Warehouse Staffing Agency Provide 5 Key Tips for New Warehouse Managers

Posted on 12/01 by Erin Helms

Warehouse managers supervise the receipt, dispatch, and storage of goods to ensure that all inventory is processed according to schedule. Their duties may include scheduling warehouse associates, training new hires, and ensuring all workers comply with safety standards. Managing day-to-day warehouse operations is no easy feat, especially for those new to the role. Supervising a team of people who work together to reach a common goal requires unique skills and a willingness to adapt to changing circumstances in a fast-paced warehouse. Here are five tips to help you launch a successful career as a warehouse manager:

Prioritize Employees’ Benefits

Warehouse work is intense and physically demanding. As a manager, it’s your responsibility to see to the well-being and comfort of your employees. If your team members are stressed and overworked, it will affect productivity, safety, and customer satisfaction. Consider these ideas for prioritizing employees’ well-being: Get feedback. Check-in with employees to see how they are doing on the job. Ask for feedback to see if you can do anything to help them perform their duties more easily. Prioritize wellness. If your company offers wellness benefits or fitness programs, ensure employees know how to take advantage of them. Managers who listen and show care will build trust with their teams, raising morale and improving retention. Work with a general labor staffing agency. Many organizations work with warehouse staffing agencies to ease the burden on their teams. Temporary warehouse associates can augment your core staff during seasonal crunches or tight deadlines, preventing burnout and improving job satisfaction. Provide designated break areas. Create areas where employees can eat lunch or rest when needed. An area away from the loud and busy warehouse floor allows employees to recharge, reducing stress and fatigue. If possible, provide access to a kitchen where employees can store food or vending machines to purchase snacks to help them maintain their energy levels.

Provide Training Opportunities

A warehouse is only as efficient as its workers, which is why proper training is essential. Employees must understand processes, technologies, equipment, and organization to do their jobs. Warehouse managers must prioritize training to ensure all employees understand how to perform their jobs safely and efficiently. Training should be an ongoing effort in every warehouse. As technology evolves, processes change, and employees must learn new skills. New managers should stay on top of skills and safety training, providing new material and refresher courses as needed.

Keep the Warehouse Organized

An organized warehouse helps employees remain productive and efficient even as orders increase. Cluttered work areas slow workers and create unsafe conditions, leading to accidents and injuries. As a warehouse manager, one of the best things you can do is keep your facility clean and organized. Consider these tips for staying organized: Ensure all employees tidy work areas daily. Create a weekly deep cleaning schedule. Make sure cleaning supplies are available, and all employees know where to find them. Create set locations for all products and equipment. Audit the warehouse quarterly to ensure you are using space appropriately. Label all products and inventory according to industry standards. Place like items together.

Avoid Micromanaging

Although accuracy, safety, and efficiency are essential in every warehouse, no employee appreciates a manager constantly hovering over them to ensure they don’t make a mistake. A good manager knows how to supervise without making workers feel like they aren’t performing well. Here are a few things supervisors can do to manage their employees effectively: Communicate. Setting clear expectations will help your employees understand how to succeed. Instead of micromanaging and doing their work for them, communicate everything they need to do to get the job done right. Proper training will improve warehouse productivity—and team morale. Listen. Great communication is a two-way street. If you feel the need to micromanage, then there might be a disconnect between the task and your employees’ understanding of it. Asking questions and actively listening can give you valuable insight into how to improve warehouse processes. Track KPIs. Instead of breathing down your employees’ necks, empower them to do their jobs well. Create key performance indicators to track productivity and staff performance. By measuring metrics such as cost per order and inventory error rate, you can discover whether you are meeting goals and where you need improvement. When you communicate KPIs to your employees, you are helping them set and achieve performance goals, creating a culture of accountability that can lead to greater productivity. As your business evolves, reevaluate KPIs to keep your data—and your employees—on track. Remain flexible. No two days in a warehouse are the same, especially with the recent supply chain disruptions. Flexibility is the key to keeping your business moving in uncertainty. Consider ways to help workers remain productive when unexpected events necessitate changes in the workflow without making them feel like they aren’t doing their jobs.

Delegate Tasks Efficiently

It’s easy for new managers to get bogged down in the details of warehouse operations, but it’s crucial to stay focused on the big picture of the entire facility. Great managers understand the necessity of delegation. They know it isn’t their job to do the work—but to ensure the work is done well by the team. Success as a warehouse manager requires a team mindset and a deep understanding of all the moving parts in the process. By getting to know the capabilities of your staff, investing time in regular training, staying organized, and delegating tasks efficiently, you’ll create an environment where schedules run smoothly, deadlines are met—and your employees thrive.

Warehouse Staffing Solutions with LaborMAX

Looking for skilled warehouse associates to keep your business moving? Our general labor staffing agency can quickly provide workers who are screened, skilled, safety-trained, and ready to perform. Partner with LaborMax for outstanding warehouse staffing solutions.

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