Each month we go in-depth into topics discussed in one of the Master B2B Boardrooms, our monthly roundtables for B2B eCommerce executives.
What we heard in the Boardrooms:
Some combination of changes in the post-Covid workforce coupled with the unusual state of the economy has created an unusual situation around hiring and retaining workers. This has been true both for staff in distribution centers and in office roles.
We’re hearing – especially from family-run businesses – that they’re having to confront the idea of hiring for skilled roles remotely, a once-unthinkable proposition for companies where the entire team has been in the same office attached to the same production or warehouse facility since the 1940s. Plus, companies located in less densely populated areas historically have been able to retain local talent because of a lack of other local opportunities for those workers. But remote work opportunities have upset that dynamic as well, forcing managers to give more thought to how they’ll reduce attrition.
All-in-all, a once stable workforce has been upended in ways that many B2B eCommerce practitioners have not had to confront.
Why that matters:
For those of us deep in the world of B2B eCommerce (and who spent some time outside of the world of B2B eCommerce), it’s worth noting that this is a community that – how do we put this – does not necessarily quickly embrace change.
The concerns we heard were less about what to do to manage the current state of the workforce, and more about how to manage internal expectations around those changes.
What to do about it:
We heard some great ideas about managing changes in the workforce that we wanted to share:
– An executive from a large distributor discussed how he worked with his HR team to retain distribution center workers by changing their salary bands to keep up with the rapid pay increases being offered by nearby Amazon & UPS facilities. They later used that same approach to improve retention in their customer service team. Salary is not the only driver of whether someone stays at a company, but Amazon and others have quickly increased compensation for many people making the labor market incredibly competitive in many areas.
– For companies looking to hire remote workers for the first time (or expand their remote hiring), one Boardroom member suggested that the transition was easier for them once they started focusing on hiring people who had experience in the same industry they were in. They found that it reduced the ramp-up time if remote workers understood the details of how their specific industry worked.
– A Boardroom member from a mid-sized distributor discussed the focus they’ve been putting on exit interviews. From those conversations they learned that current team members were interested in better benefits (even more than better salary). The company adjusted their benefits to reflect the feedback and saw an improvement in retention.
– Another member spoke about adding in a bonus structure to help retain DC workers, where the bonus they receive increases each month they stay.
– We heard from several companies that they have eliminated drug testing and background search requirements for their DC workers, which has helped them broaden their pool of applicants (and find good workers who otherwise would have been screened out.)
– Another company has been “recruiting internally” and focusing on high-potential internal candidates who they believe they can train to move into new roles. They’ve been able to fill roles faster and see better retention when working with internal candidates.
– All of these strategies require a deep partnership with the HR team. Several folks mentioned that their relationship with HR had been more transactional in the past (help me fill these roles), and has now become more strategic as they jointly develop strategies to fill roles and retain team members in a suddenly incredibly competitive environment.
