Successful warehouse management requires you to stay on top of staffing trends. Just doing everything the same way you have always done it is not going to keep you competitive. As the warehousing landscape changes, the workforce does, too.
It is so important to know what is going on in warehouses beyond yours so that you can stay competitive in the marketplace.
Liberty Staffing Services can help warehouse managers stay fully staffed without getting over-staffed – an important balance to strike. Reach out to us to learn more about how we can help your warehouse run more smoothly by finding the best employees around.
Here are 6 current trends in warehouse staffing that you should know about.
1. Staffing Agencies Continue to Play an Important Role in Workforce Solutions
Increasingly, warehouse managers are turning to staffing agencies (like ours) to meet their workforce needs. When you work with a staffing agency, we can help you find temporary workers and permanent workers, as well as full time and part time employees.
First of all, staffing agencies have a large pool of qualified workers at their fingertips. With little notice, a staffing agency can quickly mobilize a new source of talent – an ideal situation when you need to scale up quickly. Your warehouse can rapidly increase the number of employees you have on hand, especially in times of extra demand. Many companies use staffing agencies specifically for peak holiday season work, but we can also help when you face an unanticipated increase in order volume.
When you have temporary workers on hand through a staffing agency, you can also downsize rapidly without layoffs. Layoffs are economically costly and morale-draining, and temporary workers help you avoid that kind of damage to your business.
In addition to bringing new employees on board, staffing agencies can handle your recruitment processes, screening of prospective employees, hiring, and payroll. Once you have temporary staff on your payroll, you can determine if they are a good match for your company. If so, it’s time to start training them for permanent positions.
2. Warehouses are Offering Higher Wages and Signing Bonuses
If you want to be successful, you have no choice but to offer competitive salaries and wages. Signing bonuses help!
The labour market continues to be competitive, and a lot of warehouse applicants are only considering jobs at the top end of their salary range. Even major warehouses for large companies are increasing their average starting wages, and signing bonuses are becoming commonplace.
These increases in wages and bonuses do increase your overall labour costs, but the goal is to get a payoff of lower employee turnover and higher quality work. You should do everything you can to make warehousing roles financially attractive and competitive, especially when compared to other hourly and entry level jobs.
Imagine that there is an hourly job seeker who may be interested in retail, restaurant work, hospitality, or some other industry, but would actually be an ideal candidate for your warehouse. Attract them to your company with a competitive salary!
3. Employers Should Offer Apprenticeship and Training Programs
Another great strategy that is gaining popularity is to partner with outside organizations to create apprenticeship and training programs. These partnerships could be with vocational schools, community colleges, non-profits, workplace development boards in your community, and more.
Through these partnerships, you can cultivate talent by providing paid onsite training for in-demand roles like forklift operators. You will attract high-initiative job candidates who will sign on to gain transferable skills and credentials. This also creates a talent “pipeline” inside your own company, which means that you can turn temporary or entry level workers into permanent, high-quality members of your team.
Investing in your employees’ education and training is a great way to improve retention.
4. Warehouses Continue to Pursue Automation and Advanced Technologies
This isn’t a new trend, but it’s such an important one. Warehouses are continuing to make major investments in automation, robotics, and artificial intelligence. These investments affect the hiring decisions that warehouses have to make.
In today’s high-tech environment, workforce planning considers how technology will change job requirements and performance goals. Ideally, your warehouse will achieve the optimal mix of humans, robotics, and AI. Because of this, focus on hiring workers adept with new technologies and quick to adopt new tools.
Even highly automated operations still require human employees, and every machine needs attentive, high-quality employees who can interact with it successfully.
5. Consider Recruiting a Targeted Demographic for Your Warehouse
Warehouse hiring can get pretty creative. Have you thought about the untapped labour pools that may be ready for your attention?
For example, veterans’ recruitment programs assist individuals transitioning from military service. Retirees seeking part time roles make great seasonal workers. And adult students who have returned to school are often eligible for special scholarships and programs that prepare them for a warehousing career.
Think about advertising positions directly to people in demographics who are looking for extra flexibility in the workplace that you may be able to offer: parents with young children, students with unusual hours, and individuals with other barriers to employment.
Cast a wide net when you are recruiting, because you can tap into demographics that align with warehouse working conditions and hours.
6. Warehouses are Offering Improved Benefits and Work Conditions
Another trend is aiming to attract and retain talent by improving pay and benefits packages. Companies that offer great benefits (such as special insurance benefits, retirement plans, wellness programs, employee assistance, and tuition reimbursement) are immediately more attractive to job seekers.
Other popular benefits include flexible scheduling, remote work options, extra time off, and a discretionary absence policy.
A stronger, more diverse, and equitable workplace is also important to many of today’s job seekers. Focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) will help you to create a far more welcoming, supportive environment.
Finally, don’t forget to include safety initiatives, such as real-time monitoring and instant training feedback, both of which can prevent workplace injuries.
Stay on Top of Trends with Liberty Staffing – Including Workforce Solutions
Staying on top of the latest trends is key to successful warehouse staffing. As this overview shows, there are many evolving strategies to attract, retain, and maximize warehouse workers. The common theme is creativity and adaptability.
In today's dynamic labour market, partnership is essential. Liberty Staffing Services has 24 years of experience providing customized workforce solutions for warehouses. Our expertise in recruitment, staffing models, training programs, and more is invaluable to your staffing experience.
To learn more about how Liberty Staffing Services can help your warehouse stay optimally and efficiently staffed, contact us today. Our team is ready to collaborate and help you tap into the staffing trends that will best serve your warehouse’s needs. 