How to Design and Execute Targeted Recruiting Efforts in the Warehouse Industry

Great potential job seekers rarely fall into your lap when you’re staffing a warehouse. You have to be intentional about recruiting top-tier employees who can do the work of making a warehouse functional. 

When you design and execute a targeted recruiting strategy, you reap many benefits, including having more experienced staff, spending less time understaffed, and creating a more satisfied workforce. 

Liberty Staffing Services can help you generate a targeted recruiting strategy that works. Reach out to us today to learn more about how we can make your warehouse run more efficiently. 

While you’re here, check out our advice on how to design and implement better recruiting efforts at your facility. 

Define Your Ideal Candidate Profile 

Before you start hiring, you have to determine who you’re looking for. Identify the key skills, experience levels, and qualifications required for each role you’re hiring for in your warehouse. 

It’s typical to have different candidate profiles for each position, as you don’t necessarily need the same qualifications for every job in the facility. However, there are probably some consistencies across the board, including dedication, professionalism, willingness to learn, attention to detail, desire to improve, and strong collaboration with others. 

These soft skills are essential in any job search; you can almost always provide task-specific training to employees with these skills. It is generally easier to teach someone the ins and outs of a job than it is to teach them how to communicate well or maintain a sense of professionalism on the job. 

Leverage Job Boards and Online Platforms

Not all job boards are equally useful. Focus on job boards where there are plenty of warehousing companies already active. That will draw candidates to the site. You can also use job boards specific to your region or province as opposed to industry-specific sites. 

Importantly, when you create a listing for a job board, put a lot of effort into it. The clearer and more detailed your job listing is, the better it will be. Help people understand the position and what it entails so that you reduce the number of unqualified applicants. 

You may need to consult with a staffing professional to come up with relevant keywords and a strong job posting. 

Tap Into Local Workforce Development Programs 

Collaborating with local workforce development agencies, colleges, and professional training programs will help you find qualified newcomers to the workforce. 

Look for local job fairs and recruitment events where you can represent your business and share what you do. If these events are focused on the warehousing industry, that’s even better.

Develop an Employee Referral Program

Some of the best employees you will ever hire will come from word-of-mouth recommendations from your current employees. Why not incentivize those referrals to get more of them? 

Rewarding employees with cash bonuses, extra paid time off, gift cards, or other incentives is a great way to find quality new hires. Not only does this grow your workforce, but it also creates more workplace satisfaction among your current employees. 

Streamline the Application and Hiring Process

If filling out an application to work at your warehouse feels like running a marathon, you are going to lose out on great candidates before you even get a chance to schedule an interview. 

It’s vital to streamline your application process so that qualified candidates don’t abandon their application halfway through. Make it easy for job seekers to get their information in front of you quickly by using mobile-friendly online applications that allow for easy resume uploads. Avoid requiring applicants to re-enter data manually. 

Once you start getting applications, don’t let top candidates slip away because you have a slow response time. Review apps promptly and schedule interviews without making people wait for weeks. 

Think of it this way: the hiring process gives candidates their first glimpse of your company's professionalism and operations. Don't waste that chance with an inefficient, frustrating process that drags on. Streamline hiring to quickly attract and secure the best warehouse talent available.

Partner with an Experienced Staffing Agency

One of the best resources in a targeted recruiting effort is a partnership with an experienced staffing agency that specializes in warehousing positions. 

Your internal HR team doesn’t have to manage everything. A staffing agency can partner with you to assist with many hiring tasks, including: job fairs, recruitment, employee screening, hiring, onboarding and training. 

They provide much-needed expertise and knowledge to quickly source and deliver qualified job candidates. 

Top staffing agencies have databases of pre-screened warehouse candidates, ready to step into positions at your warehouse. They also have deep networks within the community that give them access to job seekers who are just starting their job search. 

Most importantly, staffing agencies can handle the entire recruiting process, from crafting job posts and vetting applicants to interviewing and onboarding new employees. 

By outsourcing your warehouse staffing to the experts, you gain a lot of strategic recruiting advantages. 

Liberty Staffing: Your Staffing Partner for Targeted Recruiting

At Liberty Staffing Services in Southern Ontario, we have been helping employers (like you) find great staff for decades. 

We can help you scale up quickly with temporary and permanent employees, thanks to our extensive knowledge of the warehousing industry and the Southern Ontario marketplace. 

We’re ready to step in and help as soon as you’re ready to stop struggling to find great workers. Let us take the stress and the uncertainty out of recruiting and hiring–reach out to Liberty Staffing today!