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Every hiring manager knows that competition for qualified warehouse and fulfillment center workers is fierce. Here are 5 tips for getting an edge over your competitors and making the most of the talent pool in your area.
1) Start early
Warehouse employee turnover can be high and seem to have no rhyme or reason. That’s why it’s smart to set up a recruiting plan before your need for workers becomes dire.
Write job ad templates in advance for the most common warehouse and forklift positions at your company. Also do periodic research on the average wage for these jobs in your area. That way, when you do have a hiring need, you’ll be able to get your job ads posted immediately. You’ll also draw more job seekers to your company if the wage you’re offering is more competitive than wages offered by other logistics companies in your area.
2) Clearly describe the position
When writing job ads for warehouse and forklift jobs, many hiring managers fall for the trap of describing their ideal person for a job, rather than describing the job itself.
This is obvious in the many distribution job ads that use more space describing the ideal person as “reliable, conscientious,” and “detail-oriented…” but never actually get around to describing the day-to-day duties of the job.
Instead, focus your ad on describing the core job duties associated with the position, such as the specific type of warehouse experience needed, and any special working conditions that applicants need to be aware of before they apply.
3) If the job isn’t entry-level, get creative with candidate screening
If the distribution job you’re hiring for isn’t a demanding one and you’re only interested in recruiting people as quickly as possible, then you might skip this step.
But if the job has tough requirements, you’ll have to make more effort to screen out applicants who aren’t prepared for the workload.
You will attract more highly-motivated workers to a job if you require a resume and work history. You can also gauge a worker’s level of interest by requiring them to answer a series of screener questions, or to write a short essay about why they’re interested in the position.
4) Ask your workers for referrals
Asking your current employees for referrals is in many ways more cost-effective than writing ads for multiple job sites and sorting through piles of resumes.
Encourage your best warehouse workers and forklift operators to refer people to your open jobs. Also consider increasing employee participation by offering a monetary bonus as a finder’s fee whenever a referred applicant is extended a job offer
Asking your current employees for referrals is in many ways more cost-effective than writing ads for multiple job sites and sorting through piles of resumes.
Encourage your best warehouse workers and forklift operators to refer people to your open jobs. Also consider increasing employee participation by offering a monetary bonus as a finder’s fee whenever a referred applicant is extended a job offer.
5) Make hiring easier by keeping worker turnover low
Because competition for distribution center workers is high, it’s the hiring manager’s responsibility not only to recruit new employees, but also to retain them once they’re on the payroll.
One of the best ways to retain your most talented warehouse workers and forklift operators is to make the work environment more pleasant and appealing than that of your competitors.
A spotlessly clean facility is also a healthy facility, which is especially important for workers in physically-demanding jobs. Hiring managers should also spend time on the warehouse floor personally interacting with workers and listening to their concerns.
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