The supply chain profession has seen significant burnout affecting employees, from entry-level staff to executives. In fact, “separation” rates for supply chain managers bounced by 28 percent last year. Even roles traditionally sheltered from supply disruptions are feeling the burn. Supply chain data analysts now spend around 70 percent of their time trying to collect data, with a meager 20 to 30 percent left to actually utilize that data meaningfully.
Massive turnover is taking place as companies continue to burn through talent and struggle to retain their workforce. Once-impenetrable supply chain strategies like lean manufacturing are cracking under the weight of global tensions. From COVID-19 to the Ukraine war and the seemingly-neverending wave of sociopolitical tensions it’s causing, supply chain headaches aren’t going away anytime soon.
Buyers managing day-to-day operations, sourcing leaders, and corporate teams have all begun to grow weary.
Issues Causing Burnout Throughout the Supply Chain
In the supply chain, several key issues have affected employees at every level as businesses struggle to overcome supply chain employee burnout.
One main problem is that companies require more people who are focused on finding parts for their products, which is leading them to poach at higher-than-normal rates. Additionally, most sourcing employees enjoy the negotiation and cost savings aspects of their job, but this is currently sidelined. Instead, employees are spending their time chasing down parts that simply aren’t available, which is making their jobs unpleasant.
Although workers along the supply chain remain hopeful for the future ahead, certain problems keep affecting the profession. For instance, the war in Ukraine and the resulting sanctions against Russia, lockdowns in China, and port closures have all impacted the supply chain in different ways. Unfortunately, these problems aren’t going away anytime soon.
Ultimately, the supply chain is experiencing the same post-COVID reckoning and burnout as any other profession. A growing number of people are asking the question, “Is this really what I want to be doing with my life?” Because of this, more people are job-hopping and seeking the occupation that best suits them. This makes it more important than ever for employers to do what they can to minimize employee burnout.
The fact is that operational efficiency remains critical, with research finding that procurement workload will likely grow to 11.4% in 2022. However, the same increase isn’t likely to occur for staffing, and budget is actually expected to decrease, leading to gaps in both efficiency and productivity that companies will need to fill using the right solutions.
Best Practices for Reducing Supply Chain Employee Burnout
Although technological solutions can go a long way in mitigating supply chain employee burnout and boosting operational efficiency, there are some common best practices for preventing employee burnout in any profession. The following are some of those practices worth implementing as you work to overcome the challenges of mass supply chain employee burnout.
Always Promote a Healthy Work/Life Balance
- 72 percent of employees list work-life balance as a key consideration when applying for a job.
Your organization should always encourage employees to lead healthy professional and personal lives through a work/life balance. This entails enabling employees to spend enough time on self-care, family, and fitness. You can take certain steps to promote this through your company, such as closing early prior to the holidays to give employees more time to spend with family. In addition, you can introduce more flexible scheduling that enables employees to set schedules according to their needs.
Embrace a Hybrid Work Environment
- Companies with a hybrid work environment see 12 percent lower turnover rates and save $11,000 per hybrid employee.
- Over 50 percent of employees want to work remotely at least three times a week.
- 81 percent of employees want to work remotely at least once per week.
With the rise of the pandemic and a lengthy period of lockdowns across the globe, remote work became critical. Workers in every industry found that working from home was far more convenient and allowed for a healthier work/life balance. While allowing employees to work from home full-time may not be viable, you should consider giving employees the option to do so when possible. Your employees will be able to save more money and time on commuting, and you’ll enable them to more efficiently manage their personal lives. You can offer employees a certain number of work-from-home hours to facilitate this, or you may give them the ability to work a set number of days per week.
Develop and Offer Corporate Wellness Programs
- Employees enrolled in wellness programs report significantly higher job satisfaction.
- Companies with top-tier wellness programs generate 11 percent higher profitability per employee.
To further help your employees, you can promote stress management and self-care through employee assistance programs. These programs can offer mental health care, retirement resources, financial planning opportunities, and workout programs, among other components. This will make it even easier for employees to lead a healthy lifestyle that reduces supply chain employee burnout and stress.
Set Specific Goals and Enable Employees to Grow
- People are 42 percent more likely to achieve goals if they’re written and set.
- Dynamic goal-setting improves performance across virtually every key metric.
Employees want to be able to grow in their jobs, with the inability to advance among the biggest stress factors for employees. You can encourage growth by setting specific, attainable goals with employees, which will both increase employee engagement while making sure employees and managers are on the same page. You can also get your employees to view certain situations as manageable obstacles they can overcome as opposed to stressful and scary challenges.
Give Employees the Chance to Provide Feedback
- 69 percent of employees work harder when they get accurate feedback.
- Organizations that provide ongoing employee feedback see ~15 percent lower turnover rates.
Your staff will appreciate the fact that you appreciate their input. If you enable employees to provide feedback, you can find out what pain points your staff is experiencing and work to resolve them. At the same time, you can glean new ideas to continually improve operational efficiency, productivity, workload balances, and collaboration to further grow your business.
Emphasize Wellness in the Workplace
- 40 percent of employees rate their wellness as less than good.
Beyond a wellness program, you can also generally promote wellness in the workplace in small but effective ways. For example, you can designate a quiet space for staff to relax, meditate, or otherwise take some time for themselves. You can also take certain steps to create a more welcoming, warm environment such as introducing plants or inspirational artwork into office spaces.
Properly Train Your Managers
- Only 50 percent of employees understand their expectations.
- Most employees leave due to a poor relationship with their boss.
To make sure your employees stay with you, your management needs to be reliable and conducive to a healthy work environment. Employees don’t want to get stuck with managers who are hard to work with or don’t listen to them. To ensure your management is top-notch, consider integrating manager training programs to give your management teams the resources they need.
Keep Track of Scheduling and Workloads
- Almost every employee in the supply chain is experiencing significant burnout.
Long schedules and hefty workloads can easily burn out employees. While your staff should expect certain surges in workloads, they shouldn’t have to constantly deal with unmanageable amounts of work, nor should they have to adhere to demanding schedules with every workday. To mitigate these issues, you can monitor employee workloads and schedules. Based on their schedules and workloads, you can then figure out ways to help your employees develop a more manageable work experience. Chances are, you have some areas where technology can help you reduce your workload. Dynamic supply chain management solutions can significantly reduce time input from nearly every employee.
Encourage Open Communication
- 86 percent of employees blame communication for workplace frictions.
Employees also expect good communication from colleagues and employers, making it crucial to facilitate open and clear communication in the workplace. Regularly updating employees, making expectations consistently clear, and ensuring employees are aware of both their personal targets and those of the company can all help establish good communication in the workplace. As such, employees won’t suffer from poor communication that could otherwise leave them frustrated and stressed. Supply chain employee burnout is often a direct result of poor communication.
Maximize Productivity and Retention by Minimizing Supply Chain Employee Burnout
By taking the right steps within your organization, you can more effectively prevent supply chain employee burnout and subsequent increases in turnover. Certain technological solutions can increase productivity, but traditional best practices will also help form a more efficient and healthier workplace. This makes it necessary for employers to take the time to determine what issues their employees face and work with them to resolve them. The more you show that you value your employees and their well-being, the more you can retain them through all types of situations. In turn, your business will benefit and overcome the unique challenges faced in the supply chain profession.
