DC Velocity - IdeaBook 2014

lent,” “very good,” “good,” “fair,” and “poor.” It should be noted that not every respondent ranked the industry on every dimension.

On the five-point scale, the respondents’ average ranking of industry salaries was 2.84. Only two CEOs ranked the industry above “good” in terms of salary, and five ranked it “fair” or “poor.” The average ranking of benefits was only slightly higher at 2.95. Only one respondent ranked it above “good,” with five ranking the industry’s benefits as “fair” or “poor.” This suggests that the 3PL industry needs to determine how it compares with the salaries and benefits offered by its competitors in manufacturing, retailing, transportation, and consulting. That’s important not only at the entry level, but also as individuals move up through management ranks.

With respect to career opportunities, the average ranking was 2. 53, with nearly half of the respondents describing it as “fair” or “poor” on that dimension. That is a major red flag. Certainly managers must have a clear idea of how their careers will unfold if they stay with their employers. They also need to know specifically how they are being evaluated, who is doing the evaluation, and what the rewards are for outstanding work. Above all, there must be opportunities for career development.

Travel requirements generated an average
ranking of 2. 52, with more than half of the
respondents ranking it “fair.” Accordingly, third
parties need to examine how much time man-
agers are on the road. At the beginning of one’s
career the concept of travel is exciting and inter-
esting. As time goes on it becomes much less
so. How much travel is too much? Clearly “face
time” is important in building client relation-
ships, but there are trade-offs to be considered,
such as whether communications technology
could be used as a substitute for travel.

Finally, in terms of workload the CEO rankings averaged 2. 33, with 16 of 24 CEOs ranking the industry as “fair” to “poor” in that regard. Again, this should be major concern for the industry as it assesses its ability to hire and retain management talent.

When it comes to workload, the 3PLs are,
to a certain extent, reminiscent of the trucking
and warehousing entities that formed the basis
for much of the logistics industry. It’s quite
common to hear that potential employees are
often told that initial workload expectations are
likely to be in the range of 50 to 70 hours per
week, and that they are likely to be on call 24/7.
When I hear this, I am always reminded of UPS’
early involvement in global commerce. As the
company attempted to recruit new employees
in Germany it stressed that workers were likely
to be offered unlimited overtime. The typi-
cal response from the German workers: “Why
would anyone want that?” The company also
heard, “If you have that much overtime, you
probably haven’t hired enough employees.”
That was correct then, and it is still correct
today. As people’s lives become more compli-
cated they often seek a greater balance between
work and the rest of their lives. Many of the peo-
ple entering the work force today are therefore
seeking more balance in their lives than some