Quality Warehouse Staff
If you feel like your warehouse is staffed by “warm bodies” rather than skilled workers who will stick around, you’re not alone. Turnover runs high in the warehouse industry, and overcoming churn starts with screening and matching applicants to the right positions.
First you need to look in the right place. Employee referrals can be great because your current workers know what the job takes. Temp agencies also work well because they take care of skills assessment and provide warehouse tips for smarter hires.
Warehouse Tips: How the Best Hiring Managers Screen Applicants
Even with great job advertising and plenty of candidates, the screening process will always be critical. Character and skills need to be assessed above all else.
As one distribution exec recently told CleanLink.com, hiring managers should focus less on the obvious factors (criminal records and drug screening) and more on personality.
Keep in mind that longevity will depend on a worker’s ability to physically and psychologically thrive in the job.
Warehouse tips for screening include:
• Use personality tests that can tell you which people will thrive in various positions, e.g. fulfillment versus management.
• Conduct multiple rounds of interviews, discussing in between and afterward.
• Look for good communicators. Even if the position is somewhat solitary, everyone should be comfortable interacting with coworkers, supervisors and customers.
• Don’t guarantee future raises or promotions. Workers who accept jobs under pretenses that never materialize are more likely to leave.
After screening, avoiding turnover still requires more work. Compensation should be competitive and job conditions reasonable. Warehouse tips for retention would include performance-based raises and automated material handling equipment to relieve physical stress.