Warehouse and Operations as a Career

Warehouse and Operations as a Career
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Sharing job and career experiences through discussion & participation

  1. 5d ago

    Fair, Unfair, or Illegal?

    Welcome back to Warehouse and Operations as a Career. I’m Marty T Hawkins. Today we’re doing something I always enjoy, another Ask Me Anything episode! Let’s see, we’re at episode 383, and I’ve got three questions that have come in recently that I think deserve a little conversation. And I’ve got to tell you, these are good ones. All three have came up before, and I feel there worth covering again. We’re going to talk about social media and job hunting, personal appearance requirements in manufacturing, and whether employers can legally require applicants to speak Spanish or be bilingual. Now, all three questions have something in common. Each person feels that an employer is doing something unfair, or maybe even illegal. And I understand where they’re coming from. But there’s an important difference between something we don’t like, something we believe is unfair, and something that’s actually against the law.  So let’s get into it! Our first question comes from someone who writes “I’m qualified for a picker position, but I keep getting skipped over or nobody calls me back. A recruiter mentioned that I should clean up or delete my Facebook page while I’m hunting for a job. That’s illegal, isn’t it? Employers can’t look at my personal profiles.” Well, I’ve got some news for you. Yes, they generally can! And not only can employers look at information you’ve made publicly available on social media, but some actually do. Now, that doesn’t mean every recruiter is spending their evening scrolling through Facebook profiles. Most have plenty of other things to do. But social media can certainly become part of the hiring process. And it’s generally not illegal for an employer to review publicly available information about an applicant. There are limits, of course. Employers cannot use what they discover to unlawfully discriminate against someone. There are also privacy laws, background-check requirements, and protections for certain employee discussions about workplace conditions. But your publicly available Facebook posts? Those aren’t automatically off-limits just because you’re applying for a job.  Let’s think about this from an employer’s perspective. You’ve applied for an order selector position. You’ve got the experience. You know how to operate the equipment. You understand production expectations, case counts, accuracy, and safety. On paper, you look like a pretty good candidate. But suppose your public Facebook page contains repeated posts about how much you hate working, how stupid your former supervisors were, how you don’t believe in following company rules, or how every employer you’ve ever worked for has treated you terribly. What kind of impression might that leave?  Now, I’m not saying a single complaint or an occasional bad day should cost someone an opportunity. And employees have legal rights to discuss wages, safety, and working conditions. But there’s a difference between raising legitimate workplace concerns and creating a public impression that you might be difficult to work with. Employers are looking for more than someone who can pick 180 cases an hour. They’re looking for dependability, teamwork, professionalism, good judgment, and someone who understands the importance of safety. And your online presence may give them an impression of those things, whether that impression is accurate or not.  Here’s another thought. We spend all this time putting together a professional resume, choosing the right words, listing our experience, and preparing for interviews. Then we turn around and post something on Facebook that makes us look like the last person anyone would want on their team! Come on now. Let’s give ourselves a fighting chance!  My suggestion isn’t necessarily to delete Facebook. It’s to review your public presence. Look at your posts, pictures, comments, and privacy settings. Ask yourself what impression a stranger might get. And don’t forget, that recruiter who suggested you clean up your Facebook page might have been trying to help you. They may have been giving you a valuable piece of career advice.  One more thing. Just because you’re not getting a callback doesn’t mean Facebook is the reason. There could be dozens of explanations, including competition, scheduling requirements, your resume, or the position being filled. But why give an employer another reason to hesitate?  Here’s our second question, “I applied at a plastics manufacturing plant and was being hired. Then they told me I had to remove my fake nails and eyelashes before I could start. How can they make me do that? What does that have to do with my ability to do the job?”  Well, this is another interesting one. First, I understand that personal appearance is important to people. We all have our preferences and ways of expressing ourselves. But when we enter a manufacturing environment, we’re entering a workplace with equipment, machinery, moving parts, production standards, and safety requirements. And employers generally have the authority to establish reasonable appearance and grooming policies that are consistent with applicable law. Let’s talk about those fingernails. Depending on the operation, long or artificial nails can create concerns with properly fitting gloves, handling small components, working around machinery, or maintaining product quality. Artificial nails can break, become damaged, or potentially end up in a finished product. Imagine you’re manufacturing plastic components for another company’s assembly process. A piece of an artificial nail ends up in a finished product or package. Now we’ve potentially got a product quality issue, a customer complaint, or maybe even an investigation. And remember, in manufacturing, quality matters just as much as productivity. What about the eyelashes? Well, depending on their length, attachment, and the particular job, artificial eyelashes could create concerns involving product contamination or interference with properly fitted protective eyewear. Does that mean fake eyelashes are dangerous in every manufacturing plant? Absolutely not. And does OSHA have some universal regulation that says nobody in plastics manufacturing can wear artificial nails or eyelashes? No. The actual hazards and the employer’s specific policies matter. But an employer doesn’t necessarily have to wait until something causes an injury or a quality problem before establishing reasonable preventive standards.   Now, think about the other appearance and safety requirements we’re already familiar with. We require certain footwear. We restrict loose clothing around machinery. We may prohibit dangling jewelry. We require hair restraints in some operations. And we expect associates to wear the personal protective equipment required for their jobs. Why? Because the workplace has requirements that may be different from what we’re comfortable with outside of work. There are legal limits. Policies cannot be unlawfully discriminatory, and some religious or disability related needs may require reasonable accommodations. But if the company has a legitimate, consistently applied safety or quality requirement, you may have to comply with it to work in that position.  Here’s what I’d suggest. Instead of immediately asking, “How can they make me do that?” ask, “Can you explain the safety or quality reason behind the policy, and whether there are acceptable alternatives?” That’s a perfectly reasonable question. You might learn something about the manufacturing process you hadn’t considered. And if the requirement simply doesn’t work for you, then perhaps that particular position isn’t the best fit. Remember, accepting a job means accepting certain workplace responsibilities. We don’t get to pick and choose every rule based on personal preference.   Now, here’s our third question. “I keep seeing job advertisements that say you must speak Spanish or be bilingual. Isn’t that illegal? How can an employer require someone to speak Spanish to get a warehouse job?” The short answer? No, requiring bilingual skills is not automatically illegal. And this question is particularly interesting in our light industrial, manufacturing, and distribution industries. Let’s look at a few examples. Suppose a warehouse has associates who speak primarily English and others who speak primarily Spanish. The company is hiring a frontline supervisor responsible for communicating safety expectations, assigning work, explaining procedures, conducting start-up meetings, and addressing employee concerns. Wouldn’t the ability to communicate effectively with both groups be valuable? Of course it would! And if speaking both languages is genuinely necessary to perform that particular position effectively, an employer may lawfully require bilingual proficiency.   Now, here’s the career-development side of this conversation. Instead of automatically looking at a bilingual requirement as something that’s keeping us from an opportunity, maybe we should consider what that requirement tells us about the industry. Our workforce is diverse. Our customers are diverse. And the ability to communicate effectively with different groups of people is an increasingly valuable skill. I’ve talked many times about the importance of learning something new, expanding our abilities, and making ourselves more valuable to an organization. Well, here’s another example. Maybe learning Spanish isn’t something you want to do. That’s entirely your choice. But for someone who wants to move from associate to lead, from lead to supervisor, or from supervisor into management, being able to communicate in more than one language may open doors.  Not every position requires it. But when the skill is genuinely needed, it can make a difference. And I’ll add something else. Communication isn’t just abou

  2. Oct 8

    When Warehouses Looked Up

    Today, let’s talk about a piece of equipment that, depending on how long you’ve been in the light industrial world, you may remember being a pretty significant part of the daily operation. The order picker. Or, as most of us have called it for years, the cherry picker.  Now, if you’re picturing the kind of cherry picker the electric company uses to work on power lines, we’re not talking about that one.  I’m talking about the powered industrial truck designed to elevate an operator alongside warehouse racking, allowing that individual to physically select merchandise from elevated storage locations. And I’ve got to say, in my opinion, the cherry picker has an interesting place in the history of modern warehousing.   Let’s go back a few years. Back when building up made a lot more sense than building out. If you worked in distribution during the late 1990s or early 2000s, you probably remember how important warehouse space was becoming. Real estate wasn’t cheap. Leasing additional square footage wasn’t always an option, and relocating an entire operation could be an expensive undertaking. Companies needed additional storage capacity, but they didn’t necessarily have additional floor space. So, what did we do? We started looking up. Instead of spreading thousands of individual SKUs across additional floor locations, we began utilizing more of the vertical space already available inside our buildings. High-rise shelving and narrow-aisle configurations allowed operations to store merchandise at several levels above the warehouse floor. And the cherry picker became an important part of accessing those locations. You might walk into a distribution center and see entire departments dedicated to high-rise picking. Long, narrow aisles with bin locations reaching well above your head. Automotive parts, hardware, replacement components, retail merchandise, and in my personal experience Food distribution, where these industries allowed for thousands of smaller items to be organized vertically.  The operator would enter the aisle, identify the pick location, raise the platform to the appropriate level, select the required quantity, and place the merchandise onto a pallet or designated load platform traveling with the machine. Then, on to the next location.  It was a pretty ingenious use of available space. Instead of paying for additional square footage, we were making better use of the cubic footage we already had. And that distinction is important. Warehouse space isn’t just what’s available from wall to wall. It’s also what’s available from the floor to the ceiling. Of course, whoever came up with the idea of putting that one little replacement part or that dozen pack of silverware on the very top shelf probably wasn’t the person operating the cherry picker!  For those entering the industry today, let’s spend a minute discussing the equipment itself. A cherry picker, or high-level order picker, is a powered industrial truck designed to raise the operator along with the picking platform. Think about a traditional counterbalance or sit-down forklift. Generally speaking, the operator remains seated while the forks and the load are raised or lowered. With the cherry picker, the operator actually travels upward with the platform to access the merchandise. Depending on the model and application, these trucks can operate at some pretty impressive heights.  The equipment may incorporate narrow-aisle capabilities, wire guidance, rail guidance, specialized controls, and different load-handling configurations. And remember, the purpose of this equipment is generally to allow an operator to retrieve individual items or cases, rather than simply move an entire pallet from one storage location to another. The cherry picker was designed around the person making the selection. And a good operator needed more than the ability to move or operate a machine. They needed location accuracy, inventory awareness, equipment knowledge, excellent depth perception, and the ability to work productively while elevated. And not everybody is comfortable with that last part!  Something interesting happened as distribution continued to evolve. We weren’t just asking ourselves how much merchandise we could fit inside the building anymore. We began asking how quickly we could get that merchandise out of the building. Productivity, travel time, touches per case, replenishment, order accuracy, and labor utilization became increasingly important considerations when designing a picking operation.  Think about a traditional high-rise cherry-picker aisle. An operator might need to raise the platform fifteen or twenty feet for one selection, move to another location, reposition, retrieve another item, and continue repeating the process. Now multiply that activity by hundreds of selections throughout a shift. All those movements take time. The equipment was doing exactly what it was designed to do, but depending on the volume and velocity or movement of the merchandise, there might be a more efficient method. That’s where some other storage and selection systems really began finding their place.  Let’s talk about a few of those real quick now that I’ve thought about them. Carton flow came to mind so we’ll start there.  With carton-flow racking, merchandise can be replenished from the rear while gravity advances the cartons toward the selection face. The selector doesn’t have to travel twenty feet into the air to retrieve every case. The merchandise is presented at an established picking location. You can have many pick faces per bay. An aisle like that can hold several hundred items.  Then we have pallet flow, which can help organize and present palletized inventory, supporting different replenishment and case-selection applications. Oh, and how about mezzanines? Rather than elevating an individual operator repeatedly throughout a shift, a mezzanine or multilevel pick module establishes additional working levels within the existing warehouse footprint. Employees can work from designated walking surfaces, often alongside shelving, carton flow, conveyors, and other material-handling systems. We’ve also seen carousel systems, vertical lift modules, and more recently, automated goods-to-person technology become part of the equation. Instead of sending the employee to every storage location, some of these systems bring the required merchandise to the employee. Imagine explaining that to somebody who spent an entire shift going up and down a cherry-picker aisle back in 1998! They’d probably ask where they could sign up.  Now, none of these technologies automatically makes the others unnecessary. Every system has its advantages, limitations, equipment costs, and application requirements. But collectively, they’ve given warehouse operators more options when deciding how merchandise should be stored and selected. And I think that’s one of the most interesting things about our industry. We’re constantly finding different ways to accomplish the same fundamental responsibility. Getting the correct merchandise to the correct customer, safely, accurately, and on time.  So does the cherry picker still have a place in the industry? Absolutely. The cherry picker hasn’t disappeared, and I certainly wouldn’t suggest that high-rise order picking is a thing of the past. Plenty of operations still utilize high-level picking as a primary fulfillment method. However, depending on the operation, the equipment may now serve a more specialized purpose. Think about slower-moving inventory. Not every SKU justifies a dedicated, easily accessible ground-level picking location. A distribution center may carry thousands of replacement parts or specialty products that are ordered only occasionally. Utilizing elevated storage for those items can free up valuable floor-level space for faster-moving merchandise.   The important question isn’t whether the equipment is old-fashioned. It’s whether we’re utilizing the correct piece of equipment for the application. Sometimes a pallet jack is the answer. Sometimes it’s a reach truck, a dockstocker, an order picker, or an automated picking system. And sometimes it’s simply reorganizing the inventory, so we’re not traveling halfway across the building to select three items that probably should have been sitting next to each other! That’s warehouse management, folks.  Now, I don’t think we can have an episode about cherry pickers without spending some time discussing safety. One of the most important considerations with this particular piece of equipment is that the operator is working from an elevated platform. Fall protection is critical. Operators must utilize the appropriate manufacturer-designated fall-protection system, which generally includes a properly fitted full-body harness connected to an approved anchorage using the specified lanyard or self-retracting device. And let me emphasize something. Having a harness hanging on the back of the machine doesn’t count as wearing it! Operators should be trained in its correct use, inspect their equipment, and understand the facility’s rescue procedures before operating at height. Platform gates and other safety devices must also be properly secured. Never climb the racking, reach excessively outside the platform, bypass a safety device, or step onto a pallet unless the equipment and application have been specifically designed and approved for that activity.  Another concern is travel. Some order pickers are designed to travel while elevated under specific operating conditions. Others have different restrictions. Know the equipment. Follow the manufacturer’s operating instructions and your facility’s established procedures. And, of course, don’t forget the daily pre-operation inspection. Controls, steering, brakes, hydraulic components, warning devices, platform conditions, and the applic

  3. Oct 1

    Showing Up, It’s More Than Being There

    Showing up. Now, when I say showing up, I’m not just talking about clocking in on time or about making it to the interview. I’m not just talking about being at the startup meeting, standing on the production floor, sitting behind a desk, or walking into the warehouse every morning. I’m talking about really showing up. Showing up for your career, for your family, for your responsibilities, and your own growth. Showing up when things are going great. And maybe more importantly, showing up when things aren’t going so great.  There is a big difference between being somewhere and showing up. You can be standing right there on the floor and mentally be a hundred miles away on a beach somewhere. You can attend every meeting and never contribute to it or participate in it. We’ve mentioned before how some people have ten years of experience and stop learning after year two. And how you can hold the title of lead, supervisor, manager, director, or vice president and still fail to show up as a leader. Or how about going to work every single day while never really showing up for your career.  So today, here on Warehouse and Operations as a Career, I want us to think about those two words a little differently.  I think showing up starts with being present. We’ll start with the obvious one. Work. We accepted the job. We agreed to the schedule. The operation is counting on us. Our coworkers are counting on us. Production expectations, shipping schedules, receiving appointments, staffing plans, and customer commitments may all depend on people being where they said they would be when they said they would be there.  Of course, attendance matters. But showing up is more than attendance. You can have perfect attendance and still bring very little to the operation. Showing up means arriving ready. Ready mentally. Ready physically. Ready to participate, to contribute, to learn. Ready to solve problems instead of just pointing them out.  When I was coming up through operations, there were always people you knew you could count on. Not necessarily because they were the fastest, or because they had the most experience. You could count on them because they showed up. If something needed to get done, they were there. If another department needed help, they were willing to learn. When there was a challenge, they didn’t disappear. Those are the people managers remember. And those are often the people who eventually get another opportunity.  Here’s another Marty opinion. One of the biggest career mistakes we can make is believing that somebody else is responsible for our development. Yes, companies should train us. And I want good, strong, supervisors to coach me and communicate expectations clearly for me. Organizations should absolutely provide opportunities to us whenever possible.  But somewhere along the way, we have to show up for our own growth. Nobody can learn for us. Nobody can ask questions for us. And nobody can make us be curious. And with all that being said, nobody can force us to care about where our career goes next.  Maybe you operate a pallet jack today. Great. Have you asked how the forklift works? Maybe you’re selecting orders. Have you asked about learning receiving? Maybe you work in sanitation. You’re around production all shift, do you understand it? And if you’re a lead. Are you learning how labor is scheduled? How productivity is measured? How safety investigations work? How your WMS works? Or how inventory moves through the building? The person who keeps showing up to learn knows more than the person who only shows up to work. That difference can become huge over five, ten, or twenty years. We’ve talked about it many times over the last 8 years here on WAOC.  Learn the operation. Not just your job. Our job may be where we are today. The operation can teach us where we might go tomorrow. But we have to show up for the lesson.  Ok, here’s another part of showing up that we don’t talk about enough. Who are you showing up with? Look at the people around you. What are they talking about? What are they encouraging, and where are they headed?  Now, I’m not saying we abandon friends because somebody hasn’t reached a certain level professionally. That’s not the point. I’m talking about influence. If everybody around you complains about work, eventually complaining starts sounding normal. If everybody around you says management is against them, every coaching conversation can begin to feel like an attack. If the group spends every break talking about how little they can do without getting in trouble, eventually the goal becomes doing the minimum. However, spend time around people who talk about learning something new. Getting certified, moving into leadership, saving money, improving their health, becoming better parents, being better spouses, reading, learning, growing. And something happens. Our conversations begin to change and then our thoughts start changing. And eventually our actions can change. There’s an old idea that we tend to become like the people we spend the most time around. Whether we want to take that literally or not, I think we can all agree on this. Energy is contagious. And negativity can spread across a warehouse floor quicker than almost anything. But so can enthusiasm, pride, professionalism, and a desire to improve. Ask yourself occasionally, are the people around me helping me show up as the person I’m trying to become? And just as importantly, am I helping them show up too?  Ok, Now, nobody walks into work fired up every single morning. I certainly try.  Some mornings the coffee has to show up before I do. But energy doesn’t always mean bouncing off the walls shouting motivational quotes. Energy can simply mean engagement. Things like eye contact, participating in the startup meeting, greeting my coworkers. And a big one, listening when someone is speaking. Taking an interest in the work. Helping somebody without being asked. And Walking into a problem thinking, how can we fix this? Instead of immediately saying, that’s not my job.  I’ve always felt that your energy announces you. People, leaders, our coworkers, and customers notice it. And, unfortunately, the opposite is true too. The person who constantly walks in angry, complaining, rolling their eyes, arguing about every assignment, finding something wrong with every change. That person is showing up too. Just maybe not in the way they realize or want to be.  I like to think, every day you show people who you are becoming. You know growth isn’t only learning another piece of equipment or earning another certification. Some of the most important growth is maturity. Things like how we respond when corrected, and how we react when someone disagrees with us? Can you say, “I was wrong” or apologize, and can you listen? Can you watch somebody else get the promotion you wanted and still congratulate them? When we get to that point, well, in my humble opinion, that’s growth.  Early in our careers, we often think advancement is mainly about learning to do more. And yes, skills absolutely matter. But as responsibilities increase, how we handle ourselves becomes increasingly important. A supervisor cannot spend the entire shift reacting emotionally. A manager cannot make every disagreement personal. A leader has to be able to hear things they don’t want to hear. Maturity is learning that correction isn’t always criticism, and a different opinion isn’t always disrespect. Sometimes showing up means showing up as the adult in the room.   Alright, now on to showing up when no one is watching. This one matters. What kind of employee are you when the manager leaves the floor? What happens to your production when nobody is standing nearby? Do you follow the safety rule because it’s a rule, or because you understand why the rule exists? Do you wear your PPE because management is walking through, or because protecting yourself matters? I guess I’m saying that character shows up when supervision walks away. Showing up means maintaining your standards when nobody is there.   And I want to throw in that this idea, or concept, isn’t just meant for our professional side. We have to show up in life. Put the phone down occasionally. Listen. Attend the event. Make the call. Keep the promise. Check on somebody. Say thank you. And say congratulations. Tell somebody you appreciate them. Our careers matter. But someday every one of us will clock out for the last time. And when that happens, our title won’t matter nearly as much as the relationships we built while we were earning it.  I’ve talked a lot over the years about careers. Growth. Leadership. Operations. Productivity and Safety. Careers are part of life. They aren’t supposed to replace it though. But success at work doesn’t mean much if we continually fail to show up everywhere else.  Let’s see, what else did I note here. Showing up after failure.  This here may be the hardest one. Show up again. You didn’t get the promotion? The interview didn’t go well? You made a mistake? Own it, learn from it, and show up. You were coached on something? Somebody underestimated you? Show up. Life didn’t follow the plan you had written in your head? Show up anyway!  One bad day doesn’t define our career. One mistake doesn’t erase years of good work. One rejection doesn’t determine your value. Just show up and come back tomorrow.  One last thought. Stop waiting until you feel completely ready. You probably won’t. Sometimes an opportunity appears before confidence does. Take the class. Apply for the position. Ask the question. Volunteer for the assignment. Or learn the equipment. You don’t have to know everything before you start. You just have to be willing to show up and learn.  So this week, I want you to think about two simple words. Showing up. Show up physically, mental

  4. Sep 24

    Horseplay, Drama, and Standing Around, What Are They Costing Us?

    Welcome back to Warehouse and Operations as a Career. I’m Marty and today, I thought we’d talk about three things that we see in just about every warehouse, manufacturing facility, distribution center, and production environment at one time or another.  Horseplay. Drama. And standing around. Now, individually, they may not sound like the biggest workplace problems in the world. Somebody jokes around a little too much. Two people are talking about what somebody else said. A couple of associates are standing at the end of the aisle talking when there isn’t anything happening for a moment. No big deal,  right? Well, maybe it is. Today I don’t want to look at these three things only from the perspective of safety or productivity. I want to talk about what they can do to our reputation, opportunities, and ultimately our career.  Let’s start with horseplay. I’ve spent a lot of years around warehouses and operations, and one thing I’ve learned is that people like to have fun at work. And I believe we should. There’s nothing wrong with laughing and enjoying the people you work with. There’s nothing wrong with having a little personality. We’re going to spend a lot of hours with the people around us, and nobody wants to work someplace where everybody walks around looking miserable. But there’s a difference between having fun and horseplay. Horseplay in a warehouse can turn serious very quickly.  Think about our environment. Forklifts, pallet jacks, conveyors, dock plates, trailers, pallets, racking, knifes, strapping, machinery, heavy products, blind spots. We’re surrounded by things that don’t care whether you were just joking. Push somebody jokingly and they can fall into a piece of equipment. If we throw something across an aisle and someone may instinctively step into traffic. Or sneak up behind somebody and startle them while they’re using a knife or operating equipment. Suddenly, the joke isn’t funny anymore. And the important thing is. When leadership sees you participating in horseplay, they’re not just thinking those guys are having fun. They may be thinking, can I trust this person?   We know that safety and responsibility go together. If you want to become a trainer, lead, supervisor, or manager someday, people need to trust your judgment. And every day we’re building that reputation.  Now let’s talk about something that can spread through a warehouse faster than almost anything else. Workplace drama. Who said what? Who doesn’t like who? Who moved to another department? Who got written up? Who got promoted? Who didn’t get promoted? Why did the supervisor talk to them? Why does she always get that assignment? Why does he get to leave early? Before you know it, five people are involved in something that originally concerned two people. And nobody is talking about today’s production numbers anymore.  Drama is distracting. And distraction in an industrial environment can become a safety problem quick.  But drama also damages teamwork. I’ve watched small misunderstandings become department wide problems simply because everybody wanted to participate in the conversation. Sometimes the smartest thing we can say when somebody brings us workplace gossip is I don’t know anything about that. And then get back to work. We don’t have to attend every argument we’re invited to. That little piece of advice can save you a lot of headaches in your career.  Here’s what leadership notices. They notice the people who calm situations down. And they notice the people who stir situations up. They see the person who says “Hey, let’s get back to what we’re doing.” And they also notice the person walking from department to department making sure everybody knows the newest piece of gossip. Which one do you think they’re considering when they’re looking for their next lead?  And then there’s just standing around. This one can be tricky, because sometimes there really isn’t something happening for a moment. The conveyor may be down, or you’re waiting on product, or a trailer hasn’t backed in yet, or our machine is being adjusted.  There’s a difference between waiting on the operation and developing a habit of standing around. I think, or hope, we’d all agree there’s always something to do in a warehouse. Housekeeping, straightening pallets, cleaning your area, maybe checking equipment or machine, restocking supplies. And of course a couple of my favorites, how about learning another position, helping another associate, or asking your lead what needs to be done next. And here’s a sentence I want everybody to remember. We are being observed even when we don’t realize we’re being observed. Your supervisor may walk by. The facility manager may be on the floor. The customer may be walking through. Even a visiting corporate manager may see us. And they don’t know that you’ve been working hard for the previous three hours. They only know what they see right now. You’re leaning against a pallet talking. Perception becomes reality very quickly.  And standing around doesn’t just affect your reputation. It affects the operation. If ten people waste ten minutes, that’s 100 minutes of labor. That’s more than an hour and a half of paid labor time. Those little periods add up.  Here’s one we’ve all heard or maybe even said. “But everybody else was doing it.” Maybe they were. That doesn’t change the conversation about you. Here’s one of those opinions of mine. One of the biggest lessons we can learn in our careers is to stop measuring our behavior against the lowest standard around us. Instead, ask yourself.  If your goal is simply to get through today’s shift, that’s one thing. But if you want more responsibility, better opportunities, higher pay, leadership positions, or a career, then your standard has to be different.  And this may be the most important part of today’s episode. Let’s say your supervisor walks over and says: “Guys, quit standing around and get back to work.” How do you respond?  Option one. “We weren’t doing anything!” “We’ve only been standing here for a minute!” “What about those guys over there?” “Why are you always saying something to me?” Now we’ve taken a simple coaching moment and turned it into a confrontation.  Option two. “Got it.” And you go back to work.  Which employee do you think is easier to coach? Which employee would you trust with additional responsibility? I understand that none of us enjoy being corrected. I don’t care if you’re 18 years old or 65 years old. Nobody wakes up in the morning hoping somebody points out something they did wrong. But being coachable is a career skill. Your supervisor shouldn’t have to debate with you every time they give you direction.  And here’s something I’ve seen happen throughout my career. Sometimes the original issue wasn’t that serious. Maybe somebody was standing around for a couple minutes. The supervisor says something. Instead of simply correcting the behavior, the employee becomes defensive, argumentative, or disrespectful. Now the problem isn’t standing around anymore. The problem is behavior. A ten-second coaching conversation has turned into something much bigger. Sometimes we’re responsible for escalating our own situation.  I’ve shared many times, I believe any way, that our reputation is being built every shift. Here’s something I wish every new associate was told or understood on their first day. Your reputation isn’t built when a promotion becomes available. It’s built months before the promotion exists. Every shift you’re answering questions people may never ask you directly. Are you dependable? Are you safe? Do you work without somebody constantly watching you? Can you handle correction? Do you bring solutions or problems? Do you stay out of unnecessary drama? Can you work with different personalities? Can you be trusted? That reputation follows us ladies and gentlemen.   Let’s look at this scenario. One day a lead position opens. The manager walks into the office and asks his or her supervisors. “We need another lead on second shift. Who do we have?” And names start being mentioned. That’s when your previous six months start talking for you. Someone might say, “He’s productive, but he’s always involved in drama.” Or, “she’s a good worker, but we’ve had to talk to her several times about horseplay.” Or, “He knows the job, but every time you walk through his area he’s standing around.” I feel we need to remember, Yes, those may sound like little things day to day. But, like in this scenario, they can become big things tomorrow.  So, with all that being said. The message I want to leave you with today is, don’t let little things cost you big opportunities. Horseplay, drama, and standing around. Three things that can seem small. But they can become habits. And they are three things that can keep you from becoming the person management looks at when opportunity knocks.  I’m not saying we have to be perfect. None of us are. You’re going to make mistakes, going to have conversations, and going to joke around. And every once in a while you’re probably going to get called out for something. The important part is what happens next. Can you accept the coaching? Can you correct the behavior? And can you move forward?  Because sometimes career growth isn’t about learning one more piece of equipment or increasing our cases per hour. Sometimes it’s about, lets see, what word am I looking for, lets use maturity. Knowing when to joke and when to work. When to walk away from drama, knowing when to find something productive to do, and knowing how to respond when someone tells us we’re falling short of the expectation.  So tomorrow when you walk through those warehouse doors, ask yourself. What reputation am I building

  5. Sep 10

    Simple Machine, Serious Business

    Today lets talk about probably one of the most recognized, most used, most abused, and quite possibly most underestimated pieces of material-handling equipment in our industry. The pallet jack. You know the one. Two forks. A handle. A couple of wheels. And maybe a battery. And depending on which version we are talking about, maybe an operator standing behind it, walking beside it, standing on it, or flying down the dock on it like they’re qualifying for the warehouse version of the Indianapolis 500. And that last one, of course, is exactly what we are not supposed to be doing.  Today we’re going to talk about where the pallet jack came from, why it became such an important part of warehousing and distribution, the manual pallet jack, the electric walkie, the platform rider, and the single, double and triple pallet trucks. And being Marty, with Warehouse and Operations as a Career I’m going to take another opportunity to sprinkle in a little of the OSHA 29 CFR 1910.178 standard along the way! As we’ve learned, once we put a motor on our pallet jack, we haven’t just made our job easier, we’ve entered the world of powered industrial trucks.  Ok, before we talk safety, let’s give this little workhorse some history. Material handlers were experimenting with low-lift trucks and platforms more than a 100 years ago. By the early 1900s, the industry was looking for better ways to move heavier quantities of material without requiring workers to carry, drag or hand-truck everything individually.  The development of the pallet changed everything. We learned a lot about its introduction back in Feb of 2019, I think it was episode 124. Anyway I digress there a bit. Well, then came an innovation that seems simple today but transformed material handling. George Raymond Sr, founder of what became The Raymond Corporation, and employee William House developed the hydraulic hand pallet truck. On November 7, 1939, they were granted a patent for that design, along with the double-faced wooden pallet designed to work with it. Think about that combination. A standardized platform for freight and a small machine capable of slipping underneath it, raising it a few inches and moving the entire load. That changed material handling. Instead of moving fifty cases individually, we could move fifty cases as one unit. Instead of handling every carton five or six different times, we began handling palletized units. And that was our industry’s first efficiency lesson. The pallet jack isn’t really about lifting. It’s about eliminating touches. Every unnecessary touch costs time and requires labor. And creates another opportunity for damaged product or injury.  So let’s start with the one most of us meet first. The manual pallet jack. Sometimes called a hand jack, hand pallet truck or pump jack. We insert the forks beneath the pallet and pump the handle, which activates a hydraulic system. A few pumps later, the pallet rises just enough to clear the floor. A pallet jack isn’t designed to lift a load six feet into the air. Its job is to lift the load just enough to travel. You’ll see manual jacks in grocery stores, warehouses, manufacturing plants, trailers, production areas and back rooms in the retail world everywhere. But don’t confuse simple with harmless. A loaded manual pallet jack may be carrying thousands of pounds. Once those thousands of pounds start rolling, your arms and legs are not going to win the argument. I’ve seen people try to stop a rolling pallet jack with their foot. That’s a bad plan. I’ve seen people pull a load downhill toward themselves. Another bad plan. The equipment may be manual. But the consequences are still powered by gravity.  Then somebody said “Why are we pulling this thing ourselves?” And electricity entered the equation. Battery-powered low-lift trucks existed early in the development of modern material handling. Yale’s history, for example, traces battery-powered low-lift platform trucks back to 1919 and 1920. By 1951, Clark was introducing electric powered walkie-type pallet trucks. Now we had something capable of moving heavy palletized freight without the operator supplying the muscle. And productivity increased dramatically. But something else increased too. Risk. Because now the machine could accelerate, travel farther, and travel faster. And it could generate considerably more force when something, or somebody got in its way.  Then comes the walkie. The electric walkie is probably one of the most common powered pallet trucks. The operator walks with the unit while controlling it through the control handle. Forward. Reverse. Raise. Lower. A Horn. And usually some type of emergency reversing or belly button switch designed to help protect the operator if the control handle comes back toward them. The walkie can be incredibly efficient for moving pallets short to moderate distances.  One danger here is where operators can get comfortable. Way too comfortable. The most obvious danger is getting pinned. You have a machine behind you. A rack, wall, pallet, column or trailer wall in front of you. If you don’t maintain space, suddenly you’re the meat in a pallet-jack sandwich. Not today’s career goal. Another danger is our feet. The drive wheel and load wheels don’t care how expensive our shoes or boots are. We need to know where we’re standing. And its important  to remember that the forks themselves extend several feet beyond the body of the machine. I’ve watched operators clear a corner with themselves while forgetting they still had about four feet of forks following them.   Then we step up to the rider pallet truck. These units allow the operator to ride on a platform instead of walking alongside the equipment. If you’re working in a large distribution center and moving freight hundreds of feet at a time, you can immediately see the productivity advantage. Walk 300 feet. Walk back. Walk 300 feet. Do that all shift long. Now place the operator on a powered rider pallet jack. Completely different productivity equation! But rider units introduce their own hazards. Speed, cornering, and pedestrian interaction becomes much more important. And keeping our arms, legs and feet within the running lines of the truck becomes extremely important. The rack upright isn’t going to move because our feet are sticking off the end of the platform.  Alright, the traditional powered pallet jack usually moves one pallet at a time. And in many operations, that’s exactly what we need. But high volume distribution created another question. What if we could move two at a time? Now we start talking about double pallet trucks. These are designed to transport two pallet positions together, depending on the equipment and the application. Think beverage distribution, Foodservice, Grocery. High volume selecting and loading operations. Moving two pallets instead of one can reduce travel dramatically. And travel is often one of the biggest components of warehouse labor. If an operator or selector spends 50 percent of their time traveling, then every opportunity to safely reduce unnecessary travel can create tremendous productivity gains. I always stress to operators that there’s a tradeoff for that productivity. More freight means more weight. More length and turning radius. More stopping distance needed and more opportunity for load instability. Your empty double pallet jack and your fully loaded double pallet jack are two very different animals, and you have to be treating them as such. That’s where experience and training come in.  Next up are the triples. Yes, there are operations using triple length pallet trucks capable of handling three pallet positions. Potentially thousands upon thousands of pounds of product. That isn’t just a bigger pallet jack. It is a long, heavy moving piece of industrial equipment. You need room and visibility. You need to understand your turning radius. And you need to understand stopping distance. And you absolutely need to understand the equipment you’re authorized to operate. We all know, or should know, that certification on one powered industrial truck does not magically make us qualified on every powered industrial truck in the building. And this brings us to our friend. OSHA 1910.178  29 CFR 1910.178 covers powered industrial trucks. This specifically includes fork trucks, tractors, platform lift trucks, motorized hand trucks, and other specialized industrial trucks powered by electric motors or internal combustion engines. That means our powered pallet trucks belong in the conversation. The standard requires employers to make sure powered industrial-truck operators are competent to safely operate the type of truck they’re assigned to use. And training isn’t  “There’s the jack. Here’s the key. Don’t hit anything.” 1910.178 requires a combination of formal instruction, practical training and an evaluation of the operator’s workplace performance. Formal instruction might include classroom discussion, videos, written materials, or computer-based learning. Practical training means demonstration and hands-on exercises. Then comes the evaluation. Can the individual actually operate the equipment safely in the workplace? That’s an  important piece. Watching a thirty-minute video doesn’t make somebody an operator. And knowing where the throttle is doesn’t make somebody an operator. Oh, and having driven one at your last job doesn’t automatically qualify you at this job. Training must address the truck and the workplace. That includes things l

  6. Aug 27

    Do What You Say You're Going To Do

    Hello everyone, and welcome back to Warehouse and Operations as a Career. I’m Marty, and today let’s talk about something that sounds incredibly simple. So simple, in fact, that we probably hear it growing up from our parents, teachers and coaches. And once we enter the workforce, we hear it from supervisors, managers, customers, and coworkers.  Do what you say you’re going to do. That’s it. Sounds easy, right? But think about how many problems inside a warehouse, distribution center, manufacturing facility, transportation operation, or production environment start because somebody said they were going to do something and then they didn’t. An associate says, I’ll be here tomorrow, then they don’t show up. A lead says, I’ll get someone over there to help you and nobody comes. And a supervisor says, “I’ll look into that but nothing happens. And here’s a good one, a manager says, we’ll get that repaired yet three weeks later, the same equipment is still tagged out. And a great example, an executive says, safety is our number-one priority. But when production gets tight, unsafe shortcuts suddenly become acceptable. See where I’m going? Today’s subject is not really about keeping promises. I feel it’s about, 3 of my favorite words. Credibility, trust, and accountability. And, most importantly for us, it’s about building a reputation that helps us move our career forward. We want people to remember that we do what we say.  Let’s start with the newest associate walking into the warehouse. Maybe we are an order selector, a pallet runner, loader, receiver, a forklift operator, or maybe this is our first warehouse job. Our reputation begins almost immediately. During orientation, we may say I understand. I’ll be here at 7:00. I’ll wear my PPE. I’ll call if I’m going to be late. I’ll complete my pre-trip. And I’ll follow the procedures. Those may sound like little statements, But every one of them matters. If we tell our supervisor we will be there at 7:00, and we consistently arrive at 6:50 ready to work, he or she will notice. And if we say we are willing to learn receiving, and when the opportunity comes we step over there and learn it, it gets noticed. If we tell someone we’ll finish wrapping a pallet before break and we do it, people notice. And guess what? When we don’t do those things, thats noticed too. Our reputation in the workplace is often nothing more than a collection of experiences other people have had with us. Can I count on Marty? Does Marty show up? Does Marty finish what he starts? Does Marty tell me when there’s a problem? If Marty says he’s going to do something, will it get done? Those questions, or answers I guess, become our reputation. And I’ve said it before, in our industry, in many instances, your reputation walks into a building before you do. Warehousing and transportation is a surprisingly small world. Supervisors become managers. Managers change companies. Associates become leads. Vendors become customers. Customers become employers. And years later, somebody may hear your name and say, oh yeah. I remember him.  Now here’s something else we need to talk about. Doing what we say does not mean saying yes to everything. A subject I struggle with myself!  Sometimes one of the most professional responses we can give is I can’t promise that, or, I don’t know yet, but I’ll find out. There is a big difference between being helpful and overpromising.  Imagine a lead telling three different people “I’ll take care of it. “I’ll get somebody over there. “I’ll have maintenance look at it.” “I’ll get your schedule fixed.” “I’ll talk to the supervisor.” All that sounds helpful. But what if none of it happens? Pretty soon, those words don’t mean anything. Wouldn’t you rather hear I don’t have the answer right now, but I’ll check and get back to you before lunch. Then actually get back to me before lunch. To me, or with me, that builds credibility.  We don’t have to know everything. We don’t have to fix everything ourselves. But if we give somebody our word, we need to follow through. And if circumstances change and we cannot follow through, we have to communicate that.  Let’s say I tell my supervisor “I’ll have that trailer unloaded by 10:00.” Then we find damaged product. There’s an OS&D issue. The paperwork doesn’t match. Or a pallet collapsed. Now 10:00 isn’t going to happen. That does not automatically mean I failed. But what happens next matters. If 10:00 comes and goes and nobody knows what happened, I’ve created another problem. But, If I communicate at 9:15 and say “We found damaged freight on pallets six and seven. I’ve stopped the unload and I’m waiting on direction from claims. We probably won’t make the 10:00 completion.” That’s professionalism. Doing what we say includes letting people know when something prevents us from doing it. Remember a couple of weeks ago how we learned that communication protects trust. Well, silence destroys it.    Now let’s move up to the lead position. This is where the subject becomes even more important. Because once we become a lead, people begin watching whether our actions match our words. We tell the team, “Safety comes first.” Then an associate says a pallet is leaning badly. What do we do? Do we stop and correct it? Or do we say “Just move it. We’re behind.” We tell everyone “Pre-trip your equipment before using it.” Then we jump on a pallet jack ourselves without inspecting it. What did we just teach the team? Leadership is not what we say during the startup meeting. Leadership is what people watch us do after the startup meeting. Associates are very good at spotting inconsistencies. Here’s a couple of great examples. If I say “Everybody needs to be on time, but I walk in late three days a week, I’ve lost credibility. And If I say “Communication is important,” but associates cannot get an answer from me, well, you see where I’m going. For supervisors and managers, our words carry even more weight.    What else did I note here, oh, I want to throw in a word on safety, all this becomes especially important around safety. If we tell associates to report hazards, we have to respond when they do. If someone reports a broken pallet jack and nothing happens, eventually people stop reporting broken equipment. If somebody identifies a near miss and management ignores it, eventually near misses stop getting reported.  If someone tells us a dock plate isn’t operating correctly and our answer is, “We know. Just be careful.” What message are we sending? We cannot build a safety culture through posters, or slogans, and we cannot build it through once-a-year training. Safety culture is built when employees see the company do what it says it will do. If we say “Report hazards.” Then hazards need to be investigated. If we say “Never operate defective equipment.” Then defective equipment needs to stay out of service. If we say “No load is more important than someone going home safely.” Then our operational decisions have to reflect that. That’s credibility.  Now let’s look outside the four walls of our building for a second. Our customers are paying attention to us as well. In transportation, we tell a customer: “The truck will be there at 8:00.” Maybe it arrives at 8:00. Maybe it doesn’t. But if we know at 6:30 that the driver has been delayed and we wait until 8:15 to communicate it, we’ve damaged our trust. Again, customers understand that problems happen. Trucks break down. People call out. Systems go down. Freight gets damaged, and weather happens. What customers struggle with is surprise. Don’t surprise people with bad news they should have heard earlier.  Sometimes doing what we say means saying “We’re not going to hit the original commitment, and here’s what we’re doing about it.” That kind of honesty can actually strengthen a relationship.  Now let’s talk about executives. Vice presidents. Directors. Presidents. Owners. CEOs. At that level, words can influence entire organizations. We tell employees “Our people are our greatest asset.” Okay. Do our actions show that? We say “We believe in training.” But are we investing in training? We say “We promote from within.” Are we actually developing internal candidates? We say “Safety is priority one.” Are safety expenses approved? And are damaged tools replaced? Are supervisors held accountable for unsafe behavior? Culture travels downhill. And so does inconsistency.    I think the little promises matter the most. Here’s where I think we sometimes get this wrong. We think trust is built with big speeches and big promises. Usually it’s built through all the little things like  “I’ll call you back.” And you call. “I’ll send that report.” And you send it. Those small moments stack up. Eventually people stop wondering whether you’re dependable. They just know you are.  We can spend a lot of time complaining that other people don’t follow through. Our coworker didn’t do what they said. Our supervisor forgot. Management never responded. The company promised something. Some of those complaints may be completely legitimate. But let’s to turn the mirror around for a moment. What about us? Do people have to remind us? Do we commit to things and then forget them? Do we blame circumstances rather than communicate issues? Do we exp

  7. Aug 13

    Just One Thing

    Today let’s talk about something I’ve been asked many times over the years. “Why warehousing?” Or “Why transportation?” Or “Why the supply chain?”  After unloading trailers, pulling orders, operating forklifts, supervising teams, managing operations, and on to the executive team, I’ve been asked that question hundreds of times. People usually expect me to answer with one of the obvious reasons. That there’s good money, great benefits, opportunities for overtime, or the Job security and Promotion opportunities, and how the works stable, sometimes even considered essential. And those are all true, and they’re all important. But if I had to narrow everything down to just one reason? Just one thing that makes this industry different than almost every other career?  Well, I’d have to go with how this industry rewards the person you’re willing to become. Not who you are today or where you came from. Not what grades you made or where you went to school or who your parents were. This industry has always rewarded effort. It rewards people that keep showing up and that continue learning. It rewards people that become more valuable every year. And to me anyway, that’s something incredibly special.  When someone asks me what they should do with their career, I often tell them that warehousing isn’t just about moving boxes and transportation isn’t just about trucks and how the supply chain isn’t just about inventory. It’s about solving problems. It’s about making businesses successful and it’s about making sure families receive what they need. Every package is delivered. Every grocery shelf is stocked. Every hospital was supplied. Every manufacturing plant receives their raw materials. Every online order arrives on someone’s porch. All of that happens because thousands of us workers choose to become professionals. One of the things I love about this industry is that there are very few ceilings. As I’ve said many times, you can literally start today sweeping floors and next year you might be operating equipment. A year later you’re training others and soon you’re a lead. Then a supervisor. Maybe an inventory analyst. Perhaps a dispatcher or transportation coordinator or a safety professional. Even an operations manager, director, or Vice President. I’ve watched people make that journey. I’ve had the pleasure of hiring several of them and the honor of promoting many of them. Not because they had the fanciest résumé. But because they earned the opportunity.  First off, our industry notices consistency. I know I sound like a broken record sometimes. I keep repeating these things because they are that important and just that simple. Showing up everyday matters. Being dependable and taking ownership matters. If your supervisor never has to wonder whether you’ll be at work, if they know you’ll do quality work and they know you’ll help solve problems instead of creating them, you’ve already separated yourself from many others. Consistency becomes your resume.  Then comes learning. Every new skill increases your value. Learn a second department. Learn receiving, Shipping, Inventory Control, Quality Assurance, Cycle counting, Forklift operation, the Reach truck. What else, here’s a few of my go too’s, the order picker. Yard management. Transportation planning. Warehouse Management Systems. Excel. Everyone should feel comfortable working with Microsoft word and excel. And Leadership. Communication, and of course Safety. Every skill is another tool in your toolbox. And no bad manager or company can take those skills away from you. Even if you change employers, those skills travel with you.  One lesson I’ve learned throughout my own career, and try to share with every new boot I meet, is that companies don’t simply promote experience. They promote confidence and our confidence comes from preparation. I think being prepared comes from learning everything we can. The more you understand the operation, the more valuable you become. Eventually people begin asking for your opinion and that’s when your career really starts to grow.  Another reason I love this industry is because every day is different. No two days are exactly alike. One morning you may have weather delays, all your trucks and loads are running late. On another day we’ll have equipment issues. A customer changes an order. A shipment arrives early. A truck breaks down. The inventory doesn’t match. The team is short-handed. Problems appear every single day!  Some people see stress. I’ve always tried to see opportunities.  Seriously, every problem solved teaches you something. Every challenge develops another leadership skill, and every difficult day prepares you for greater responsibility. Young people often ask me how to become successful, and my answer seems to surprise them. Just Become the person people trust. Trust opens doors. Trust gets assignments and earns promotions. Trust creates opportunities. Trust is built one decision at a time. A decision from us. Being on time. Following through. Owning mistakes. Helping our teammates. Doing the right thing when nobody’s watching. Those habits are noticed.  I also appreciate something else about our profession. You don’t have to wait for someone to allow you to grow. Growth is largely in your control. Read books. Watch training videos, there’s thousands on YouTube. Volunteer for projects. Crosstrain. Ask questions. Observe great leaders. Practice communication. Improve your safety knowledge. Become certified. Nobody can stop you from investing in yourself. The people who grow the fastest are usually the ones who never stop learning.  I’ve met warehouse associates making six figures. transportation professionals earning incredible incomes. Supply chain analysts traveling the country. Operations leaders running million-square-foot distribution centers. Safety professionals influencing thousands of employees. Corporate trainers teaching nationwide. None of them started there. Most started exactly where someone listening today may be standing. The difference wasn’t luck. It was growth.  You know, one of my favorite moments is watching someone realize they have more potential than they ever imagined. Maybe it’s the forklift operator who becomes a trainer. The selector who becomes a supervisor. The receptionist who becomes a recruiter. The dispatcher who becomes a transportation manager. And I could go on and on.  I’ve watched those transformations happen over and over again.  The warehouse is an incredible classroom. It teaches discipline, Communication, Teamwork, Safety, Accountability, Time management, Customer service, Leadership, Conflict resolution, Problem solving. And These aren’t just warehouse skills. They’re life skills. Skills that help in every profession and every stage of life.  People sometimes say they don’t want to work in a warehouse forever. I understand that. But don’t overlook what the warehouse can do for you. It can build confidence. Teach responsibility. Develop leadership. Provide financial stability. Introduce lifelong mentors. Open doors you never knew existed. The warehouse may not be your final destination. But it can absolutely become the foundation of an incredible career.  As I look back over my own career, I don’t remember every shipment. I don’t remember every inventory count. I don’t remember every dock schedule. What I remember are the people. The mentors who challenged me. The associates who inspired me. The supervisors who believed in me. The teams that accomplished incredible things together. That’s another gift this industry gives us. Relationships. And those relationships often last an entire lifetime.  So, if someone asked me today, Marty, what’s the one thing that makes this industry so great? My answer would be simple. Because this industry rewards the person you’re willing to become. It rewards effort. It rewards learning. It rewards reliability. It rewards character. It rewards ownership. It rewards growth. And the beautiful part is, every one of us gets to decide who we’re becoming tomorrow.  Ok, I’ve got to get back to work myself now. But I wanted to add that if you’re just beginning your career in warehousing, manufacturing, transportation, or supply chain, don’t focus only on the next paycheck. Focus on becoming the person everyone wants on their team. The promotions will come. The opportunities will come. The raises will come. The career will come. It’s my opinion or my belief, in this industry, your greatest value isn’t the equipment you operate or the building or department you work in. It’s the person you choose to become.    I’m Marty T Hawkins and I want to thank you for checking in on Warehouse and Operations as a Career today. Until next time, be safe, keep learning, help someone else grow, and never stop investing in yourself.

  8. Jul 30

    The Career Ladder

    Hello everyone, and welcome back to another episode of Warehouse and Operations as a Career. I’m Marty, and as always, I appreciate you spending a little of your day with me.  Today I want to talk about something that’s been on my mind for quite a while. Over the past several months, I’ve spoken with warehouse associates, forklift operators, order selectors, recruiters, supervisors, and hiring managers from all over the country. I’ve listened to the concerns of people just entering our industry, and I’ve listened to leaders trying to build strong teams. You know what’s interesting? Both groups are asking almost the same question. The associate is asking, “How do I get ahead?” The employer is asking, “How do I keep good people?” I think those questions are really two sides of the same conversation.   Let’s start with a simple question. What do you think is the biggest concern for today’s warehouse associate? Most people immediately answer, “Money.” Yes, pay is important. We all work to provide for ourselves and our families. Inflation, groceries, rent, and fuel aren’t getting any cheaper. But after forty years in this industry, I’ve learned that money is rarely the real problem. I feel that people want to know if they’re building a future, or just collecting another paycheck. That’s an entirely different question.  When someone walks into a warehouse for the very first time, they’re usually thinking about today’s shift. Can I do the work? Will I like the people? Can I make it through orientation? Will I get enough hours? Those are all fair questions. But somewhere along the way, another question should replace those. In my humble opinion, we should be asking ourselves, “What does my career look like three years from now?” And unfortunately, many people never ask it. Instead, they work, they clock in, they clock out, and before they know it, three years have become ten. Nothing changed except the date on the calendar.  Here’s something I tell every young associate I meet. Your employer hired you to fill a position. Only you can build the career. The company can provide the opportunity. It can’t provide ambition. It can offer training but it can’t force someone to learn. It can post an opening for a Lead, Trainer, Dispatcher, Inventory Control, Safety Coordinator, Supervisor, or Manager but someone has to decide they’re ready to take those steps.  I hear people say all the time “They never give me a chance.” Of course sometimes that’s true. But sometimes we haven’t given ourselves one either. Have we volunteered to learn another department duties? Have we asked to operate another piece of equipment or a different production machine? Have we asked to learned what those inventory people actually do? Do we understand receiving, Shipping, Quality Control, Cycle counts, Warehouse Management Systems, Transportation, Planning, Customer Service? Every one of those skills makes you more valuable. And as we’ve learned, valuable employees don’t stay in the same position forever.  One of the biggest mistakes I see is confusing experience with growth. Someone says “I’ve been here five years.” Well that’s wonderful. But have you had five years of experience, or one year of experience repeated five times? Those aren’t the same thing. Growth happens when we’re learning something new. When we’re uncomfortable and challenged. When we’re solving problems instead of waiting for someone else to solve them.  Here’s a big one, let’s talk about automation for just a minute. I hear it all the time. “Robots are taking our jobs.” Here’s my perspective. Automation doesn’t replace great employees. It can replace repetitive tasks. Someone still has to maintain the equipment. Program the systems. Analyze the inventory. Manage the workflow. Lead the team and interpret the data. Solve the problems technology can’t solve. The more skilled you become, the more valuable you become in an automated world. Technology should motivate us to learn more. Not scare us into standing still. Another thing I hear all the time is, I don’t have time to learn things and online classes take so many hours, or my company wants us to stay over to learn something new. I always ask what are you doing that keeps you from having that time to invest in yourself? What did you watch on tv last Tuesday night and what was the plot of the program? lol. Just a thought. Now where was I. Ok, now let’s talk about something every supervisor notices. Dependability. If I asked ten warehouse managers who their most valuable employee is, almost every one of them would describe someone who shows up every day, on time, and ready to work. Not necessarily the fastest or the strongest. But dependable. And what have we said before? Dependability creates opportunity. Opportunity creates trust. And trust creates promotions. It really is that simple.  Here’s another lesson I learned years ago. Don’t wait for the title before acting like the leader. Lead from wherever you’re standing. Help the new employee. Pick up the trash nobody else noticed. Volunteer for the difficult assignment. Stay positive when everyone else is complaining. Ask questions. Share ideas respectfully. Those things, ladies and gentlemen, are leadership behaviors. And people notice them.  One thing I absolutely love about our industry is that careers are still earned. Think about that. There are very few industries where someone can begin unloading trucks, become a forklift operator, learn inventory, move into training, become a lead, a supervisor, a manager, a director, or a Vice President. I know that’s possible. Because I lived it. Nobody handed me those opportunities. Each one required another step up the ladder. And yes, sometimes those steps were uncomfortable. Sometimes they were exhausting. And many times I wondered if I was ready. But I climbed anyway.  Here’s something else to think about. Every certification you earn is another rung on that ladder. Your Powered Industrial Truck certification. First Aid, CPR, and AED. CRASE. STOP THE BLEED. OSHA training. Leadership classes. The Microsoft Excel and Word programs. Warehouse Management Systems. Inventory Control. Public speaking. Communication. Every one of those skills separates you from the crowd. Because when opportunity comes, preparation wins.  You know what rarely earns promotions? Complaining. Excuses. Drama. Blaming everyone else. Those things might get attention. But they don’t build careers. Solutions build careers. And Managers remember people who solve problems. They remember people who volunteer and there going to remember people who make everyone’s job easier.  Ok, we’ve been closing with a challenge for the week so here’s this weeks. When you walk into work tomorrow don’t ask yourself “What do I have to do today?” Ask yourself “What can I learn today?” One question changes your schedule. The other changes your future. Anything counts. Maybe you ask to learn shipping paperwork, or you spend fifteen minutes talking with inventory control, or maybe you ask your supervisor why something is done a certain way. I think curiosity builds careers.  And here’s another challenge for us. Write down the job you want three years from now. Not tomorrow, but three years from now. Then ask yourself “What skills does that person have that I don’t have yet?” Now you have a roadmap. Our careers aren’t built by accident. They’re built intentionally. By us.  One skill. One lesson. One opportunity. One day at a time.  I’ll leave you with this. The career ladder in warehousing, Production, Transportation, Manufacturing and Distribution. It hasn’t disappeared. In fact, I’d argue it’s stronger than it’s ever been. Companies need leaders and trainers. They need technicians, safety professionals, dispatchers, machine operators, inventory specialists, and operations managers.  The opportunities are there. The ladder is standing exactly where it’s always been. The question is, are you still climbing, or did you stop on the first rung?  If today’s episode encouraged you, challenged you, or reminded you that your future is still being written, I’d appreciate it if you’d share it with a coworker, a friend, or someone who’s just getting started in our industry. Until next time, keep learning and improving, keep showing up every day. And remember. Your job may get you through today, but your commitment to learning is what builds tomorrow.  Everyone have a safe shift and I hope to see you back here in two weeks!

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