Attract Warehouse Workers by Shortening The Hiring Process

Finding the workers needed to meet business goals continues to be a challenge for distribution and logistics employers. Warehousing companies must adjust to the current labor shortage or risk losing workers and business. Many companies have increased wages and offered improved benefits to attract new workers. These can be effective tactics, but a lengthy hiring process can negate these benefits. 

Aerotek Strategic Account Executive Joe Parisi has over a decade of distribution staffing experience. He recommends that employers shorten their hiring process to expand their candidate pool. He provides three ways to streamline a lengthy interview and onboarding procedures. 

 

Build trust with your staffing partner

Warehousing and distribution workers currently have plenty of job options, according to Aerotek's June 2022 Market Trends Report. In a candidate driven labor market, speed-to-hire becomes more important. Companies that still rely on in-person interviews and a full slate of background checks limit their candidate pool. 

Working with a recruiting partner can help reduce speed-to-hire. However, Parisi believes that companies partnering with a staffing agency should trust in that company's screening process. The employers that play a larger role in interviewing may be doing themselves a disservice.

“In regard to the interview, companies still feel like they need to be part of the screening process and there's a lack of trust. There must be a relationship built on trust that gets us to a comfort level where we can show how our vast experience in screening for the right candidates builds better teams,” says Parisi.

Parisi suggests companies can be part of the interview process while building trust with their staffing partner. Things like providing the staffing agency a list of five to six questions that must be asked can be an effective tactic. This provides employers an opportunity ensure they are getting quality workers. It also allows recruiters to use their screening skills to find the right workers for the job and the company’s culture.

Adjust your staffing strategy for a candidate-driven labor market

The competition for warehousing talent continues to be fierce. In May 2022, the industry added around 17,700 new jobs, a 10 percent increase from May 2021 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Situation Summary. 

The labor shortage is changing staffing strategies, hiring processes and hiring requirements. Attracting workers requires companies to be open to adopting new approaches to hiring. 
“I'd absolutely say the labor shortage has changed how companies view their hiring process. Traditionally, talent acquisition was seen as an overhead cost or a commodity. Now it’s more of a true strategic partnership where companies are more open to changing how they acquire talent and more open to listening to suggestions,” says Parisi.

One of the easiest adjustments companies can make is to forego in-person interviews. 

“Speed to hire and how fast they can get a candidate onboarded is the biggest component to getting talent in the door. From what I've seen, in-person interviews have been the easiest to eliminate, especially in warehousing. Offloading interview responsibilities to a staffing partner and holding us accountable to vetting candidates allows managers to focus on other goals,” says Parisi.

Apply ramp season hiring strategies year round

Warehousing companies hire aggressively during the final months of the year to meet holiday demand. To get the volume of workers needed to meet their goals, companies often reduce hiring requirements to create a larger candidate pool. Parisi recommends that employers take this approach to hiring all year long. 

“Organizations that do a good job of casting the largest net year-round will always have the most success. Because if a great candidate isn’t looking for a job during the current ramp season, they can attract them during the slower seasons if expectations haven’t been adjusted,” says Parisi 

Having an evergreen hiring strategy can help companies adapt to a candidate driven labor market. Parisi also sees it as a significant competitive advantage. 

“The companies that are seeing the most success with attracting and retaining talent in the current market are the ones that are open to different types of success profiles from a candidate perspective. Those companies are acting urgently on removing as many obstacles as they can to get talent in the door,” says Parisi.

If your company’s ready to review their hiring process to better attract warehouse talent, contact us today.