Skills Assessment Tests: Test Skills Needed for Transportation and Logistic Jobs

The COVID-19 pandemic hit the world economy hard. Transportation and logistics are no exception. While these industries did not suffer quite as much as other areas thanks to the increased reliance on delivered household goods, the interruptions to global business still impacted the industry, leading to slower than expected growth.

However, according to McKinsey, the pandemic also offers opportunities to adapt to new business models, plan for future expansion, and incorporate new and upgraded services for customers. In their view, now is the time to plan for future growth, building in organizational flexibility while preparing to enter a post-COVID-19 economy with the momentum to reach new heights.

This approach also means that now is the time to make sure that your workforce is prepared to take the next step, and that means making sure that your employees have the skills they need to succeed. It is important to identify any potential skills gaps using tools like skills tests, which can pinpoint those skills your staff members may be lacking. In turn, this can help to direct employee training.

In addition to upskilling your current workforce, your new hires will need to possess many of these important skills. When you make skills assessment tests part of your hiring process, you will get a detailed report identifying a candidate’s strengths and weaknesses measured on a graduated scale, which allows you to note which candidates have skills but simply need more training in order to meet your current requirements.

The Bureau of Labor and Statistics notes that job growth in the logistics field is expected to grow at 4% over the next 10 years, which means that companies can expect a steady number of new positions that will need to be filled so as to remain competitive. With eSkill’s skills testing platform, you can be sure that you will hire the right candidate and enhance your company’s professional development programs. 

The Top Five Skills for Transportation and Logistics Employees

There are several skills that are necessary when you want to effectively fill transportation and logistics jobs. However, these five are absolutely indispensable. Any pre-hire skills testing should make sure that candidates for your open positions have these top skills:

1. Organizational skills: Transportation and logistics happen in a fast-paced world. Orders come in ever-increasing volumes, and expectations for fulfillment are tighter than ever before. In order to cope with this frenzied pace, it is incredibly important that employees are extremely organized. Workers need to be detail-oriented to prevent anything from slipping through the cracks, and they must remain calm and thoughtful, even in the most stressful times.

2. Problem-solving: While intelligence is a virtue for employees in the field, the ability to quickly and effectively solve problems is much more valuable. Because of the fast pace of operations and the number of moving pieces involved in the industry, problems can crop up rapidly. Without a quick resolution, the effects can ripple out into other areas down the line. Effective problem-solvers use all of their tools — and their creativity — to find solutions that work for as many people as possible.

3. Project management: No matter what level your employee is at within the supply chain, project management can be a valuable tool. Workers who have a thorough understanding of the entire supply chain and how each piece links together are more effective in performing their specific roles. In addition, these employees make ideal candidates for continued growth within the company.

4. Negotiation: Negotiation takes place at almost every step of the logistics chain, whether it is a formal negotiation between vendors and the company or an informal negotiation between links on the chain. The ability to work with others to find mutually beneficial terms for an agreement goes a long way toward building and maintaining the supply chain, especially when setbacks create unforeseen changes, requiring quick thinking and creativity.

5. Adaptability: In addition to making it easier to deal with unexpected problems, adaptability and flexibility are also important factors in driving innovation in the transportation and logistics field. Supply chain operations are constantly changing, and the ones who survive are those who not only adapt to those changes but also have the foresight to be leaders along the way.

Using Skills Assessment Tests to Train Skills

Using skills assessment tests, like those available from eSkill, can be a powerful tool for driving your company’s training program. With an extensive library featuring over 8600 modular tests, you can customize content to identify desired skills. You can then use those reports to pinpoint the most efficient training targets. You can also use Skills Assessment Tests to gauge progress throughout training, measuring employees’ progress against their initial baseline tests to improve the performance of your development programs. 

Interested in Developing Your Company’s Transportation and Logistics Skills with Skills Tests?

Learn how you can use the eSkill Talent Assessment Platform to drive employee development to new heights. Request a demo today.