After COVID-19, many companies still need help with warehouse labor limitations, which negatively affects production and ultimately leads to delivery delays. With a 49% turnover rate in the sector in 2022, businesses need help to attract and retain talent.
If you’ve calculated your employee retention rate and realized you need to improve employee retention now, you might be in a panic, wondering what the next step is. The first instinct for many hiring managers trying to fill warehouse jobs is to offer better compensation and benefits. Unfortunately, this isn’t always possible with labor shortages and an economic slump.
Increasing your employees’ connection and dedication to their job is a less costly solution to improving warehouse retention. Offering training, classes, and other forms of professional development can keep your employees engaged and motivated. It can also foster a culture of learning, and in doing so, you’re investing in the future of your loyal employees.
How Can Professional Development Increase Retention?
It seems self-explanatory, but some employers don’t realize how much professional development affects retention. LinkedIn’s 2018 Workplace Learning Report found that 94% of employees would stay at a company longer if it invested in their careers. That’s an incredibly high number — learning and training soft skills and other adjacent skills to their current job is significant to employees.
Allowing employees to build new skills not only improves retention — but also means that you’re investing in your future workforce. After your employees complete professional development, training, or a class, they can implement that new knowledge and those skills directly into your company.
With the technology field advancing quickly, it’s even more important that your future workforce is upskilled. For example, if your warehouse employees are trained in learning new warehouse logistics software, your company can upgrade to better tools and profit.
Creating a learning culture in your warehouse environment helps foster a positive and forward-thinking mindset. When your employees know they’re there to get a paycheck and learn and grow as professionals, they’re more committed and determined to stay with your company and improve.
What Training and Development Practices Can I Implement?
By incorporating employee training and development into the job benefits of your warehouse roles, you can create a more engaging and connected atmosphere.
Here are some steps you can take to ensure your warehouse employees feel engaged and committed to their team:
- Offer specialized skills training, including operating advanced machinery or specific material handling techniques.
- Offer training on specialized or new technology, such as inventory or logistics software, warehouse management systems, or data analytics tools.
- Offer or sponsor leadership and management training programs focusing on internal communication, streamlining workflow, team building, and project management. (Bonus: you train your employees to move up the ladder and become team leaders or managers themselves).
- Offer or sponsor soft skills development classes to improve employees’ communication, problem-solving, and teamwork skills.
- Sponsor your employees to obtain certifications relevant to your industry.
- Employ a mentorship program where experienced employees can mentor new employees. This can also help with onboarding, another vital factor in improving employee retention.
- Help your employees develop a career path plan, and work with them to achieve their goals, or guide them towards resources that’ll do so.
Some of these ideas might seem daunting, but they’ll improve your company’s culture and inspire your employees to remain loyal and continue to grow at your company.
