Warehouse recruitment, when done right; can be fun, fast-paced, exciting and thoroughly enjoyable…but when done wrong it can be a car crash that literally never ends.
And in a world where budgets / timelines are incredibly tight and expectations high, there really is little room for error. You want your warehouse recruitment to be as smooth as possible. Want to learn the secrets to warehouse recruitment success…keep reading!
The Difficulty
Warehouse recruitment exists in a world where natural forces have made it increasingly more difficult to succeed:
- Firstly, the skills shortage in the UK is well documented. Finding staff at any level, in any industry sector is tough.
- Secondly, warehouse work is not normally well paid. Minimum or National Living Wage is the go-to salary bracket for most organisations.
- Thirdly, it is not always seen by candidates as an attractive job. It can be noisy, physically demanding and with long working hours. With the latest generation of tech savvy Gen Z’s hitting the workplace…well, let’s just say – a warehouse environment is not listed among their career aspirations!
Throw into the mix that many warehouse recruitment drives provide short lead times and just temporary contracts and you start to see how things mount-up in difficulty. Candidates really do have options and if they don’t like your offering they can walkaway and pick something else.
Gone are the days of “easy” warehouse recruitment. Now you have to really work hard at it.
Define the Brief
The first step to successful warehouse recruitment is to define the brief. What or who is it you really want? Warehouse recruitment has become a very broad term to describe any number of activities in a variety of settings! Are candidates picking and packing stock, handling deliveries, operating machinery, working on a production line, driving a forklift? It sounds straight forward…but too often there is a lack of communication around fundamental detail. If you are speaking to a recruitment agency or the candidate you want to give a clean brief.
Explain what the role involves, why you are recruiting, what are the shift patterns, what is your recruitment timeline, what safety equipment could be required. From this you can start to establish the skills candidates need.
One immediate advantage of using a recruitment agency for warehouse recruitment is they should be interrogating the brief with you. They should be asking these questions and ultimately holding you to account.
Create a Recruitment Process
Having established what you want and when, you then need to map out your recruitment process. I am not simply talking about “advertise role, assess candidate, hire candidate”…you need to sit down and really map out the recruitment process. Think through what influences your decision-making with a candidate and how and when you communicate with them – and it won’t hurt to reflect on that process from the candidate perspective.
Successful warehouse recruitment is not just about filling the vacancy. Successful warehouse recruitment goes beyond that. It is about candidate engagement and creating a sense of “belonging” between candidate and your organisation. Even if the candidate fails to meet the required criteria – they should leave the recruitment process feeling positive from the experience.
Ultimately it comes down to candidate communication. And a large part of that flows from defining your brief (see above – again)!
Your recruitment process needs to be robust enough that you find the right volume of people with the right skillset. If you need one person – sure – be flexible in your approach, but if you need 100’s your recruitment process must be structured and methodical.
Candidate Communication
It goes hand in hand with your recruitment process, but organisations really can be terrible at this.
The majority of candidates hired in high volume models (52%) said they felt a recruiter had misled them during the recruitment process. I find that staggering!!
Yes, I understand the benefits and upside to a role should be communicated, but not at the cost of trust and building a relationship with the candidate. Be honest and be thorough when communicating with a candidate. Don’t tell them just the benefits, tell them about some of the downsides and what the challenges are!
Be clear in telling the candidate what a role involves. That transparency will bring benefits.
In addition, think about the small stuff. Candidates probably have questions about where they hang their coat? Is there somewhere to leave a bike? What time is lunch? Can I bring a pack lunch? What should I wear? Anticipate these questions and address them proactively. It will relax the candidate and make them feel you are investing time and effort in them. You are making them feel welcome.
Company Culture
I have seen some warehouse environments that resemble a playground. ‘Personalities’ or ‘characters’ are fine – in fact it is a massive benefit. What isn’t allowed is powerplays or behaviour that can cross into bullying. It will undermine all your efforts.
I would brief existing members of the warehouse team to make new starters feel welcome. Where appropriate, they can also support training and inductions.
In a typically warehouse environment, your average employee is not a rocket scientist. They may not see the bigger picture for the organisation. They may feel threatened by an influx of new workers or simply don’t like change. Therefore, you should involve the existing team in the process.
Explain the importance of bringing in new warehouse recruits, clarify how they can help and support new starters, and thank/reward those on the existing team that respond with the behaviours you want demonstrated.
Not everyone is going to get along…but the expectation is for all parties to always be professional and supportive at all times.
Expect Setbacks
Warehouse recruitment, like any type of recruitment, involves people. And let me tell you…people are unpredictable! Things happen, life gets in the way, candidates don’t share the same priorities that you may.
Therefore, it is normal to have setbacks. Sadly, people can fail to arrive for work and fail to communicate things! Sometimes they don’t perform to the levels you hope for, or worse they turn into a liability or an accident waiting to happen.
How you decide to react to these things is down to you. I’d suggest you try and find a way to smile, embrace the challenge and step-up!
Conclusion
Warehouse recruitment is certainly more difficult in the current world than what it has ever been. Subsequently, how you approach things really does matter. Think through your recruitment process. Understand what messages you want to communicate with candidates and ensure the wider organisation is ready to embrace new warehouse recruits and things will be a lot of fun. That is not to say you won’t have setbacks and moments where you are challenged, but ultimately that is just part of it!
About The Author
Simon Royston is the founder and Managing Director of The Recruitment Lab (A recruitment agency with offices in Aldershot and Brighton that offers employment services across Berkshire, Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex and beyond). Simon lives in Guildford and has worked in Recruitment for over a decade. He has a degree and a masters in psychology as well as a diploma in Human Resource Management. If you would like to know more about anything written in this blog or would simply like to express your own thoughts and opinions do not hesitate to contact Simon through The Recruitment Lab website.