• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • SCB YouTube
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Supply Chains in Crisis
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • THINK TANK
  • WEBINARS
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » Blogs » Think Tank » Three Ways to Mitigate Labor Shortages for the Next Peak Season

Think Tank
Think Tank RSS FeedRSS

Three Ways to Mitigate Labor Shortages for the Next Peak Season

Supply-Chain Hiring
A group of employees gathers in a warehouse. Photo: Shutterstock.
January 7, 2022
Piyush Golia, SCB Contributor

During the just-concluded holiday season, retailers struggled to mitigate labor and supply chain shortages. The holiday shopping rush came even earlier in 2021, with half of U.S. shoppers purchasing all of their gifts prior to Black Friday and Cyber Monday. As a result, retailers were confronted by delays in inventory and shipping, causing customers to seek purchases elsewhere.

Over the past 18 months, labor shortages within the supply chain industry have become a growing concern for a multitude of reasons. In July, 2021, the number of job openings within the warehouse industry hit a record high, with nearly 490,000 open positions. A major driving factor was an overwhelming sense of fatigue weighing on workers. These jobs are taxing, labor intensive and require employees to work long and oftentimes inconsistent hours. With pandemic fatigue in full effect, along with health concerns and large shipments that are drastically increasing workloads, retailers are finding it difficult to maintain employee retention and attract potential new hires.

Looking ahead to the next peak shopping season, here are some key steps that retailers can take to help them better prepare their teams.

Uproot traditional hiring practices for the modern workforce. Hiring within the supply chain should be a priority for retailers. Companies need to start hiring workers earlier and much faster, especially as supply chain demands grow ahead of the holiday shopping surge. It’s important not only to have more hands on deck, but to ensure that everyone is properly trained and onboarded before things gets busy.

Because of these time constraints and shortages, it’s crucial that new hires are onboarded into warehouse jobs as quickly as possible. By automating the hiring process, interviews can take place in a single day instead of weeks. Retailers should provide pre-recorded interview questions, so that candidates can dictate and share their responses digitally. This gives candidates the flexibility to take part in interviews immediately, ultimately streamlining the process for all involved.

In addition to shifting to a digital hiring platform, employers must make sure to be quick and proactive throughout their interviewing and scheduling processes, in order to expedite both hiring and onboarding.

Prioritize clear and concise internal communication regarding safety. Warehouse managers need to communicate clear and concise COVID-19 safety protocols prior to hiring, to ensure that potential candidates feel as comfortable as possible. (It’s likely that health concerns surrounding the pandemic contributed to the resignation of so many supply chain workers.) Companies can demonstrate to their employees that they are actively taking the necessary precautions by ensuring that everyone has the proper personal protective equipment to utilize during their shifts, access to sanitizing stations, and regular temperature checks within the warehouse. Additionally, there should be a written action plan to circulate in the possible event of COVID-19 exposure. As vaccines become widely accessible, retailers anticipate that more people will feel comfortable to resume working in an in-person setting, yet it remains crucial for companies to show that they’re prioritizing the creation of a work environment with the proper protocols in place, to ensure the utmost safety for employees and ultimately build lasting trust.

Reward performance and invest back in your team. Lastly, companies need to demonstrate that they’re willing to invest in their employees. They should offer competitive wages and benefits to create an incentive structure for present and future workers. A company that values its employees and communicates clearly and efficiently internally will have significantly better retention rates. Workers want to be a part of an organization that values their growth and education, and recognizes their significant contributions to the company.

To avoid a stagnant work environment that lacks individual growth and productivity, employers can offer workers more opportunities to expand their education and skill sets. Relationship building and clear communication are two of the most important things that management can do to create a steady and productive workforce. It’s vital that employees feel that their voices are being heard, and their work recognized.

It’s forecasted that these shortages will continue to impact supply chains into the new year. Yet by taking key steps and putting strategic measures into place, employers can begin to combat these delays ahead of the busiest shopping season of the year. It’s crucial to protect the workforce and future-proof supply chains by placing labor at the forefront.

Piyush Golia is president at The PCA Group.

HR & Labor Management All Warehouse Services

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

Wake up to live
“Supply Chains in Crisis”
updates and the latest Supply Chain News!

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter

Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • A PERSON HOLDS UP A TABLET COMPUTER IN A WAREHOUSE, SUPER-IMPOSED BY A GRAPHIC SHOWING A COMPLEX WEB OF SUPPLY CHAIN ELEMENTS

    Three Post-Pandemic Actions for Repairing Global Supply Chains

    Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
  • A MAN IN A SUIT SHAKES HANDS WITH A WOMAN IN A HARD HAT, NEXT TO A STACK OF CONTAINERS

    Three Procurement Technology Evolutions for 2023

    Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
  • The blank stare of a child's eye who is standing behind what appears to be a wooden frame

    The Alarming Continued Rise of Modern Slavery in Supply Chains: How Procurement Can Help Reverse the Trend

    Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
  • A GROUP OF WORKERS RANGED IN AN OFFICE, OF DIVERSE RACE, GENDER, AGE AND PHYSICAL ABILITY

    Podcast | The Supply Chain Workforce of the Future Is Already Here

    HR & Labor Management
  • DOCUMENTS BEARING THE INSIGNIA OF US CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION LIE ON A TABLE

    New CBP Regs Call for Greater Diligence by Brokers in Reporting Security Breaches

    Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage

Digital Edition

Scb nov 2022 sm

2022 Supply Chain Innovator of the Year

VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

Case Studies

  • New Revenue for Cloud-Based TMS that Embeds Orderful’s Modern EDI Platform

  • Convenience Store Client Maximizes Profit and Improves Customer Service

  • A Digitally Native Footwear Brand Finds Rapid Fulfillment

  • Expanding Apparel Brand Scales Seamlessly with E-Commerce Technology

  • How a Global LSP Scaled its Security Program and Won More Business

Visit Our Sponsors

Orderful Yang Ming Alithya
Barcoding Blue Yonder BNSF Logistics
CoEnterprise Data Capture Deposco
E2open GAINSystems Generix
Geodis GEP GreyOrange
Here Honeywell Intelligrated IFM
Infor Inmar Keelvar
Kinaxis Korber Lean Solutions Group 2H
Liberty SBF Locus Robotics Logility
LogistiVIEW Lucas Systems MCA Connect
MPO Nvidia Old Dominion
OpenText ORTEC Overhaul
Parsyl PMMI QIMA
Redwood Logistics Ryder E-commerce by Whiplash Saddle Creek Logistics
Schneider Dedicated Setlog Holding AG Ship4WD
Shipwell Tecsys TGW Systems
Thomson Reuters Tive Trailer Bridge
Vecna Robotics Verity
Verusen
  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • Digital Offerings
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Data Sharing Opt-Out

All content copyright ©2023 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing