How to Keep Shipping Warehouse Workers Happy on the Job

One of the things that fall by the wayside during periods of growth is the labor market. The e-commerce industry has grown so rapidly that warehouses and businesses are struggling to meet demand. For example, companies like Amazon are offering higher starting wages and great benefits, in a huge effort to attract employees to the logistics industry. With all that said, the warehousing industry is among the top four industries with the highest worker turnover. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, an increase in warehouse job openings is seen yearly. Warehouse workers tend to turn over on average 37% more often than workers in other industries, which sits at just 3.6%.  It's not uncommon for some industries to fluctuate according to seasonal demand. In other cases, the industry or company in question will not be worth all the perks of employment. Sometimes there are no perks at all. 

You know that hiring a new employee is a costly undertaking if you own a business of any kind. Training a new employee can be time-consuming and expensive as well. So, if you’re managing warehouse employees, the main question is, ”how do we get them to stay?” 

Employee retention can be difficult, but here are three ways we’ve seen companies reduce their warehouse employee turnover rate: 

• Wages + Benefits

Warehouse wages should be reflective of the times and industry. In order to compete for talent for high-demand roles, increase productivity, and decrease turnover, warehouses are still required to compensate adequately and offer overtime benefits despite the ongoing recession. In addition to attracting those seeking employment to your business, offering higher wages also means that your employees will stay longer because they cannot be paid the same elsewhere.  Due to the current labor shortage, businesses are focusing on what benefits they can provide to the workforce. These benefits can range from paid time off to education assistance. If you are not sure where to begin with benefits, enlist the help of your current employees to determine what they would like to see. For current and potential employees, benefits will attract like-minded people with similar backgrounds that share similar values, leading to a happier and more productive workplace.

• Employee Appreciation + Growth

Employee Appreciation can come in many forms. Standardly, many view this as planned employee bonuses or scheduled promotions, but it can also mean offering snacks during a shift, after-work complimentary happy hours, team bonding experiences, gift cards for standout performances, company-branded swag items, and the list goes on.  Investing in employee growth is another great wait to show appreciation for their work. Many companies are now offering benefits to help further their employee’s personal career development.  Internal employee growth not only empowers the employee but empowers the business. Whether you are offering classes to improve in their current position or education in a completely different career path, you can further lead employees to your business, so even if you lose a high rate of employees you are gaining just as many. 

• Consistency 

Supply chains only work well when they work effectively, and consistency within your supply chain workflow translates directly into employee satisfaction and lower stress levels. Workers in warehouses who are less stressed are more likely to work harder and demonstrate greater consistency in their work. As a result, your warehouse will become a more productive and successful environment. You can easily accomplish this by implementing a shipping solution such as DesktopShipper. Shipping solutions enable your team to automate the workflow. Consequently, workers are better able to verify orders across multiple areas of the chain, which allows orders to be dispatched on a more consistent basis. While employees are keen to be challenged, they also dislike the concept of not being set up for success. The use of shipping solutions reduces user error drastically, which in turn leads to happier employees. 

Every industry is different but having such a high turnover rate is unique to the warehouse logistics industry. The high turnover rate could really be attributed to a lot of reasons but it’s important to manage your company's turnover rate and shift in order to keep employees working and excited.