Global Connections: Empowering Neurodiversity in the Logistics Industry

The logistics industry has responsibility for supply chain management and has a critical role to play in powering the global economy. In the UK alone, the logistics industry employs over 2.6 million people, which is 8% of the UK’s workforce. However, as supply chains become increasingly international, logistics businesses need global solutions to challenges they face.

One such challenge is that demand for trained and talented employees outstrips supply in the industry. In this blog, we argue that part of the solution is for businesses working in the sector to attract and empower more neurodivergent talent, both in the UK and overseas.

The Skills Challenge

Several reports indicate that between 63% and 76% of employers are facing recruitment difficulties as candidates do not have the right skills, for example:

There is a well-documented driver shortage across the UK. Official figures suggest the sector is short of between 43,000 and 60,000 drivers. Logistics UK reported that only 7.3% of survey respondents had no problem recruiting HGV drivers, while 40.2% had very severe problems.
There are severe shortages of staff in warehousing, especially among forklift drivers. Comparing Q2 2019 with Q2 2021, there was a fall of 31.5% in forklift drivers, 1.6% in elementary storage occupations and 14.7% in managers and directors in storage and warehousing

The Diversity Challenge

Research has also identified a lack of diversity in the industry, with an ageing and largely white, male workforce.

Only 9% of the logistics sector is under 25, while 45% is over 45 years of age
The logistics sector is dominated by people who describe themselves as ethnically white (89.0%).

Male workers represent 83.4%, while the number of women in the logistics profession rose to 16.6% in Q2 2021.

The Image Challenge

One of the reasons the industry has found it difficult to attract new entrants to the profession is that it there is low awareness of the great opportunities in the sector, particularly amongst young people. According to ‘Generation Logistics Benchmarking Research 2022’:

Despite employing over 2.6 million people within the logistics sector, over 90% of people have never considered it as a career path.

Only 10% of people overall (and 7% of young people) would see a career in logistics as highly appealing.

The industry has started to address these issues through great initiatives such as Generation Logistics. There is now a golden opportunity to use such initiatives to reach out to the relatively untapped neurodivergent talent pool, which includes many individuals with the skills the industry needs for the future.

The Value of Neurodiversity in the Logistics Industry

Neurodivergent individuals often have skills that would be valuable to the logistics industry, and so attracting and empowering neurodivergent talent could help to address the industry’s skills gap and increase diversity in the workforce. Key skills can include:

Attention to detail, problem-solving, creativity, communication

Following processes, big picture thinking, spotting trends, adaptability

Analysing data accurately is the key to making good decisions. Good attention to detail and the ability to spot patterns and trends could allow employees to accurately forecast potential future challenges and put appropriate plans in place. Additionally, big picture thinking could give your employees the ability to visualise a process from start to finish and anticipate potential barriers.

Following structure or processes accurately could enable employees to meet customer needs and deadlines. However, things don’t always go to plan! Being flexible and adaptable could allow employees to manage setbacks and unpreventable delays and remain calm to come up with a contingency plan. Creativity and problem-solving skills are vital skills in this process and could help with coming up with solutions to challenges in the supply chain.

The logistics industry has large teams with a lot of moving parts, dealing with stakeholders and customers. Therefore, strong communication skills to help deliver messages to your team, but also to manage customer relationships, could be vital.

The logistics sector has an important role to play in creating opportunities, unlocking talent and removing barriers facing neurodivergent employees. This will pay dividends for both individuals and the future of the sector on a global scale.

The Path to Neuro-inclusion: Global Solutions for Global Organisations

Neuro-inclusive practices, including recruitment, talent management, employee support and communications are vital to attracting the best talent, unlocking skills, and empowering neurodivergent talent to thrive. This can create a competitive advantage for your organisation in terms of productivity, innovation, employee engagement and retention.

Becoming neuro-inclusive requires leadership, tenacity and systemic and sustained change across your organisation. This can sound overwhelming, but Lexxic is here to help. We are the perfect neurodiversity partner for the logistics industry, because we can offer global solutions to global organisations, providing a one-stop-shop for neurodivergent individuals and their organisations, wherever they are in the world.

You can find more information on neurodiversity in the logistics industry, and how Lexxic can help here:

Visit our Logistics Resource page

To help you get started on your journey to neuro-inclusion, Lexxic has also published a new free Neurodiversity Smart Employer Guide setting out our psychologists’ top practical recommendations for making your organisation neuro-inclusive, based on our Neurodiversity Smart maturity model:

Download your copy of our Neurodiversity Smart Employer Guide.

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