Exploding Myths and Exploring Resonances to Exploit Opportunities

Those myths and uncanny resonances

                                                  Image source: https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/444167581972455024/

Some myths around learning in the workplace and uncannily significant resonances between overseas and local research uncover significant opportunities for both the people and the organisations involved in Supply Chain Management. 

3 Preconceptions About Workplace Learning

According to Taub, three preconceptions which need to be managed in order to remove constraints in the path of successful training implementation are:

1.          People don’t have time for learning

People will make time, given the right motivation. As adults we are willing to invest in our learning and development — but only if convinced that it will improve our work performance, advance our careers and/ or enrich our lives. So, if it is clear that the training on which we are embarking will help us grow, evolve and stay marketable, the time will be available.

2.          Traditional training methods, like classroom training and even online courses no longer work

Whilst it is true that people, especially Gen Y’s, learn from a great deal more sources than previous generations, formally based training is very necessary:

•       Where courses are based on registered qualifications delivered by accredited providers, the qualifications acquired are becoming increasingly important to the marketability not only of the individuals concerned but also the institutions which employ them.
•       Formal courses which are structured in accordance with sound learning principles promote strategic thinking and impart problem solving abilities which are key in the Supply Chain Management environment.

It is however important to keep in mind that speed, simplicity and easy access are key to the success to any form of learning and it is here perhaps that academia has much to gain from studying these characteristics of less formal learning.

3.          The HR/ learning function owns responsibility for employee development

Once responsibility for learning is shared between the learning function, managers and individuals by building and managing a mentoring culture that empowers those in the workplace to discover and connect with the right people, experiences and resources, this is where effective training begins.

(Taub, 2016).

Where Should Our Training be focused?
Having established what works for workplace training, we find that there is an uncanny resonance between research carried out in the USA and the Barloworld Logistics supplychainforesight survey.

In the USA the leadership and professional competency requirements for future Supply Chain managers were found to be as follows:

• Ability to negotiate and collaborate with value chain partners
• Ability to collaborate across functions
• Ability to drive or support diversity and inclusion
• Strategic thinking and problem solving
• Ability to manage global/ virtual teams
• Ability to persuade and communicate effectively
• Leading and developing others

(Melnyk, S. and Seftel, C.M., 2016: Quoting Deloitte’s Third Annual Supply Chain Survey 2015)

Looking at the 2015 supplychainforesight survey we find that, in order to achieve the key strategic Supply Chain objectives which were identified below, very similar competencies are needed:

• Identifying and managing change
• Growth and expansion into new markets
• Increasing flexibility, agility and responsiveness
• Sustaining existing areas of financial returns
• Introducing new products and services
• Using supply chain as more of a competitive advantage
• Investment in business intelligence

(Frost & Sullivan. 2015: 17)

We can see that the role of Supply Chain Manager is moving from tactician to strategist. This represents huge opportunities for organisations which, in order to take full advantage of them, need to position themselves through effective, focussed training.

How do you promote learner engagement in your workplace training?

How is your workplace training aligned to or company strategy?

What competencies are needed to make your organisation more really fly?

References

Taub, T., 2016 3 Big Myths About Workplace Learning. http://www.clomedia.com/2016/08/01/3-big-myths-about-workplace-learning/?utm_source=MyEmma&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=CLO%20Today. Accessed 4 August 2016

Melnyk, S. and Seftel, C.M., 2016. The Emergence of the Supply Chain Leader: The Metamorphosis From Tactical To Strategic. Accessed 16 August 2016

Frost & Sullivan. 2015: supplychainforesight 2015: Embracing change for a sustainable future. Barloworld Logistics, Johannesburg

Aligning Capabilities to Strategy

Changes in international supply chain management and logistics as well as the South African education and training environment have shifted the ways in which we operate in these environments irreversibly and forever.

There are tremendous threats – the required competencies are costly, both in terms of money and expertise, but to carry on as before may see substantial loss of business.

As a measure of the efficiency with which our company is doing it might be instructive for us to look at some key ratios over a three year period:

• Business lost to business gained in Rand turnover terms;
• Amount of administrative penalties imposed to amounts disbursed on statutory imposts such as VAT,import duties and the like;
• Amount of storage, rent, overstays and/ or demurrage paid to the total freight bill;
• Amounts written off due to errors to total turnover.

An increase in any one of these of these is a critical indicator that something needs to be addressed in the way in which the skills needs in our company are being addressed, so read on.

• Experience with many companies shows that there are a number of ways of in which they try to make sure that they have people who are competent to carry out their respective functions:
• Poaching staff who appear to have the right experience and/ or training from competitors
• Existing job holder shows the “newbie” how things are done;
• Experienced staff hold training sessions as and when the need arises;
• Sending people on external courses as either they (or their supervisors) feel the need;
• Organising training for different sections of the organisation which is applicable to their particular function (payroll, marketing, Excel and so on).

I would like to suggest that whilst all of the above methods have their place, each one has some critical risks:

• How can we be sure that our opposition is not overjoyed at our taking a real dud off their hands (normally this only becomes apparent much too late)?
• Is the existing job holder going to be that willing to share their expertise, or will they be passing on their bad habits?
• Can the experienced staff member really train, or is s/he simply an experienced individual with little ability to transfer their knowledge and skills?
• How do we know that the courses on which we spend substantial amounts of money are really needed, or simply nice to haves?
• When we send people from our company on training, how can we be sure that each of them has gained maximum benefit from that training?

There is a better way which is a great deal more cost effective and which does not require any rocket science.

It starts off with the simple concept, “begin with the end in mind”.

Each of us has a vision of where we want our business to be.  

Once you are clear on your ultimate goal or destination, the next step is to determine what actions on the part of the team will be most effective in getting you there.

For companies involved in international supply chain and related logistics operations, a good way of looking at competitiveness is through a supply chain congruence model:

   

In terms of this model, the higher the congruence, or compatibility, amongst these elements, the greater the performance of the organisation.

So, for the people element, their development requires a structured approach and methodology focused on aligning their capabilities to your organisation’s supply chain strategy.

How we structure this approach is key and will be discussed in future posts.

In your experience, is there more of a need to train staff than was the case in the past? If so, why do you think this?

How about the quality of work being produced by today’s supply chain practitioners? 

Would you say that this is improving or do you think that it’s going backwards?