Worker productivity is important in any type of professional environment because management wants to ensure that each of their employees is doing their job and doing it well.
When it comes to warehouse workers, it can be difficult to keep track of each employee throughout the day because warehouses tend to be large and employ many people.
However, there are some easy steps that you can take to encourage your workers to increase their productivity and measure the results.
Contents
- 1. Train Workers on Multiple Stations or Jobs
- 2. Have a Clear Organization System
- 3. Award Positive Behavior and Offer Incentives
- 4. Implement the Latest Technology
- 5. Create a Thorough Training Process
- 6. Allow Breaks Throughout the Day
- 7. Provide Feedback and Evaluate Performance Regularly
- 8. Run Your Business Efficiently
1. Train Workers on Multiple Stations or Jobs
One of the top ways to increase productivity is to cross-train employees across several different areas. Although most employees will work one specific job in a particular part of the warehouse, it can speed up the process if everyone knows how multiple departments work.
This can help when someone calls out sick or during especially busy parts of the year like the holiday season. Cross-training can also help your employees to feel motivated and useful as they are able to help across multiple areas of the business rather than being limited to one job.
2. Have a Clear Organization System
Organization is key to running an efficient and successful warehouse. Most facilities are huge buildings that have thousands of products stashed amongst the shelves, which means it can take a long time to sort through and find a particular product–especially if your warehouse is disorganized.
Developing a clear system and following it with an automated app or program will help your employees navigate the warehouse and move products around more efficiently.
Your warehouse management software is very important to the success of the business as it will also track your clients’ stock levels and orders.
3. Award Positive Behavior and Offer Incentives
To help your employees feeling appreciated and valued, it’s important to reward good work and offer incentives. Set an example for your employees by being motivated and hard-working yourself.
Managers who aren’t afraid to work side-by-side with their employees from time-to-time tend to get more respect than those who don’t. When you’re working hands-on with your team, you’ll also have more insight into areas where productivity can be increased.
Listen to your employees if they have suggestions, like switching to eco-friendly packaging supplies or organizing an area of the warehouse more efficiently. You can set up an employee of the month program to award employees, offer structured bonuses based on performance or run regular work-related competitions.
4. Implement the Latest Technology
Keeping your warehouse technology up-to-date is a great way to support your employees and help them to be as successful at their jobs as possible.
When you’re using old technology that isn’t compatible with the rest of the industry, you’ll find yourself struggling to keep up with orders and manage inventory.
New technologies are being created all the time, and they are there to help make our lives easier. Stay informed about the latest technologies in the warehouse and packaging industries.
The more you know about what the competition is using to stay productive and organized, the better chance you have of improving your own business practices.
Automate processes when possible and always be sure to train employees thoroughly on new technology to make the transition seamless.
5. Create a Thorough Training Process
Employees’ productivity and motivation levels are often impacted by how they were originally trained. With many jobs, there can be downtime during the day.
And while it’s certainly important to allow your employees to rest when they need to, especially when performing laborious jobs, they should also be aware of other tasks they can do in between larger duties.
During the training process, call attention to different side tasks that can help productivity and make their day-to-day job easier in the long run.
There should be a clear training manual that outlines the same processes to be used when training each and every employee who gets hired. Giving a specific person or group the job of training others can also help the process to be more congruous, getting all new employees on the same page.
During the training process, you can also introduce cross-training. For each department or job within your warehouse, identify at least two other areas that this first department can be trained in.
6. Allow Breaks Throughout the Day
Overworking your employees will definitely lead to a decrease in productivity. Employees need to feel well-rested and motivated to get their jobs done the right way, which is why it’s important to avoid putting too much pressure on them to perform a great deal of work in a small amount of time.
Be realistic about your goals and let your employees know that it’s okay to take a break when it’s necessary. However, you need to also be careful not to let employees take advantage of this policy.
Devise a system for how employees can take breaks and note when they do each day. As a manager, the more you hang around your employees, the less likely they are to bend the rules and disregard protocol, so try to check in on your team regularly throughout the day.
7. Provide Feedback and Evaluate Performance Regularly
Much of the time, employee productivity is dependent on how satisfied they are with their job. There are many different ways to measure employee satisfaction, but one of the most important aspects is making each person feel heard and valued.
You can help improve productivity by evaluating your employees’ behavior and giving them feedback on how they can improve or what they are already doing successfully.
Taking your employees’ suggestions can make them feel valuable as well. Encourage your employees to come up with new ideas–like how to implement budget-friendly shipping or ways to cut costs on transportation.
8. Run Your Business Efficiently
Training, technology and employee reviews are some of the cornerstones to running a successful warehouse business. To keep your productivity levels high, make your employees feel valued with regular feedback and incentives for great performance.
Don’t forget the importance of a clear system when it comes to organization and integrating new technologies, and you’ll find your productivity levels starting to soar.
