Human resources in times of scarcity

Magda Rajdlová: “Employee marketing? There’s no recipe for it!”

Business is booming. The economy is running at full speed. Naturally this is great, but it also has a downside: companies are having a lot of trouble finding the right people. After all skilled workers have the pick of the jobs right now. SixPointTwo is also struggling with this problem. “Unfortunately, there is no ready-made solution,” says HR officer Magda Rajdlová.

Being visible to as many potential employees as possible is a priority for SixPointTwo recruitment. “Now that professionals are scarce, we cannot expect to come across people with the right qualifications immediately. That is why we decided to focus on people without qualifications as well. We can then train them ourselves”, Rajdlová explains.

Pulling out all the stops for attention
Humpolec and surrounding area saw intensive recruiting. “Among the things we did were a bulk SMS, a direct mailing posted through 29,000 letter boxes, and billboards placed at easily visible locations. Always carrying the main message: if you want to roll your sleeves up you are welcome.” Creative concepts formed the basis for commercials with regional broadcasters, and for advertorials and advertisements in local newspapers. “For example, the advertorials made use of the concept: ‘this is how much fun it is to work at SixPointTwo’, and was aimed at candidates for all roles, from cleaner to member of the board. The concept ‘Grandmas and grandads read the newspaper and tell their children about new jobs’ was used in advertisements.” There was mixed success. “The first time a concept was used, the response was good. As soon as we repeated it, it no longer worked. The reason for this is not clear. We will have to select a new approach every time”, Rajdlová concludes.

In-house training not always successful
Actually, SixPointTwo gained quite a few new people from the recruitment campaigns. Those who had the right qualification were put to work immediately. The others received internal training first. “This also created some informative experiences”, says Rajdlová. In-house training is great for roles such as mechanical assembly operator. However, roles involving welding and sheet folding are more complex, and we noticed that in-house training was less helpful.

Continuing to bind and engage employees
Attracting new employees alone is not enough, of course. “SixPointTwo wants to remain an appealing employer, both to newcomers and existing employees. We try to enhance the group spirit by various means, such as a three-monthly newsletter, birthday cards, and exercising together. We even have our own football team taking part in a regional competition”, explains Rajdlová.

The COVID-19 epidemic imposed restrictions on group activities and more. “We found a solution: the Challenge Cup. Every four to five weeks, we organise an indoor activity that is organised and carried out in a coronavirus-proof way, such as rodeo (with a bouncy castle), go-karting, and shooting. For the Challenge Cup, teams can challenge each other, but individual achievements are also rewarded.”

We Care
Team spirit is also an important part of the policy on Corporate Social Responsibility formulated by SixPointTwo. The policy is explained briefly and to the point, in a leaflet for employees. “The leaflet tells employees what SixPointTwo does for them and what SixPointTwo expects from them. Statements such as We Care, We are professional and We are ambitious make it clear that everyone in a group is responsible and takes on responsibility, and that we want to be the best together. We want to emanate this winner’s mentality both within the company and in our contacts with our relationship.” Team building and performance improvement are a work in progress. “Our HR people can often be found on the shop floor. They talk to employees to find out how they are and what they need to bring the best out of themselves.” Rajdlová is convinced it works: “Employee reactions are very positive.”

Nearshoring offers interesting possibilities

How can the power of parallel supply chains be harnessed?

Many companies work with a parallel supply chain. They don’t want to be dependent on a single supply chain. After all, the consequences would be incalculable if the supply of products and services comes to a standstill in this single chain. Another important advantage is that the parallel supply chain enhances the adaptive capacity of businesses. It means they are more flexible and better able to respond quickly to changing market conditions. The question is: how and where do you structure the parallel supply chain? Nearshoring could be an interesting option.

The vulnerability of a supply chain was demonstrated once again recently. Every business owner who relies solely on partners in the Far East will have felt bitterly angry when the Ever Given caused a blockage in the Suez Canal. The blockage is gone, but the effects are still palpable. Prices for transport from the Far East have risen sharply. Another fly in the ointment was the coronavirus, without a doubt. No country or continent is immune to its impact. The virus may seem under control for a while, but then flares up again. Government measures such as a lockdown and mandatory quarantine can bring a supply chain to a standstill in an instant.

Parallel supply chain goal 1: ensure delivery continuity
Every company wants to offers its customers delivery continuity. Setting up a parallel supply chain is a way to achieve this goal. As soon as there are issues threatening supply from one (main) supply chain, the capacity in another supply chain can be expanded quickly. This is how delivery problems can be resolved or even prevented in a short time. An additional advantage is that a parallel supply chain keeps the partners in the main supply chain focused. They will realise it is important to be competitive with their terms and conditions, service, and prices. After all, there is another party who can take over the work…

Parallel supply chain goal 2: increase adaptive capacity
Being able to respond quickly to changing market conditions is of vital importance to businesses. This is not always an easy task for internationally operating companies. After all, market conditions can vary greatly from country to country. Large fashion chains are often very well prepared for this. When the Netherlands experiences an unexpected warm spell in autumn, H&M – for example – wastes no time in making sure the shops are stocked with light and floaty tops. These are not brought in from the Far East, but from a parallel supply chain close to the local market (nearshoring) that can scale up capacity quickly.

Structuring a parallel supply chain
It is clear that a parallel supply chain offers clear advantages. Also clear is that setting up, managing and maintaining a parallel supply chain demands a significant investment of time, money, and manpower. This article cannot address when a parallel supply chain is profitable or not for a company. However, it is telling that experts feel every company should have at least a dual-sourcing strategy. They point out that this does not need to lead to a completely structured and active supply chain. If a company has identified and assessed all alternative sources of materials, goods, transport, it already has a realistic plan B in place. Based on this, the company will be able to react quickly, giving it a huge advantage over competitors who are unprepared to face a disaster.

Option: nearshoring in Czech Republic
Where could a Dutch company – active in the Western European market and with a supply chain in the Far East – set up a parallel supply chain? The Czech Republic should be strongly considered. For a start, this reduces the transport time: transport of products and materials from the Czech Republic to the Benelux/Western Europe takes just one day. What’s more, Czech work ethic is a crucial success factor. Czech employees are often excellently educated, very motivated, and work as hard as in the olden days (in the best sense of the word). If they then also have advanced equipment and high-quality materials, the result is perfect: products that are available quickly and meet the very highest quality requirements.

If you would like to know what nearshoring in the Czech Republic could mean to your company, please contact Willian van Eerd, willian.van.eerd@sixpointtwo.eu.

Supply Chain Management is high-level sport.  

And we want to achieve the best for our customers each and every day.

So, in the framework of our QHSE policy, our whole team is spending one morning every week taking part in sport, to be able to initiate all new orders in tip-top condition. Alternating between the local athletics club and a sports school in the vicinity of our Czech branch, every week we’re organising a sports morning for all our employees with the motto: ‘Fit for Bulk’. We’re being coached by professional instructors to ensure everyone is in the best shape possible to take on new orders.

In short, we’re all fighting fit to produce optimum quality for our customers.