The Workforce Challenge in Material Handling: Why Hiring the Right Talent Matters More Than Ever
By: Chris Hodnett
For material handling equipment distributors, the business environment is changing quickly. Economic uncertainty, shifting customer demand, tariffs and evolving technology are creating new pressures across the industry.
But according to recent research from the Materials Handling Equipment Distributors Association (MHEDA), one challenge stands out above the rest: people.
Talent acquisition, retention and workforce demographics emerged as the industry’s leading challenge, accounting for 34% of survey responses. And while many organizations remain confident in their ability to retain their current employees, the findings point to a more specific issue: finding qualified, experienced talent in the first place.
That distinction matters.
For an industry where technical expertise, customer relationships and institutional knowledge are critical to success, hiring the right person isn’t simply about filling an open position. It’s about protecting business continuity, maintaining customer service and building the capabilities needed for the future.
The real challenge isn’t just a talent shortage
When organizations say they are struggling with talent acquisition, it can be tempting to view the problem as a lack of available candidates.
But a tight labor market is only part of the story.
Material handling distributors often need people who bring a combination of technical knowledge, commercial capability, problem-solving skills and the ability to build strong customer relationships. Finding someone with the right experience is difficult enough. Finding someone who will also succeed in the specific role, team and organization is even harder.
This creates an important question for leaders: Are we struggling to find enough candidates or are we struggling to identify the right candidates?
The answer can change how an organization approaches hiring.
Instead of focusing solely on increasing the number of applicants, organizations can take a more strategic approach to defining what success actually looks like in each role and evaluating candidates against those requirements.
Experience is valuable. But experience alone isn’t enough.
In an industry where specialized knowledge matters, experience will always be an important consideration. And there are certain skills that have been identified as important regardless of the manufacturing setting that candidates should possess.
But experience is not necessarily a predictor of future success.
Two candidates can have nearly identical backgrounds on paper and perform very differently once they enter the organization. One may excel at building customer relationships but struggle with changing priorities. Another may have impressive technical expertise but lack the communication skills needed to influence customers or collaborate across the business.
The challenge for distributors is therefore not simply identifying what someone has done, but understanding how they are likely to perform in the environment ahead.
That means looking beyond resumes and interviews to consider the underlying behaviors and capabilities that drive performance.
Questions worth asking include:
- How does this person approach complex problems?
- How adaptable are they when circumstances change?
- How do they build trust with customers and colleagues?
- How comfortable are they learning new technology or processes?
- How do they respond to setbacks or pressure?
- Are their natural behaviors aligned with what the role actually requires?
- What capabilities could become increasingly important as the industry evolves?
These questions can provide a much clearer picture of potential than experience alone.
The cost of the wrong hire is amplified in uncertain times
The workforce challenge is also occurring alongside significant economic uncertainty. In the MHEDA research, economic uncertainty, tariffs and broader market conditions represented another 25% of responses, while sales and customer demand accounted for 19%.
That combination puts additional pressure on hiring decisions.
When growth is less predictable, organizations may have fewer opportunities to make mistakes. Every new hire needs to contribute effectively, and managers have less time and capacity to spend compensating for a poor fit.
A bad hire can create costs that extend far beyond recruiting expenses:
- Lost productivity
- Manager and team time spent addressing performance issues
- Disruption to customer relationships
- Longer ramp-up periods
- Lost sales opportunities
- Employee frustration and turnover
- Loss of specialized knowledge
In a more uncertain market, quality of hire becomes a business strategy, not simply an HR metric.
Build the workforce you need, not just the workforce you can find
There is another dimension to the workforce challenge that deserves attention: demographics.
As experienced employees retire or move out of the workforce, distributors risk losing years of technical knowledge, customer relationships and organizational expertise.
Replacing that knowledge one person at a time is difficult. A more sustainable approach is to think about workforce planning as a combination of hiring, development, succession and knowledge transfer.
That requires organizations to understand:
- What capabilities do we have today?
- What capabilities are we likely to need tomorrow?
- Where are the gaps?
- Which employees have the potential to grow into critical roles?
This shifts the conversation from reacting to vacancies to proactively building workforce capability.
Better hiring starts with better definition
One of the most overlooked steps in talent strategy is defining what success actually means before recruiting begins.
Job descriptions often focus on responsibilities and qualifications: years of experience, technical certifications, industry knowledge and specific skills.
Those things matter. But organizations should also identify the behavioral and cognitive characteristics that distinguish successful performers.
For example, does a high-performing sales representative need to be highly persistent? Comfortable with ambiguity? Naturally relationship-oriented? Competitive? Consultative?
Does a service leader need strong attention to detail, emotional intelligence and problem-solving ability? Does a future executive need the ability to influence others, navigate complexity and adapt as the business changes?
There is no universal profile for success. The right characteristics depend on the role, the organization and the business strategy.
Once those success factors are clearly defined, organizations can make more consistent and objective decisions throughout the talent lifecycle — from selection to development and succession planning.
From filling jobs to building capability
The workforce findings from MHEDA’s research highlight a larger shift taking place across the material handling industry.
The challenge is not simply that organizations need more employees. They need the right capabilities in the right roles at the right time.
That requires a more holistic approach to talent — one that connects hiring decisions with employee development, leadership pipelines and long-term workforce planning.
For distributors navigating an uncertain market, this can become a competitive advantage.
Organizations that can consistently identify people who are capable of succeeding, develop the talent already inside the organization and anticipate future capability needs will be better positioned to respond when market conditions change.
A more strategic approach to the workforce
At Talogy, we believe the strongest talent strategies begin with understanding people, not simply reviewing resumes or relying on interviews.
Our work with organizations across industries focuses on helping leaders understand the capabilities, behaviors and potential that drive performance, so they can make better decisions across hiring, development and workforce planning.
For material handling organizations, that perspective can help turn one of the industry’s biggest challenges into an opportunity: building a workforce that isn’t just equipped for today’s market, but ready for what’s next.
Talogy is a proud partner of MHEDA. Let us help you bring clarity and focus to your hiring strategy. With 75 years of experience, we are a proven investment in making sure you select the best talent to reach your goals. Click here to learn more.
