. Stay tuned on our blog to read the full article.

The bottom line? Find an area to pilot, and jump into the metaverse!

Opportunities for metaverse in manufacturing & supply chain

Luckily, you have many opportunities to use AR and VR in manufacturing to add value to your customer’s experience and mutual bottom line.

• Training employees: Proving training on how to use and maintain equipment through VR headsets is becoming the smartest and safest approach. It can also be expensive to train on heavy equipment, and so in addition to being safer and more attractive and engaging for employees, it can save money. It also minimizes the negative impacts of mistakes.
• Trial/ simulations: It is far better to run a simulation before a physical deployment to catch issues and find improvements. For example, BMW used simulation to for six months at a new factory and was able to incorporate several improvements prior to finalizing the layout and designs for the factory. The same can occur to design a warehouse, logistics footprint, and more.
• Collaborative product design: What is in common at every client is the lack of the appropriate skills to develop new products, avoid issues, incorporate customer input, and collaborate with materials and equipment suppliers to minimize waste and maximize operational performance. By using the Metaverse, these collaborations can speed up product development and improve upon the results.
• Virtual work for hands-on work: Technically challenging hands-on work can be vastly improved with AR. For example, field technicians, maintenance mechanics, and more are ripe for these applications.
• Remote monitoring & factory audits: Metaverse can enable real-time equipment health and status to build predictive maintenance plans and simulate scenarios within the Metaverse.
• Bring demand and supply together: The Metaverse can bring together what customers want with what customer have. In essence it can put your SIOP: Creating Predictable Revenue & EBITDA Growth.

Choose an area that can add value in your company, put together a trial and jump into the Metaverse.

Please contact us with stories, issues, and opportunities on what you’re doing to succeed and differentiate yourself from the crowd. And, please keep us in the loop of your situation and how we can help your organization get in a position to thrive for years to come. Learn more about these topics in our blog and download your complimentary copy of our recently released special report: The Road Ahead: Business, Supply Chain & The World Order.

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I participate in a group of CEOs, a group of the top consultants throughout the world, a group of supply chain professionals, a regional economic partnership, industry groups, and with clients in the Americas, EMEA and APAC, and the only thing in common is the critical importance of people.

Most clients do not have as much talent as they need (at least in key roles or sites). Similar to inventory, many clients might have talent but do not have the type of talent in the right place (or available) at the right time. Classic challenges!

Others are concerned about employee engagement, talent retention, and development. Many are concerned about how to provide flexibility yet ensure results and how that relates to virtual vs in-person. Many are starting to think about how they can use consultants to fill a gap (supplementing their team) while developing a better path forward as it kills 3 birds with 1 stone (fills gap, builds the future, short-term so they don’t have to hire long-term support with pending recessions). Others are experiencing issues because their suppliers or customers have talent shortages. Thus, orders are delayed, meetings postponed, etc. There are countless issues, but the bottom line is talent is top of mind.

Pertinent Examples

In a building products manufacturer, although they tried many different approaches to finding manufacturing talent, they simply couldn’t find enough people to run the full schedule during peak season. This is a compelling example as the leaders were solid and it wasn’t in the middle of nowhere (as most of our clients’ facilities are located in Timbuktu), yet it was still impossible to fill the entire schedule. Thus, they prioritized customers and extended lead times to make it through peak season and decided to build ahead for the next peak season if conditions didn’t change.

In a life sciences manufacturer, growth was limited by lack of talent. In this situation, there were concerns about spending money until the specific product mix was known (thereby dictating the specific skills required). Unfortunately, it was a catch 22. By the time the product mix was known, there wasn’t enough time. In working together, we developed a demand plan and SIOP (Sales, Inventory & Operations Plan) process that enabled us to gain executive alignment to transfer, cross-train, and hire the appropriate people to address near-term concerns while ramping up a new facility so that the aggressive growth targets were fulfilled.

In a food manufacturer, they didn’t have the supply chain talent to work with customers and Sales to develop a demand plan, translate the volume into a master production schedule, get enough materials on order to supply the production schedule with extended lead times, and address changing conditions on a daily basis with the production schedule. Thus, they asked us to jump into the planning process, working in conjunction with their overloaded resources to navigate current conditions and stabilize while upgrading the process and use of systems to create a sustainable process going forward. This solution bridged the gap.

And, in an industrial equipment manufacturer, their growth was limited by engineering talent. They worked with the schools in the area to hire new grads and provide internships. They even jumped on manufacturing day with high school students to introduce them to the profession. They also looked at process and system upgrades to increase efficiencies, supplemented talent from other facilities to fill gaps, and put extensive efforts into HR and recruiting efforts. Although still challenged, they were able to meet the increased volume.

Fast Forward to the Future

Clients are starting to worry about the likely recession (while still dealing with inflation) and what that will mean to their growth plans. Of course, it makes sense to reevaluate customer conditions and reorganize, reallocate, and reshape to meet the new forecasts. On the other hand, our most successful clients are NOT jumping to layoffs. Most likely, there are temporary employees that will provide some ability to ramp up or down rapidly. Clearly, overtime can be reduced. But, be cautious about cutting back and limiting growth potential.

We see a reshaping of the future of supply chains in the horizon. Companies are reshoring, expanding capacity, finding new partners, rethinking market and growth strategies, and much more. I think there will be more opportunity for the forward-thinking, nimble companies than at any other time in history other than during the Great Depression. As family-owned businesses retire, get absorbed into larger companies, and/or decide to close up shop or not serve certain markets due to changing conditions, supply chains will change. As companies reshore, nearshore, friendly-shore and build duplicate capacity to ensure customer success, supply chains will change. As employees retire and decades of experience walk out the door, supply chains will change. As technology gains, supply chains will change. RETAIN your key talent, do not retain your problem employees dragging your best talent down (it is surprising how many companies keep these known challenges), keep your eye out for talent (as you think about needs 2 years out) as weaker companies suffer, and find opportunities to develop and utilize your talent and set your company up for success for decades to come.

Please keep us in the loop of your situation and how we can help your organization get in a position to thrive for years to come. Several of these types of topics will be included in our forthcoming book, SIOP (Sales Inventory Operations Planning): Creating Predictable Revenue and EBITDA Growth.

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Originally posted on SAC website: August 1, 2022

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Our clients continue to experience an unprecedented level of volatility and complexity. The common themes include:

• Continued supply chain disruptions: From computer chips to commodities to everyday components/ materials, clients continue to experience shortages and/or extended lead times.
• Continued challenges in finding people: Whether you are looking for a production employee or a Director of Supply Chain, no client is having an easy time finding talent. The best realize they must keep the top talent they already have!
• A Focus on Taking control: Whether you are reshoring, nearshoring, sourcing new suppliers, adding backup suppliers, offloading or partnering, the best are taking control of their ability to support customers.
• Understanding the customer: Customers’ needs are evolving with changing business conditions. The best are staying on top of their ideal customers’ changing needs and preparing for where the puck is going, not for where the puck is.
• Preparation for Inflation & Deflation: There is no doubt clients are experiencing increasing prices yet there are also deflationary pressures. The successful are preparing for both in a smart way so that they can take advantage of opportunities yet not be weighted down in cost and inventory.
• Opportunities Abound: Because there is a wave of owner operators looking to sell and stodgy organizations are cutting costs, slashing inventory and delaying investments and new products with worries over what’s coming, opportunities will abound for those prepared for growth and investing in technology, automation and talent to ensure the growth can be successfully delivered and profit flows to the bottom line.

Winning the Game

The most successful clients are emerging with a winning formula:

• Retaining, developing, hiring & supplementing talent to think three moves ahead (as in a game of chess)
• Providing this visibility to the organization and key partners (customers, suppliers, trusted advisors)
• Making the appropriate strategic decisions, investments, and allocation of resources to support the path forward
• Ensuring the successful execution of these plans – after all, 80% of success is in execution
• Incorporating sustainability so that the processes will carry forward into the future

How Can LMA Support You?

Our ideal clients are thinking about these strategies for winning the game. Our best expertise is in helping clients to:

1. Determine how to think three steps ahead – develop processes to look ahead, evaluate strategies and facilitate key decisions for creating your future (instead of reacting to your future) with supporting processes such as IBP (Integrated Business Planning), also known as S&OP (Sales & Operations Planning) or SIOP (Sales, Inventory & Operations Planning)
2. Partner with the client to execute “make it happen”, also known as S&OE (Sales & Operations Execution) in technology circles.
3. Leverage processes, tools, ERP systems and related technologies (automate what makes sense and manage exceptions)
4. Teach the client to fish.

We prefer complex environments (ETO, CTO, collaborative ordering/ VMI, combined BTB/ BTC, high-tech/ high-touch, etc.) which lead us to industries such as building and construction products, life sciences/ healthcare products, aerospace and defense, industrial products, and food and beverage. We are driven by our passion for advancing manufacturers.

And we are thrilled to have recently been included on key lists:

• Top 55 Supply Chain & Logistics Expert
• Top 10 Women in Supply Chain
• Top 16 ERP Expert

Please keep us in the loop of your situation and how we can help your organization thrive during these times of volatility and disruption. There will be more winners created than at any other time than since emerging from the Great Depression. To gain additional ideas and insights on how to best navigate these volatile times and thrive, read our new eBook Thriving in 2022. Learning from Supply Chain Chaos. Download your complimentary copy.

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Similar to location, location, and location in the real estate business, the current business environment talks about talent, talent and talent. Here are comments from just the last few weeks from clients ranging from life science research to food and mining machinery and equipment to building and construction products to water testing laboratories:

• Every month we push out the ramp up of production because we are constantly robbing Peter to pay Paul with our employees.
• We need to hire several key supply chain positions…..yesterday!
• We will have to go through Herculean efforts to scale up and meet our sales forecast with limited resources. Not matter what we pay, we cannot find enough people to fill our needs.
• We lost another key resource to a better opportunity or retirement.

The executives who find a way to scale and navigate these resource-constrained times successfully will leapfrog the competition and thrive following this post pandemic rebound. Will that be you?

One Tip to Implement This Week:

Unfortunately, there are no magic bullets to solving this talent gap. On the other hand, several best practices are coming in quite handy for the clients using them. Although frustrated, they are clearly head and shoulders above the rest of our clients and colleagues.

• Remember, people work for LEADERS, not companies: No amount of money will keep top talent in this market if not accompanied with top leaders. It is true with clients as well. Do you employees, trusted advisors, customers and suppliers want to work with you?
• Ensuring accountability and having high expectations attract talent: The best way to lose top talent is to let team members get away with subpar performance. Who is picking up the slack? Your best talent! And, of course, they know it.
• Are you explaining where the company is heading and why? People want to be associated with a successful team and understand the future. Explain where you are going and why.
• Are you explaining how each person adds value? Each person adds value to the mission. Are you explaining how each person contributes and adds value for the customer? Wouldn’t you be more interested in working if contributing to a worthy and exciting objective?
• Are you providing resources and tools to support your people? Are your employees suffering with outdated tools and limited resources? If so, frustrations will start to run high. Invest in what makes sense to support your teams’ ability to succeed.
• Mentor & train: These two topics are VERY different. Mentoring is providing an example and a sounding board of someone who has “been there and done that”. Mentors also provide feedback to modify behaviors. Find mentors or supplement with outside resources. Clients have been asking for us to fill this role to supplement their organization lately. Providing training is much different. This is the accumulation of skills and expertise required to support your people. Many successful organizations are signing employees up for our Association of Supply Chain Management (ASCM/ APICS) training courses on manufacturing, supply chain and logistics management principles.
• Utilize trusted advisors: Don’t try to save money looking on Indeed. Instead, figure out what you need, find the best trusted advisor to support your need and follow advice on the best strategies to attract and retain talent. You’d be surprised how many clients request advice and do not follow it!

The bottom line is to use common sense when it comes to attracting, retaining and training your talent. Please keep us in the loop of your situation and how we can help your organization successfully navigate the current volatility and emerge above and beyond. Several of these types of topics are included in our new eBook Emerging Above and Beyond: 21 Insights for 2021 from Manufacturing, Supply Chain & Technology Executives. Download your complimentary copy.

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While my nephew was in town for an internship, we went to Bass Lake and Yosemite. It was strange to be ‘back to normal’ in terms of going on a tour of the park, eating in a restaurant overlooking Bass Lake and more. It was beautiful as you’ll see below, and it was great to spend time with family and friends. One thing we heard over and over again was the lack of people to run restaurants, tours, etc. Yosemite is still operating at a reduced capacity. As life resumes, not only is there a widespread shortage of materials and ingredients, but there is also a shortage of talent!

One Tip to Implement This Week:

If there is ONE thing in common among all clients, it is the desire for talent. Whether they cannot find people for production or supply chain management or they are having trouble finding IT or ERP partners that can dedicate enough resources to support ERP upgrades, there is a common theme of the lack of talent. There will be more companies and people leaping forward during this post-pandemic timeframe than any time since the Great Depression. Will you be limited by talent?

• Start by appreciating your stars: If you don’t appreciate them, your competition will. It is as simple as that.
• Develop & mentor your people: It is clear that the most successful clients put a clear emphasis on developing and mentoring talent. As more and more baby boomers retire and others change careers as they rethought life during the pandemic, we must build talent.
• Are you attractive to talent? Will people want to work at your company? Remember, employees don’t leave companies; they leave people. What are you doing to develop your leaders?
• Bring in supplemental talent: Have you thought about bringing in temporary talent to make progress during these times of critical shortages?

Please keep us in the loop of your situation and how we can help your organization’s scale with to emerge above and beyond. Several of these types of topics are included in our new eBook Emerging Above and Beyond: 21 Insights for 2021 from Manufacturing, Supply Chain & Technology Executives. Download your complimentary copy.

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