Abstract
The logistics industry in Saudi Arabia has seen a significant change, with national companies now focusing on hiring local talent to decrease their dependence on expatriates. Despite the increased demand for Saudization, logistics firms face difficulties in matching available local talent with industry-specific job requirements. This gap highlights the importance of connecting human resource development (HRD) with talent identification and assessment (TIA) practices. Study uses the DEMATEL technique to analyse the important factors that impact the effectiveness of Human Resources (HR) Departments in logistics firms in Saudi Arabia. A total of nineteen HR professionals from the logistics sector in the country took part in the study, offering evaluations on a Likert scale that ranged from 0 to 4 for each criterion. The research shows that the level of education has a strong impact on the potential and future development of job candidates in Saudi Arabia's logistics companies. Academic qualification, along with skills and competencies, greatly influences the evaluation of candidates. The criteria have influence values of 0.30559487, 0.007953708, and 0.628534572, respectively. In addition, the criterion of "Potential and Future Development" stands out as a significant factor that influences all others, except for "Skills and Competencies," with values exceeding the threshold of 0.926061035. Results highlight the importance of HR professionals prioritising cause criteria when selecting candidates and managing HR processes. By understanding and tackling these important factors, logistics companies can improve their methods of identifying and evaluating talent, ultimately boosting their organisational effectiveness and competitiveness in Saudi Arabia's ever-changing logistics industry.