This blog post was originally published in February 2013 and has been re-published with updated content and perspective.

For businesses that rely on one or more warehouses, filling open warehouse positions with dependable personnel is crucial to maintaining an optimum level of efficiency. Hiring quality workers is not only important for the operation of your business, but also for the health of your employees and equipment. To ensure success, the goal is to create a warehouse system that is ready to successfully train new hires before they even step foot through the door – reducing time wasted on bringing your new hires up to speed.
Below are some of the benefits of developing and implementing a warehouse training program:
- Improved Productivity
Proper training ensures that new hires are aware of warehouse processes and can contribute to an increase in overall productivity. Tracking and measuring the progress of your new hires post training also allows managers to make program and process adjustments where necessary to increase efficiency, improve performance, and justify your staffing investment.
- Higher Employee Retention
A well-developed training program provides employees with the guidance and tools necessary to effectively do their jobs. Empowering employees by investing in training and development can also result in lower turnover rates, increased productivity, and improved performance – a true win for all.
- Consistency in Operations
As success drives the need to hire new engineers, companies often neglect to properly train new employees. As employees are assigned to new functions, they are sometimes left to figure out how to perform and complete these tasks based on previous experience – resulting in inconsistencies in approach, performance problems, and other complications. A solid warehouse training program can eliminate this.
- Decrease need for supervision
Untrained staff can drain your resources and distract managers from performing more important tasks. New hire training programs free up managerial time by teaching employees to perform the work themselves.
- Increase safety to decrease work-related injury/illness
Incorporating safety best practices into your warehouse training program can reduce the number of work based injuries - protecting both the employee and the employer. A focus on health and safety can also improve employee satisfaction and loyalty and reduce turnover.
Untrained warehouse workers can pose serious threats to your operations. However, implementing an effective training program to equip your new hires and continuously develop existing workers can help to reduce these risks.
One challenge with using temp staffing firms to supplement your warehouse staff is that the burden of training falls on your business. With the Insource approach, that burden is lifted.
When it comes to temp workers, does your warehouse facility have a proper training program and the time to run it, in place? If not, the experts at Insource can help. Contact us today for more information.