Thinking inside the app

How do you recruit your employees: advertising, agencies, social media?

There are well publicised staff shortages in key areas of logistics and with Brexit looming these are likely to increase. For example, in November last year, the Freight Transport Association produced a report highlighting the fact that EU workers made up 12 per cent of the UK’s logistics workforce.

So finding effective methods of bringing in new staff could pay dividends.

In Germany Deutsche Post DHL is now recruiting via WhatsApp. HR supremo Thomas Ogilvie said: “To reach potential applications, we need to go to places they are spending their time anyway.”

The WhatsApp process means that the applicant does not need to fill in forms. Instead, it uses a chatbot to ask for the necessary information step by step. The process can be paused and resumed later.

The company believes one of the advantages of this process is that it keeps the time taken as short as possible.

Apparently, people’s desire for instant gratification is not limited to faster online shopping – it now also affects their behaviour in seeking employment.

It will be intriguing to see if WhatApp works as a method of recruiting staff. But, whether or not this particular initiative is successful, it is clear that the industry needs to find innovative ways of bringing people into logistics to meet future demand for staff.

Perhaps it’s time to start thinking outside the box – or alternatively – inside the app.