At Wise, we work closely with businesses of all sizes within the UK logistics industry, so we’re well aware of the environment that these companies work in and the pressures they face moving forwards.
Here, our Chief Commercial Officer, Dan Richards, looks at one key aspect of the industry, recruitment and retention, and what can be done to improve this in the future.
“There is no doubt that the UK logistics industry has faced a surge in demand and expectations over the last year, with the global pandemic causing a surge in online shopping as retail outlets closed. However, the sector has gone above and beyond to play a vital role throughout the lockdowns, serving individuals and businesses with vital deliveries.
“However, one area in which this industry has always faced issues or struggled is around the recruitment and retention of subcontractors, namely drivers, with various studies showing that the workforce turnover rate is significantly higher than comparable industries. This issue around the high turnover rate of self-employed subcontractors is also compounded with issues around the time and admin which is required to recruit and onboard these individuals.
DID YOU KNOW: On average to successfully recruit and onboard one new worker, a delivery firm has to interview or engage with TEN candidates!
“Through our conversations with delivery brands across the UK, as well as our liaison with self-employed individuals, we know that engaging with this self-employed workforce and communicating clearly is vital in improving retention issues and saving time, stress and money in the long term.
“In the early stages of creating our Wise platform, one of our key aims was to bring true simplicity and help to this recruitment process, not only for these courier businesses but the self-employed individuals themselves. Now, through the central dashboard, our clients can quickly see an overview of their current workforce, review their pipeline of new subcontractors and where each of these candidates are in their onboarding process with documentation and an acknowledgment of their status as self-employed.
“This will not only save valuable admin time which we know can quickly add up when recruiting new drivers, but also brings assurances over compliance and the current status of a firm’s workforce.
“From a recruitment and onboarding perspective for prospective new drivers, they can easily log into the app, apply for multiple roles and submit all of their documentation digitally, taking the process into one streamlined (and branded) experience. This simplification and centralisation of the job application process is designed to bring greater assurance to both parties and improve the success rate of engaging these workers.
“As we move forward, we’re committed to continuing to innovate and create cutting-edge new solutions to provide tangible improvements to the self-employment experience as a whole and are excited to continue to expand the Wise platform in the coming months…so watch this space!”
