Your analogy of the two supply chains is interesting. I really have not categorized employee recruitment as human capital supply chain management until now, and you are right on thte fact that candidates like electronics are delivered to the end users. Congratulations and Goodluck!
Good post! You can easily take the definition of a supply chain into any organization and we often do just that in our line of work. It's all about efficient workflow and the faster things move (accurately of course) through the organization the greater the morale and gross income. When you pull a thread to see where some barriers are, you'll often find some one who either hasn't been hatted up on their post correctly, or they're in the wrong post altogether.
This can be avoided in advance if candidates are assessed ahead of time for their aptitude and personal proficiency. We do it for clients all the time and it's prevented a few disasters despite "great interviews."
Hi Carla--would you say there are certain characteristics that make someone a good fit for the supply chain? Or is fit with the corporation that's the primary goal?
I've never really thought about people and the hiring process being considered a supply chain. Usually services or materials are what comes to mind when somebody mentions supply chain. The main difference between the 2 would be that the typical supply chain is fairly set in place. When you think of humans as the supply chain, many variables come into place. That's where the interviewer comes into play.
The Supply Chain has many different job functions within it, so I think it is difficult to pinpoint what attributes make for a great candidate/employee as it is somewhat job dependent i.e. engineers need to be more analytical, quality needs to be very process driven, etc... However, there are some traits that are universally desired regardless of job function, such as honesty and a good work ethic. Underlying all of this, is the cultural fit a candidate/employee has with the company itself.
I think the HUMAN supply chain may be more complex because the products are HUMAN and therefore dynamic, unpredictable, capable and fallible etc - sometimes all at the same time!
I beg to differ with the blogger that all Human resource activity is a supply chain. But some of the labor intensive activities can be categorised as requiring Supply chain techniques. The best example is the labor contractors who can supply workforce on demand to construction sites, or the scurity agencies which manage the security staff of many companies or the house-keeping contractors . For such organizations the human workforce is the goods which have to be moved to the customers ( requiring the services) in right quantity at the right time at the right price. These contractors have to keep their labor pool ready in anticipation of the demand and with the requisite skiil sets.
Carla, you are right that human supply chain, although i disagree with the term, is more complex than the normal supply chain. Although we by nature differ a lot even though we have gone through the same procedure (education, environment etc.), we have been able to replace and fit people in the job. As in normal supply chain we constantly look for bottlenecks and money saving strategies so do the human supply chain by looking for better and more suitable candidates to get the work done.
The normal supply chain has gone global, i wonder do human feel the same way? As you might also have noticed, an executive rank person needs to shift his/her base to the headquarter of the company. This is quite a stress because one needs to get accustomed to the new culture (social) and can put a lot of stain on the family relationships. As you recruit high ranking professionals for companies, does the factor that they will have to move to another location/work in a new environment important?
Do you sometime go with "good and suitable" than "better and more suitable" candidate?
EBN Dialogue enables and encourages you to participate in live chats with notable leaders and luminaries. Not only editors and journalists, but the entire EBN community is able to comment and ask questions. Listed below are upcoming and archived chats.
Archived Dialogues
Thailand Stages a Comeback Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Euro-Crisis: What It Means for High-Tech Firms Join EBN Editor in Chief Bolaji Ojo and Contributing Editor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday, July 12, at 10:00 a.m. EDT for a Live Chat on high-tech and Europe's economic difficulties.
Microsoft Surface: Potential Winners & Losers What are the implications for the electronics industry supply chain of Microsoft Corp.'s decision to launch its own tablet PC? Join industry veteran and EE Times' systems and OEM expert Rick Merritt on Tuesday, July 3, at 12:00 pm EDT for a Live Chat on this subject.
Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Peter Drucker famously said "Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window." Yet in the razor's-edge world of electronics—with a lean supply chain and just-in-time demands—the need to know the future is vital.
While no one really can accurately predict the future, we can take guidance from another Drucker saying which is the best way to predict the future is to create it.
You've heard the saying "the No. 1 supply chain risk is your people." That hasn't always been the case. But today's complex global supply chain requires a new type of multitalented employee. It's one who understands, finance, marketing, economics, is savvy with technology, graceful with relationships and can think analytically.
Where are these people? Are universities properly preparing the next generation supply chain professionals? How do train your existing workforce for these new, demanding positions?
Brian Fuller, editor-in-chief of EBN, will lead a 60-minute Avnet Velocity panel discussion that will ask and answer these and other questions swirling around today's supply-chain talent challenges.
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