Logistics Manager
  • Logistics
    • A-E
      • 3rd Party Logistics
      • Air Cargo
      • Coronavirus
      • Express & e-delivery
      • Editor’s Blog
    • F-M
      • Health & Safety
      • International logistics
      • Latest issue
      • Logistics & Supply Chain
    • O-Z
      • Ocean Freight
      • Policy and legislation
      • Professional development
      • Rail freight
      • Road transport
      • Sustainability
      • Temperature-controlled
  • Intralogistics
    • Automation
    • Commercial Vehicles
    • Equipment
    • Infrastructure & Services
    • IT & Software
    • Materials handling
    • Packaging
    • Picking and sortation
    • Robotics and innovation
    • Storage
  • Supply Chain
    • A-L
      • Automotive
      • Construction
      • Energy
      • Fashion
      • Food & drink
      • Forecasting
      • Healthcare and Pharma
      • Hi-tech
    • M-Z
      • Manufacturing
      • Military
      • Omni-channel
      • Public Sector
      • Retail
      • SME
      • Sourcing and procurement
      • Supply Chain Analysis
      • Supply Chain Awards
      • Supply Chain Strategy
      • Supply Chain Technology
      • Supply Chain Visibility
      • Technology
  • Property
    • A-M
      • Big Sheds
      • Design & Build
      • East Midlands and East Anglia
      • M25 East
      • M25 West
      • Mid-box
    • M-Z
      • North East & Yorkshire
      • North West
      • Scotland
      • South-West & Wales
      • Speculative Development
      • Urban Warehouses
      • West Midlands
  • Corporate Insight
  • Digital Magazines
    • June 2023
    • May 2023
    • April 2023
    • March 2023
    • February 2023
    • January 2023
  • Events
    • Sustainable Supply Chain Conference
    • ESG Industrial & Logistics Conference
    • Supply Chain Excellence Awards
    • CiTTi Awards
    • IntraLogisteX
    • Robotics & Automation
  • Webinars
LinkedIn Twitter
  • Subscribe
  • Free weekly e-newsletter
  • Free daily e-newsletter
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
LinkedIn Twitter
Logistics Manager
SUBSCRIBE >
  • Logistics
      • 3rd Party Logistics
      • Air Cargo
      • Coronavirus
      • Express & e-delivery
      • Editor’s Blog
      • Health & Safety
      • International logistics
      • Latest issue
      • Logistics & Supply Chain
      • Ocean Freight
      • Policy and legislation
      • Professional development
      • Rail freight
      • Road transport
      • Sustainability
      • Temperature-controlled
  • Intralogistics
      • Automation
      • Commercial Vehicles
      • Equipment
      • Infrastructure & Services
      • IT & Software
      • Materials handling
      • Packaging
      • Picking and sortation
      • Robotics and innovation
      • Storage
  • Supply Chain
      • Automotive
      • Construction
      • Energy
      • Fashion
      • Food & drink
      • Forecasting
      • Healthcare and Pharma
      • Hi-tech
      • Manufacturing
      • Military
      • Omni-channel
      • Public Sector
      • Retail
      • SME
      • Sourcing and procurement
      • Supply Chain Analysis
      • Supply Chain Awards
      • Supply Chain Strategy
      • Supply Chain Technology
      • Supply Chain Visibility
      • Technology
  • Property
      • Big Sheds
      • Design & Build
      • East Midlands and East Anglia
      • M25 East
      • M25 West
      • Mid-box
      • North East & Yorkshire
      • North West
      • Scotland
      • South-West & Wales
      • Speculative Development
      • Urban Warehouses
      • West Midlands
  • Corporate Insight
  • Events
    • Events News
      • Conferences
      • Exhibitions
      • Top 50
    • Sustainable Supply Chain Conference
    • Industrial & Logistics Property Conference
    • Supply Chain Excellence Awards
    • CiTTi Awards
    • IntraLogisteX
    • Robotics & Automation
  • Digital Magazines
    1. September 2023
    2. August 2023
    3. July 2023
    4. June 2023
    5. May 2023
    6. April 2023
    Featured

    Logistics Manager Magazine September 2023

    4th September 2023By Michelle Mooney
    Recent
    4th September 2023

    Logistics Manager Magazine September 2023

    1st August 2023

    Logistics Manager Magazine August 2023

    3rd July 2023

    Logistics Manager Magazine July 2023

  • Webinars
LinkedIn Twitter
Logistics Manager
Property

Talent pools

Nick BradleyBy Nick Bradley10th August 20217 Mins Read
LinkedIn Twitter Email Facebook

Logistics parks are embracing tech to attract and retain the best staff, Nick Bradley writes. Could connected communities attract the best recruits? 

The past 18 months have seen the logistics sector emerge as one of the pillars of the UK economy. The pandemic and national lockdowns have accelerated the growth of e-commerce and the disruption experienced by many businesses has led to even more focus on best-in-class supply chains and building resilience. This has all contributed to a huge increase in the demand for UK logistics space. In 2020, take-up of warehouse space totalled 50 million ft2 – an all-time high. In many locations the availability of modern warehouse space is tightening but there is another challenge facing the growing logistics sector – competition for talent. 

Large DCs are labour intensive, some requiring thousands of workers deployed on a shift system. They also support a diverse mix of employment, ranging from ‘pickers’, skilled trade workers such as forklift drivers, to high-skilled data and analytics roles. As logistics experiences rapid growth, the competition for workers has never been fiercer: even after the pandemic, the UK labour market is very tight, with unemployment at just 4.8% (versus an average of circa 8% across the European Union) and with Brexit set to further reduce the potential workforce.

War for talent
It is arguably the first time the sector has faced a ‘war for talent’, and these changing dynamics are leading owners of logistics parks – alongside occupiers – to think differently about how to create a more vibrant, attractive place of work.

We are seeing the design of parks evolve as a result, with more emphasis on green spaces, biodiversity and on-site amenities such as gyms to create an environment that supports worker wellbeing, happiness and productivity. 

But creating a better physical environment is not enough: today’s workers want a better day-to-day experience and the challenge is to create a ‘connected community’ that allows landlords and tenants to engage with workers in real-time to understand their needs. 

Michelle Buxton, Founder and CEO of Mallcomm

This shift in emphasis follows a trend first seen in the retail and the offices sectors. “In 2015, we launched Mallcomm, which as the name suggests, is a bespoke tenant engagement platform for shopping centres and retail property,” reveals Michelle Buxton, Founder and Chief Executive. “We recognised the need for better collaboration between retailers and landlords to make shopping centres more vibrant destinations.”

The platform – which is accessed via a smartphone app – now helps landlords and tenants across all real-estate asset classes collaborate to drive day-to-day operational efficiencies, share commercial data securely and interact with the end-user in real-time. “This is critical in creating a live dialogue with workers, visitors or shoppers, to build a deeper understanding of how they are using spaces and enable landlords to tailor services and amenities accordingly,” Buxton continues. 

PRIORITISING WAREHOUSE WELLNESS

There has been a clear shift of emphasis among GLP’s customers to more healthy, safer and balanced lifestyles. “That’s why our logistics centres are ‘WELL-ready’, making it easier for occupiers to achieve full certification for employee health and well-being,” reveals Haidée Klein, Head of HR from GLP Europe. In 2018, Altitude at Magna Park Milton Keynes became the world’s first WELL-accredited logistics building. The standard is a performance-based system to analyse a building’s impact on the well-being of those using it. These measures address occupant health and channel resources towards improving it, often resulting in ROI for occupier and owner.

“We’re championing a move from bleak industrial estates to high-tech, award-winning logistics parks, built with environmentally friendly materials,” continues Klein. “Landscaped to blend with their surroundings, they boost mood and morale.”

Unlike other certification, WELL is only granted after the built-environment has been assessed in operation. “And it’s an evidence-based system that was developed to analyse standards in offices: 92% of people using WELL-certified buildings say they feel benefits to their health and well-being and 94% say the environment boosts performance. 

“We also installed 20 electric car charging points with potential for another 60, an onsite apiary supporting biodiversity, an insect hotel created by local schools, landscaping and nature walks. It’s all part of a holistic approach.

“The well-being of our people is a priority,” says Klein. “We measure this through our employee engagement survey to ensure we promote a well-being culture throughout our business.

“Companies no longer require the big head office that may have existed in the past,” she adds. “That’s being decentralised at logistics centres these days. They are becoming a hub for e-commerce and people. That affects a building’s aesthetics and its fit-out. What’s interesting is the finish and detail some customers require. In the H&M warehouse that we were involved with at Milton Keynes, for instance, there’s a hotel-standard kitchen to deal with the volume of people.”

Space as a service
This thinking has continued to evolve in the offices sector, where landlords are increasingly focused on providing ‘space as a service’ and embracing technology to create a service for employees akin to a hotel. “As the UK approached ‘Freedom Day’ and a gradual return to the office, many landlords were introducing apps and digital platforms to enable hybrid working and make a return to the office as simple, frictionless – and fun – as possible,” Buxton reveals. “We are now starting to see increasing demand from logistics parks to create digitally connected assets where landlord, tenants and workers are able to collaborate more effectively to enhance the working environment.”

A specific challenge for logistics parks in attracting talent is that – unlike shopping centres and offices – they are typically not in urban areas. “This can make getting to and from work hard for those without a car, and can mean road congestion and pollution are increased due to single-car occupancy,” says Buxton. “One benefit of connecting people digitally is that property management teams can better understand the daily flow of people and arrival and departure times and use this to co-ordinate lift-share and bus services.”

This not only makes the park more accessible to a larger workforce, it improves the environmental performance of the asset. Companies of all shapes and sizes are now committed to reducing their carbon footprint, and Buxton says she is starting to see sustainability becoming a key in leasing decisions and influence where people choose to work. 

“Warehouses today are designed to be more sustainable, often incorporating solar panels, energy-efficient lighting and electric vehicle infrastructure, but it is essential that the performance of a building is properly tracked over its life-cycle,” she says. 

“Another benefit of a digitally connected asset is that landlords and tenants can track and share data on energy consumption in real-time, creating transparency around performance and enabling buildings to achieve BREAMM (or equivalent) accreditation more quickly.” 

Digitally connected
Digital tools can also help integrate logistic parks into their surrounding communities. Due to their location out of town and close to major roads, parks can feel quite detached from their surroundings which impacts the day-to-day experience. Buxton is seeing logistics parks using digital platforms to establish partnerships with local businesses to create bespoke services, offers and discounts for workers, with benefits including day-to-day services such as dry-cleaning, offers for cafes or restaurants, and discounted memberships at gyms – all easily accessible via an app. Staff are offered a much wider range of benefits and the parks make a wider contribution to the local economy. 

Creating a digitally connected community has become fundamental to property management and placemaking across other real-estate asset types, and according to Buxton, we are just scratching the surface in terms of the potential application in logistics. 

“What is clear is that attracting and retaining talent will be crucial to sustaining the growth of the sector, and the onus is on landlords and tenants to embrace new innovations to engage workers and enhance their day-to-day experience.”

If you like Logistics Manager the magazine, you’re going to love it when the subject matter of the publication comes to life at Final Destination Logistics on 18-19 May 2022, taking place at the Exhibition Centre, Liverpool. For more information, please click here
Share. LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Email
Nick Bradley

Nick was appointed Editor of Logistics Manager in April 2021, roughly 22 years after cutting his teeth in journalism working within the Handling Division of DMG World Media opposite former LM editor Malory Davies. He subsequently spent 15 years as Editor and Editor-in-Chief of numerous B2B titles covering industrial vehicle design and engineering, intelligent transportation systems and even launched technology publications focusing on ADAS, autonomous vehicles and winter resort operations. After a five-year spell running a Top 100 Amazon third-party seller company, he has found his way back to his first love, publishing, via an events company specialised in sustainability-themed conferences where he tried to rid the world of plastic pollution and electronic waste.

Related Stories

Leftfield acquires two new warehouses in Bradford

22nd September 2023

H&M introduces fee for returns

22nd September 2023

DHL invests millions in biomethane for Irish transport network

21st September 2023
Latest News Stories
22nd September 2023

Leftfield acquires two new warehouses in Bradford

22nd September 2023

H&M introduces fee for returns

21st September 2023

DHL invests millions in biomethane for Irish transport network

Free weekly e-newsletters

Discover what’s causing a stir in the world of logistics and supply chains


Key Content
  • Digital Magazines
  • Logistics
  • Intralogistics
  • Supply Chain
  • Property
  • Corporate Insight
  • Events News
  • Opinion
Akabo Media
  • About Us
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe
  • Free Daily E-Newsletter
  • Free Weekly Top Stories E-Newsletters
  • Free Weekly Supply Chain E-Newsletter
  • Free Weekly Property E-Newsletter
  • Sign up to be notified when we publish a new digital edition
Our Events
  • Sustainable Supply Chain Conference
  • ESG Industrial & Logistics Conference
  • Supply Chain Excellence Awards
  • CiTTi Awards
  • Robotics and Automation Exhibition
  • IntraLogisteX
© 2023 Akabo Media Ltd Registered No 07766641 England | All rights reserved.
Registered Office: Akabo Media, GG.007, Metal Box Factory, 30 Great Guildford St, SE1 0HS
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits.
By clicking “ACCEPT ALL”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie settingsRejectACCEPT ALL
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
CookieDurationDescription
__cf_bm30 minutesCloudflare set the cookie to support Cloudflare Bot Management.
_zm_chtaid2 hoursZoom sets this cookie to facilitate video conferences via zoom from the website.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
_ga1 year 1 month 4 daysGoogle Analytics sets this cookie to calculate visitor, session and campaign data and track site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognise unique visitors.
_ga_*1 year 1 month 4 daysGoogle Analytics sets this cookie to store and count page views.
_gat_gtag_UA_*1 minuteGoogle Analytics sets this cookie to store a unique user ID.
_gid1 dayGoogle Analytics sets this cookie to store information on how visitors use a website while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the collected data includes the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.
CONSENT2 yearsYouTube sets this cookie via embedded YouTube videos and registers anonymous statistical data.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
CookieDurationDescription
OAID1 yearCookie set to record whether the user has opted out of the collection of information by the AdsWizz Service Cookies.
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE5 months 27 daysYouTube sets this cookie to measure bandwidth, determining whether the user gets the new or old player interface.
YSCsessionYoutube sets this cookie to track the views of embedded videos on Youtube pages.
yt-remote-connected-devicesneverYouTube sets this cookie to store the user's video preferences using embedded YouTube videos.
yt-remote-device-idneverYouTube sets this cookie to store the user's video preferences using embedded YouTube videos.
yt.innertube::nextIdneverYouTube sets this cookie to register a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen.
yt.innertube::requestsneverYouTube sets this cookie to register a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
CookieDurationDescription
TS018dd1basessionDescription is currently not available.
TS01f92dc5sessionDescription is currently not available.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo