Warehouse and Operations as a Career

Welcome back to Warehouse and Operations as a Career. WAOC is on the road again this week, hitting up Nevada and Arizonia. It’s always nice to get out and walk a few operations and meet new team members. I’m Marty and today I’d like to talk about something every employee wants but not everyone necessarily understands. And that would be a raise. Whether you’re unloading trailers, operating a forklift, selecting orders, dispatching trucks, running production equipment, or managing a team, most of us have asked ourselves the same question at some point, how do I make more money? And maybe an even tougher question, how do I ask for a raise? Now before we get started, let’s true a few things up. There is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting more money. Life gets expensive. Rent, gas, insurance, and groceries go up. The challenge is that employers don’t typically give raises because our bills increased. They give raises because our value has increased. And that’s what I’d like to talk about today. A lot of us think a raise starts when we walk into our supervisor’s office to discuss our performance review and or our raise. Well It doesn’t. The truth is that a thought of our raise starts months before that meeting. A raise starts with our habits. Every day we’re building a reputation. People notice things. Maybe not immediately or every day. But over time, they notice. Who shows up on time and stays productive? Who complains and who volunteers? Who learns new tasks? Who can be trusted and depended on? Who needs constant supervision and who solves problems instead of creating them? Our raise often starts with answers to those questions. I’ve got to say it again. I know I keep bringing it up. But being THAT employee just pays off. Every workplace has one. You know exactly who I’m talking about. That employee. The one everyone wants on their shift. The one the supervisor calls first and the one coworkers trust. The man or woman who can handle difficult assignments and gets opportunities. The one who gets promoted. The one who gets raises. What makes them different? Usually, it’s not because they’re the smartest person. Usually, it’s not because they’ve been there the longest. It’s because they’re dependable. They’re accountable and consistent. When they say they’ll do something, it gets done. When they make a mistake, they own it. When something needs attention, they step up. Those traits are incredibly valuable in our worlds. Reliability is really a superpower. Let’s talk about attendance. I know. Not the most exciting topic. But well worth mentioning again. Imagine you’re a supervisor with twenty employees. Five call in regularly. Three are late every week. Two disappear during breaks. Several perform differently every day. Then there’s one person. They’re always there. Always prepared and ready to work. Who do you think gets the first opportunity? Who is going to get cross-trained and promoted? Which one gets the bigger raise? I think reliability is one of the most underrated skills in the workplace. You don’t need special training or need a certification or a degree. You simply show up and do what you said you would do. Consistently. And believe me, consistency gets noticed. Here’s one of the fastest ways to increase your value. Again, I know I harp on it at least once a month but learn another task. Then another and another. Cross-training is like adding tools to your toolbox. Maybe you’re a forklift operator. Learn receiving and learn shipping. Learn a little about inventory control, quality inspection, and cycle counting. Learn the WMS. Learn the paperwork and the computer side. Even how transportation functions. Why? Because the more problems you can solve, the more valuable you become. And companies pay for value. The employee who can perform three jobs often becomes more valuable than the employee who only performs one. Another thing I bring up probably too often is attitude. And before somebody says, here we go with the motivational stuff. Hear me out. A positive attitude isn’t pretending everything is perfect. A positive attitude means being part of the solution. Every workplace has challenges. Every warehouse and transportation department has bad days. Every production line has setbacks. Our leaders notice who responds constructively. They notice who keeps moving forward and who encourages others. Of course attitude doesn’t replace skill. But attitude often determines who gets the opportunity to develop those skills. And heres a biggie, one word that can separate average employees from future leaders. Accountability. Accountability means owning your results. When things go well, great. When things don’t go well, own that too. No excuses or finger-pointing or blaming everyone else. The employee who says that was my mistake. Here’s what happened. Here’s how I’ll prevent it next time. Is far more valuable than the employee who spends ten minutes explaining why nothing was their fault. Our managers trust accountable people. Trust creates opportunity. Opportunity creates advancement and advancement creates raises. Ok, now it’s time to ask for a raise. Let’s say you’ve been doing everything we’ve discussed. You’ve improved, cross-trained and learned other tasks, you’ve become reliable, you’ve added value. Now it’s time to discuss our compensation. I think here’s where many of us make a mistake. We walk into the office and say I need more money. Unfortunately, that’s not a strong business case. Instead, let’s think like a professional or even an owner. Let’s approach it like a leader. Build your case. Show your accomplishments. We need to write them down and create a list. For example, perfect attendance for 12 months, trained on three additional positions, helped reduce picking errors, assisted with onboarding new employees, improved productivity by 30 pallets per hour, reduced damage claims and maintained safety compliance, and learned the new equipment, as well as receiving positive feedback from my management team and customers. Specific examples, data, and facts matter. When you can demonstrate your value, the conversation changes. Don’t bring problems, bring solutions. This is one of the biggest career secrets I’ve learned over forty years. Anybody can identify problems. Leaders identify solutions. Imagine walking into your manager’s office and saying I’ve noticed we’re losing time during shift startup. I have three ideas that may improve productivity. That’s different. Or I think we could reduce loading errors if we adjusted the staging process. Or I’d like to help train new associates because I think we can improve retention. Now you’re thinking beyond your job. You’re showing you’re thinking about the operation. And that’s valuable. Here’s another secret, or opinion I guess! Raises become easier when your goals align with the company’s goals. What does your company care about? Safety? Quality? Productivity? Attendance? Customer service? Retention? Cost reduction? If you can demonstrate how your efforts helped support those goals, you’re speaking the language leadership understands. You’re not saying I want more money. You’re saying I helped move the organization forward. See the big difference there? So how do we ask for a raise? Keep it professional and simple. Something like thank you for taking the time to meet with me. I’ve really enjoyed my role and the opportunities I’ve had here. Over the past year I’ve expanded my skills, improved my performance, and taken on additional responsibilities. I’d like to discuss my future with the company and whether my compensation reflects the value I’m currently providing. Notice what’s missing? No demands. No ultimatums. No threats. Just facts. Professional facts. And then what if the answer is no? First, don’t get emotional. Get information. Ask what skills or accomplishments would you like to see from me before we revisit this conversation? Now you’ve created a roadmap. Maybe they want more leadership or more productivity. Maybe they want additional certifications, or they want more time in the role. Whatever the answer, now you know what target you’re aiming for. And that’s valuable information. Let’s wrap up with this thought. Raises aren’t earned in a fifteen minute meeting. They’re earned in hundreds of small decisions over time. Showing up. Being on time. Learning another task. Helping a teammate. Theres’s hundreds of little important things, oh, here’s a big one, we’ve talked about owning our mistakes. And maintaining a positive attitude. Taking safety seriously. Thinking like a leader. Bringing solutions. Supporting company goals. Those things build value. And like we learned a couple of weeks ago, value builds trust and trust builds opportunity. And not sounding all motivational on you but I’ll add that opportunity builds careers and careers build income. If you’re listening today and wondering how to earn more money in warehousing, transportation, manufacturing, or production, start by asking yourself, am I becoming more valuable than I was six months ago? Because the employees who continually increase their value rarely have to chase opportunities. Opportunities start chasing them. Until next time, work smart, keep learning, and above all work safe out there!

Yep, there is a gap between available jobs and job ready candidates. There are jobs available, but employers are becoming much more selective about who they hire. A few years ago, many facilities were simply trying to fill positions. Today, employers are looking for candidates who can bring reliability, flexibility, safety awareness, and productivity on their first day. What many of us applicants don’t realize is that employers are often evaluating far more than just experience. I’m Marty here with Warehouse and Operations as a Career. So let’s talk about that. I recently was enjoying lunch with a long time mentor and the subject of hiring came up. He made a point I had to ponder on for a moment. He commented that although training was expensive, and of course experience is important, he had learned or felt like, in todays environment, things like attendance history, reliable transportation, the ability to be flexible with shift times, and a strong safety mindset along with a wiliness to cross train, and at least average communication skills were what he was placing more weight on these days. And he made it a point to comment on, what he’d look for first was a stable work history. The challenge for us applicants becomes, I can do the job is no longer enough. Employers are asking, can I depend on you to do the job consistently? And some other hurdles for us, or a few things I thought of start off with those pesky Applicant tracking systems or ATS. Many applicants never speak to a recruiter because their application gets filtered before a human ever sees it. And wage expectations vs market rates. Applicants often see social media posts about higher wages, while many entry level positions are paying less than expected. And I’m seeing more skilled equipment requirements. Many facilities now want forklift, reach truck, electric pallet jack, clamp truck, or inventory experience, even for positions that were once considered entry-level. And communication challenges. I hear this every day, and I think both sides are probably quilty, but Recruiters frequently comment on the struggle to reach applicants who don’t answer calls. Have full voicemail boxes. And don’t respond to texts or emails. Then we have competition from better candidates. When ten applicants apply for a position, employers often choose the one with better attendance, longer tenure, and the better interviewing skills. The good news is that the hurdle is also the opportunity. A candidate who shows up on time, returns calls, has a positive attitude, accepts coaching, prioritizes safety, is willing to learn additional equipment can often outperform applicants with years more experience. As we’ve discussed many times on WAOC, the industry still offers tremendous career opportunities. The challenge isn’t necessarily finding a job, it’s demonstrating that you’re the person an employer can trust with the opportunity. So, if there’s applicants looking for work, and employers looking for workers, why are they not connecting? Well, I think the hiring game has changed. Twenty years ago, many warehouses and production facilities hired almost entirely on experience. Could you drive a forklift, pull an order, load a trailer, or operate a machine? If the answer was yes, there was a pretty good chance you’d get hired on the spot. Today, things are just different. Most employers are still looking for skills, but they’re looking for something else first. They’re looking for dependability. They’re looking for consistency. And they’re looking for people they can count on. I’ve sat across the table from hundreds, maybe thousands, of hiring managers throughout my career. And I can tell you something that might surprise applicants. Many managers would rather hire a dependable employee with less experience than an experienced employee there not sure can be counted on. Think about that for a moment. The employee who shows up every day, arrives on time, follows instructions, works safely, and wants to learn often becomes more valuable than the person with years of experience but poor attendance or a negative attitude. Let’s talk about the first hurdle many applicants never even see. The Applicant Tracking System, or ATS. Years ago, an application landed directly on someone’s desk. Today, many applications are screened by software before a recruiter ever sees them. A computer may be reviewing your application before a human being does. Now, I’m not saying that’s good or bad. It’s just reality. If your work history is incomplete, if your resume doesn’t match the position, or if key information is missing, you may never make it to the interview stage. Many applicants think nobody called me. The reality may be nobody ever saw the application. That’s why accuracy on our part matters. Taking an extra few minutes to complete an application correctly matters. And that’s why we should tailor our resumes to the position we’re applying for. Now let’s talk about what employers are really seeking. Most people think employers hire labor. I don’t. I think employers hire reliability. Let’s say I have two candidates. Candidate A has five years of forklift experience. Candidate B has one year of forklift experience. Most people automatically assume Candidate A gets the job. What if Candidate A has changed jobs every three months and has attendance concerns and arrives late for the interview? But Candidate B has a solid work history, great references, and arrives fifteen minutes early? The decision suddenly becomes much harder. In fact, many employers will choose Candidate B. Because skills can be taught. Reliability is much harder to teach. Here’s another challenge I see every day. Applicants submit applications. Recruiters call. Nobody answers. Recruiters text. No response. Recruiters email. No reply. A few days later, the applicant says nobody contacted me. Now, I’m not picking on anyone. But communication matters. If you’re actively looking for work, we need to answer our phone, check our voicemail and respond to texts. And watch our email. I’ve seen qualified candidates lose opportunities simply because another applicant responded first. Speed matters in recruiting. Especially in warehousing and manufacturing. Sometimes positions are filled within hours. Not days. Not weeks. Literally, just hours. Transportation is often part of the interview before the interview. Can you reliably get to work? Can you make a 5:00 AM shift? Can you work overtime? Can you handle weekends when required? Employers understand that life happens. Cars break down. Traffic exists. Emergencies occur. But employers are also trying to determine whether attendance problems are likely to become a pattern. Remember attendance drives productivity. And productivity drives customer satisfaction. And customer satisfaction keeps facilities open and growing. Again, everything is connected. Another thing I’m seeing is that Years ago, some facilities focused heavily on production. Today, safety and production must work together. Most employers are looking for candidates who understand safety expectations. They want associates who wear PPE correctly, follow procedures, report hazards, work safely around equipment, and take training seriously. The old mindset of I’ve been doing this for twenty years doesn’t impress many employers anymore. The new mindset is I’ve been doing this for twenty years and I’m still learning. That’s the employee organizations want. Safety conscious employees protect themselves, their coworkers, and the company. And I think another hurdle for us is Technology. Today we have RF scanners, Warehouse Management Systems, voice picking systems, tablets, inventory software, electronic inspections and productivity tracking. Some applicants become nervous when they hear the word technology. And we can’t. All systems can be learned. The bigger issue is willingness I think. Employers aren’t necessarily looking for technology experts. Again, they’re looking for people willing to learn. A positive attitude toward technology often beats resistance every time. I think competition is stronger than ever. You’re not competing against the job. You’re competing against other applicants. Imagine ten people apply for the same position. Who gets the interview and the offer? Often, it’s the candidate who demonstrates better attendance better communication better attitude better stability better preparation. Notice that experience isn’t the only factor. Sometimes it isn’t even the most important factor. The candidate who prepares wins. The candidate who follows up and demonstrates professionalism wins. A recruiter told me last week. If I could sit every applicant down and share one message from employers, it would be this, we want to hire you. Think about that. Recruiters don’t wake up hoping positions stay open. Supervisors don’t want to work short staffed. Managers don’t enjoy running operations with vacancies. Everyone wants positions filled. But employers need confidence. Confidence that we’ll show up. Confidence that we plan on staying. Confidence that we’ll work safely and represent the organization well. That’s what they’re evaluating. Not just whether we can do the work. But whether they can trust us with the work. So, what can us applicants do? I think it’s simple. If we own it. We need to show up early. And we need to dress appropriately. If we’re interviewing as an equipment operator or selector, wear our steel or composite toe footwear. We have to answer our phone and return calls. The hiring agent may be making 50 calls, the next person may answer there’s. And its so important that we bring energy to interviews. And were honest about our experience. And demonstrate willingness to learn. Show our enthusiasm. Ask questions. Express interest in advancement. Employers love hearing things like I’d like to learn more. I’d like to cross-train. I’d like to grow into a lead role someday. Those statements communicate commitment. And like we’ve learned, commitment gets attention. As we wrap up today’s episode, I’d like to leave you with a challenge. If you’ve been applying for jobs and not getting results, don’t immediately assume there are no opportunities. Ask yourself a different question. Am I making it easy for an employer to hire me? Am I communicating effectively? Am I presenting myself professionally? Am I demonstrating reliability? Am I showing a willingness to learn? It’s just a fact that in today’s world, employers are looking for more than experience. They’re looking for trust. They’re looking for consistency. They’re looking for commitment. The jobs are out there. The opportunities and careers are out there. Not to sound corny but the question isn’t always whether the job is available. The question is, Are you available for the job? Ok, we’re running over today so with all that I’ll say thank you for joining me today, and please share any thoughts on job opportunities with our Facebook group @whseops or our Instagram feed waocpodcast. Until next time, be safe, stay productive, and keep building your career.

Last week while talking about all the different types of shipping containers I mentioned strapping and banding, closing up and securing D containers, and our loads. We had a few people write in asking if I could explain banding. A couple of listeners took strapping as securing the load in the trailer. So today I thought we’d walk through not only strapping and banding, but also the more common things we use for securing our loads. I’m Marty and I thank you for stopping in for another episode of Warehouse and Operations as a Career. Ok, so the two most common types of strapping are, steel strapping, which, in many instances, are referred to as Metal Banding, and then we have the plastic strapping, which can be comprised of Polypropylene or Polyester. Each has its own purpose, advantages, weaknesses, and safety concerns. And trust me, if you’ve ever had a steel band snap beside your face or watched a poorly strapped pallet explode in a trailer, you develop a lot of respect for all three! At its core, banding is about securing items for transportation, stabilizing product, preventing shifting, maintaining pallet integrity, and of course reducing product damage, and increasing safety. Think about what all freight goes through, a forklift or pallet jack running it through the warehouse, a trailer bouncing around on the roads and over potholes, rail transportation, ocean movement, temperature changes, stretch wrap tension and weight shifts during turns and braking. So, lets start with steel strapping or metal banding. Steel strapping is typically used for heavy industrial products, steel coils, lumber, brick and block, pipe, building materials, those kinds of things. Steel is chosen because it has very high tensile strength, doesn’t stretch much if at all and has excellent holding power. When a load absolutely cannot shift, steel often wins. But it doesn’t come without limitations and concerns. Steel banding is dangerous. A couple of concerns are, number 1, is snap back. This is probably the biggest danger. When tension is released incorrectly, steel can whip back violently. And I mean violently. That band becomes a razor-sharp spring under pressure. Injuries can include facial cuts, eye injuries, fingers and deep cuts to our arms. Some injuries could even require surgery. Early on in my banding adventures, I had tightened a band on a d container filled with heavy meter parts. I had used the tension ratchet to tighten it pretty tight on the pallet. While getting my crimping tool positioned it snapped at a corner post. Ever since that moment I give strapping and banding the respect it deserves! And number 2 is rust. Steel can rust in humid conditions, outdoor storage areas, and refrigerated environments. Rust weakens the strap over time. And the 3rd concern is the weight. Steel is heavier than plastic. That can mean higher shipping costs and more difficult handling. And lastly, product damage. Steel bands can crush or damage softer freight. Especially things like cardboard, consumer goods, appliances, food packaging. Now let’s talk about the most common strapping in today’s warehouse world. Plastic banding. There are two major types Polypropylene, used for light duty pallets, cartons, retail shipments, newspaper bundles and such. And then we have polyester, used for heavier pallets, beverage loads, and many applications that were once dominated by the steel strapping. Polyester or PET is the stronger version and has replaced steel in many operations. Some of the advantages of plastic strapping? Well, there safer than steel. This is a huge reason facilities prefer plastic now. Plastic can certainly still hurt someone, but it generally does not whip with the same deadly force as steel. Less severe recoil. Less sharp edges. Still dangerous, but safer. And it’s lightweight. Plastic is easier to carry, use, store, and dispose of. And it’s a little more flexible to work with. Plastic stretches slightly. That’s actually beneficial for loads that shift naturally, settle during transportation, and expand or contract with temperature. Think of my watermelon example being packed in d containers last week. And another thing is plastic does not rust. This makes it useful in those cooler environments, in freezer operations and outdoor storage. Oh, and plastic is usually cheaper than steel. And in today’s operations, cost matters. But plastic isn’t perfect either. Its strength is lower, even the PET or polyester strapping. Very heavy freight can stretch and snap plastic, allowing a shift during transport. And it can be more heat sensitive. Extreme heat can weaken plastic. Think of a hot trailer in Texas during August? Let’s see, what else on banding. Oh, I want to mention how banding can be applied several ways. I’m most experienced using the manual tools. Hand tensioners, crimper sleeves and crimpers. Probably more common today are the battery tools. These tools adjust the tension, the seal, and cut automatically. A Huge productivity improvement. But also dangerous if improperly used. And then you have the large automatic banding machines. They may be used in distribution centers, manufacturing plants, and production facilities. Loads pass through automated arches that apply straps quickly and consistently. They’re great for high volume, consistency, and speed. All of these, everything I’ve mentioned can be dangerous. Some common safety mistakes are standing directly in front of a tensioned strap. Improper cutting. Associates sometimes cut steel banding without controlling the tension. That strap explodes outward. And we should never use damaged strapping. A kinked strap is a weakened strap. And never reuse bent steel, frayed plastic, or cracked seals. Oh, and always use edge protectors. Edge protectors prevent product crushing and helps prevent load shifting. Skipping them can and will causes failures. And another biggie for me is too much tension. You’re going to crush cartons, damage packaging, and, as we’ve learned, it’s just not safe, or even useful. Wither you’re operating the bander, any type of bander, or training or assigning associates to work with banding, we should always wear the proper ppe we’ve been assigned to use. Our safety glasses, cut resistant gloves, even face shields in heavy steel applications, and then long sleeves in some environments. So, my thoughts on steel vs plastic. I don’t think one is universally “better.” I think the correct question is what type of freight are we securing, and why are we securing it? Because really the freight determines the strapping. Here’s what I really think the takeaway is. Banding is one of those warehouse tasks people underestimate. It looks simple. But it combines stored energy, sometimes heavy freight, sharp materials, and human behavior. And that combination can become dangerous quickly. A properly strapped pallet travels safely across the country. A poorly strapped pallet becomes a workplace accident waiting to happen. And just like everything else in warehousing, the little things matter. The associate applying that final band may be the last person protecting the freight, the driver, the receiver, and the customer. Ok, talking about how we use strapping to secure loads made me think of a few other tools, probably more common tools, we use every day to help us secure the loads. Let’s talk about a few of those real quick. First up bulkheads. Bulkheads are used to separate and secure product areas within a trailer. They create a barrier that prevents freight from shifting forward or backward during transportation. You’ll see solid bulkheads or ridged dividers used in things like grocery or food distribution to keep the freezer and cooler areas at temperature and the freight separated. Kind of creating temperature controlled vaults or compartments in the trailer. Then we have Bubble Bulkheads or Inflatable Bulkheads. These are pretty cool because they function almost like giant airbags. They’re placed in empty spaces between freight sections and inflated. Some advantages they bring to the table are how they are lightweight, flexible, and can fill any odd-shaped spaces. Of course there are some limitations. They can puncture. They’ll require proper inflation, and there not always suitable for heavy shifting loads. Next up the Cardboard Bulkheads. Sometimes the simplest solutions are the most effective. These are heavy corrugated dividers used to separate lighter products. Sometimes there used to identify different stops for the driver too. There inexpensive, disposable, and lightweight. But they have limited strength, they can crush under heavier pressure, and they can present some moisture concerns. And then anyone that’s ever looked down the walls of many trailers, you’ve probably noticed those long metal rails with repeating slots. Those are E-tracks. E-tracks are mounted horizontally or vertically and create attachment points for securing freight. The straps that clip into them are called E-straps. These things are great and allow for fast installation, and they are easily adjustable, they allow for multiple anchor points, and they are reusable, for like ever! They can be used for securing almost any type of freight. Appliances, furniture, palletized freight, and mixed loads. In distribution there great to secure the wall of freight as we stack down the deliveries. The mistake people sometimes make is thinking it’s clipped in, so we’re done. Well not exactly. The e straps still require proper tension and placement. A loose strap isn’t securing anything. It’s just decorating the trailer wall! One of my personal favorites as a driver is the load bar. Load bars are one of those tools many people have seen but never really thought much about. They’re adjustable bars placed horizontally between trailer walls. They apply pressure and help keep freight from moving or falling forward towards us or the back door. There fast and easy to setup, reusable, and excellent for partial loads. Oh, and I should probably mention the butterfly load bar. Butterfly load bars work like the pole or regular roll bar but use wider stabilizing ends or wing-like designs that spread pressure over larger areas. These create increased contact area, better load stability, and reduced pressure damage. These are great for the route and delivery drivers. The customer never sees the banded or strapped d container or banded pallet, the load bar, the E-strap, the bulkhead, or any of the other precautions us light industrial professionals have taken to protect their products. They only see the result when the trailer door opens and is delivered without damages. Our freight protection tools and our efforts may never get the recognition, but they’re often the reason the product arrives looking exactly like it did when it left our warehouse. That’s ownership in my opinion! Speaking of ownership, I’ve got to get back to work now myself. I hope you enjoyed todays topic, if so please tell a friend about us. Y’all be safe out there this week and always put safety first.

Marty here, and thanks for stopping by Warehouse and Operations as a Career! I had a listener comment that on several episodes I had said something like early is on time and on time is late, and if you’re on time you’re late. They stated that I placed way too much weight on the time clock. And I guess somewhere I had written or said that I had learned more by always being early, setting in the breakroom and listening to or talking with the other shift coming or going. They stated as long as they punched in a minute before the shift their manager shouldn’t be concerned with their schedule. They went on to share that their management wanted them on the floor, dressed out, and ready for the preshift meeting but the timeclock was in the breakroom. At least a two minute walk from the gathering point. Well, let me clarify my thoughts there. I think you should always be you. And you’ll probably be fine. But, if you are an early one, one collaborating with others, and being inquisitive, I assure you, you will earn more throughout your career. But seriously, everyone does have the right, at least to themselves, to, well, be you. And I support that 100%. So, after going down that path, it made me think about that first 30 minutes of our shift, and then the last 30 minutes as well! I’ve always believed that hour is the most important two pieces of my shift. Now a lot of people and managers think the middle of the shift is where everything happens. That’s where the work gets done, the trucks get loaded, the orders get selected, the freight gets moved, and the productivity numbers are at their peak. And that’s true. But I feel that experienced operations people know something else. You can usually tell how a shift is going to go within the first 30 minutes, and unfortunately, a lot of accidents and poor decisions happen during the last 30 minutes. Those two windows can determine the safety, productivity, morale, and professionalism, what am I wanting to say, Culture, of the entire operation. And it really doesn’t matter what position we hold. Whether we’re unloading trailers, selecting orders, operating forklifts, working sanitation, dispatching trucks, handling inventory control, or leading teams, how we start and how we finish matters. A lot. I’m going to say it defines the shift or its culture. Let’s start with the beginning of our day. And honestly, I think the shift actually starts before we ever clock in. It starts when the alarm goes off, and with how much sleep we get whether we prepared our lunch, laid out our clothes, filled up the gas tank the night before, or whether we woke up already behind schedule. We’ve all done it. Wake up late. Rush through traffic. Walk into the building frustrated. Grab a scanner or piece of equipment and jump right into the shift without mentally arriving yet. And when that happens, we carry our chaos into the operation with us. Now I know life happens. Kids get sick. Traffic backs up. Life is expensive. Some people are working two jobs. I understand all of that. But there’s also something to be said for preparation and routine. Professional associates learn that the shift before the shift matters. I really do believe that showing up ten or fifteen minutes early changes things. It gives us time to breathe. Time to mentally prepare, to stretch, to review assignments and to attend startup meetings without rushing through the door halfway distracted. And our startup meetings matter. I know sometimes we look at them as repetitive, and think oh no another safety topic again. We’re listening to the case counts, the trailer counts, and our productivity and error numbers again. But don’t those meetings set the tone? That’s where the communication begins and where the expectations are shared. And, in my opinion, strong startup meetings can prevent injuries and operational concerns before they ever happen. Here’s something I learned years ago. A chaotic first hour usually creates a chaotic day. When batteries aren’t charged, and equipment inspections aren’t completed, and maybe the dock doors are blocked with the previous shifts freight, or our assignments aren’t understood and our leadership is scattered trying to find everyone, or attitudes are negative. It’s going to be long day. We all know that one late start can affect productivity for an entire shift. That one missing pallet can create indirect time for us. And that one forklift issue not caught during our pre-trip can become a safety incident later. And oh my goodness, can’t attitudes spread quickly inside the warehouse. One negative or rushed person at startup can affect ten more people before first break. But positivity and preparedness spreads just as quick. I that’s why leadership being visible during startup matters so much. Associates notice when supervisors are engaged and they notice when leadership is walking the floor. And it’s easy to pick up on when management already looks stressed before the shift even starts. And new employees especially pay attention during those first thirty minutes. That’s when the culture gets introduced to them. All the posters and slogans are cool, but the new boot learns through our behavior. They watch how equipment gets inspected, and whether safety rules ar being followed, how people are talking to each other, and whether procedures actually matter. And many times, they’ll mirror what they see. Ok, now let’s move to the other side of the shift. The last 30 minutes. And honestly, this may be one of the most dangerous periods of the day inside warehousing and transportation. Because by then, fatigue has entered the picture. Our feet may hurt and our backs may ache. People are mentally tired. Production numbers are on our mind and the clock starts becoming everyone’s focus. We’ve all heard it, said it, or thought it before. Just one more pallet. Just hurry up and finish it. Ot thought I’ll clean it up tomorrow. Or it’s close enough. And that’s when shortcuts begin. Maybe someone skips wrapping a pallet correctly, or someone rushes backing out of a trailer or someone jumps off equipment instead of maintaining their three points of contact. Maybe someone ignores a spill because the sanitation team will get it later or a forklift operator stops paying attention to pedestrians because mentally they’re already in the parking lot. And unfortunately, many injuries happen right there, at the end of the shift. Not because people are bad employees. But because they’re tired. The scary part about fatigue is many times we don’t even realize how distracted we’ve become. That’s why experienced operations leaders are or should be walking the floor during the last hour of the shift. This is when our energy levels change, our awareness and patience changes, and urgency can become dangerous. I was told once to watch my team and don’t let them mentally clock out before they physically clock out. Once that happens, safety and quality begin dropping fast. You can literally see it spread across the dock. People stop communicating. Housekeeping slips. People start parking their equipment anywhere. And paperwork gets rushed or not completed at all. Sometimes people become so focused on leaving on time that they stop focusing on working safely. Now don’t misunderstand me. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to go home. We all work hard. But professionalism and us being That employee means finishing strong too. Not just starting strong. Oh and here’s another bullet point I wanted to throw in there. The last thirty minutes are not just about ending our shift, they’re about preparing the next shift. Remember another one of those quotes we’ve all heard at a start up meetings, how it’s our responsibility to set the plate for the next shift! And I’ll use another one of the words we learned 2 weeks ago, I think this says a lot about our ownership. Do we leave equipment plugged in? Do we report damaged the pallets? Do we clean up shrink wrap and debris, leaving our work areas clean and organized or do we leave chaos for somebody else to fix? We all know that if batteries are dead, or equipment is damaged, and replenishments weren’t completed, or if paperwork is missing or incomplete, the next team starts behind before they even begin. Often our teams are measured by what we leave behind for others. I think strong facilities operate like connected shifts, not separate teams competing against each other. And I want to add that leadership plays a huge role in both the first and last thirty minutes. Like we discussed earlier, a disengaged startup creates confusion, just like a disengaged close creates carelessness. I’m just going to say it. Associates need to see leadership on the floor, they need communication and consistency. Sometimes just seeing a supervisor engaged on the floor at the end of the shift changes the entire energy of a department. At the end of the day, warehousing and transportation are fast-moving environments. We deal with freight, equipment, deadlines, productivity, customers, and pressure. But sometimes the smallest moments create the biggest outcomes. The first thirty minutes. And the last thirty minutes. I think the best associates understand it, because the best leaders teach it. And the strongest operations build cultures around it. Because how we start creates momentum and how we finish defines our professionalism. And in our world, both matter. Did anything we talk about today change how you’re going to walk into or out of your shift tomorrow? If so or if you have any thoughts you’d like to share please do so on our Facebook or Instagram feeds and of course you can send us an email as well! Yall be safe out there this week and I hope you’ll join us again next week.

Welcome back to Warehouse and Operations as a Career. I’m Marty, and today we’re talking about a piece of equipment that almost everyone in our industry recognizes, but not everyone fully understands it. If you’re a long time listener you’ll remember I spent about 6 years operating it on the 2nd shift, in the outbound operations within the food service distribution arena. We’re going to talk about the cherry picker today. Now its proper name, or if your ordering one from the manufacturer, it’ll be referred to as an order picker. This machine helped shape the modern warehouse, the newer e-commerce departments, and really, distribution as a whole. It’s increased productivity, allowed us to build higher racking, with many more selection slots, helping reduce the buildings footprint, reducing the cost of real-estate needed. But it’s also one of the most unforgiving pieces of equipment to operate. So today, I want to really walk through where the order picker came from, why it exists, what it’s good at, where and what it struggles with, how it’s used, and most importantly, the dangers, limitations, and responsibility that come with it. This isn’t just about the equipment. And I know I harp on it, but it’s about our mindset, maturity, and our career. And you ought to know, I’m going to take this opportunity to again stating that you should never get on or even touch a piece of equipment or machine that you have not been trained and certified to be on. Now that all that’s out of the way, let’s talk about the cherry picker! Believe it or not, the cherry picker didn’t start in a warehouse. Its earliest versions were used in agriculture, specifically for harvesting fruit. Farmers needed a way to lift workers safely into trees so they could hand-pick produce without ladders or unsafe climbing. The concept was simple, instead of bringing the fruit down, bring the worker up. As warehousing evolved, especially in the mid-20th century, that same idea became essential indoors. Warehouses started growing up instead of out. Land became expensive. Inventory counts increased. SKU or item counts exploded. Full pallets weren’t always the answer anymore. Traditional forklifts could move pallets just fine, but they couldn’t safely lift people to pick individual cases. And that’s where the order picker was born. By combining a powered industrial truck with an elevated operator platform, warehouses could store product higher, pick individual cases efficiently, reduce walking and ladder use, and dramatically increase picking productivity. Over time, these machines were refined with better controls, safety systems, harness requirements, and more stable designs. What we ended up with is one of the most productive, and demanding machines in the building. The defining feature of an order picker is simple but powerful, the operator rises or goes up in the air, up to the higher pick slots with the platform and forks, with a pallet usually. And that changed everything. Instead of pulling pallets down to floor level or relying on ladders and mezzanines, the operator works directly at the pick face or pick slot. Here’s why that matters. First, vertical access. Order pickers allow warehouses to fully utilize high-bay racking. Space that would otherwise be wasted becomes valuable inventory real estate. Second, case-level picking. This machine is built for piece and case selection, not full pallet movement. That makes it ideal for retail, grocery, and e-commerce operations where accuracy matters as much as or more than speed. Third, productivity and accuracy. A trained operator following a clean pick path can maintain a strong cases-per-hour average while reducing errors, with less walking, less searching for the product, less backtracking. And fourth, when used properly, reduced physical strain. The machine does the lifting, not the operator. No constant ladder climbing. No unsafe stretching to reach the product. And no carrying cases long distances. But, and this is a biggie, all of those benefits only exist when the equipment is used correctly and the warehouse is layed out and slotted properly. It needs to be said that order pickers are a specialized piece of equipment. They are not one-size-fits-all machines. They perform best in the high-bay warehouses, and narrow-aisle configurations. They require clean, dry, flat floors, and facilities with defined pick paths and in operations with high SKU and item counts. They are common in retail distribution centers, grocery warehouses and those large e-commerce fulfillment operations. They are not ideal for outdoor use, on uneven or damaged flooring, and up front in our dock areas or congested pedestrian zones and walkways. If your facility isn’t designed for elevated picking, an order picker becomes more risk than reward. Now we get to the part that separates training from experience. The order picker is one of the most dangerous pieces of equipment in the warehouse if misused. The biggest risk is obvious, falls from height. That’s why harnesses and are not optional and why lanyards must be properly anchored and why gates must be closed before elevation. A fall from an order picker is rarely a minor incident. It’s usually life-altering or worse. Another major risk is stability. Order pickers are designed to lift vertically, not travel or turn at height. Sudden movements, improper positioning, or failure to fully lower before traveling can and will create serious tip-over hazards. Then there are the pinch points and struck-by hazards. Operators work inches from steel racking, the beams, and product. One moment of distraction can result in crushed fingers, head injuries, or worse. And I want to point out, one of the most common unsafe behaviors, and that is overreaching. Instead of repositioning the truck, operators may stretch just a little farther. That’s when our balance can be or is lost, and that’s when falls happen. Your machine will always win that fight. A professional order picker operator follows a rhythm and the rules. It starts with his or her pre-shift inspection. Brakes, tires, controls, mast, chains, horn, lights, harness, and lanyard. This isent just more paperwork or a law, it’s self-preservation! Mounting the platform means three points of contact. Harness on. Lanyard secured and the gate closed and latched. Traveling means forks down, eyes up, horn used when needed, and awareness of surroundings. When elevating, the operator is square to the rack, lifts smoothly, and keeps their body inside the platform. No leaning and no shortcuts. After the pick is completed, the platform comes all the way down before travel every time. That consistency, following the procedure is what prevents injuries. Lets see, what else, uh, let’s talk about some of the controls. Theres several different models but most order pickers share common controls, forward and reverse travel, lift and lower, steering controls, a horn, an emergency stop, a deadman switch, and a battery indicator, and a pallet clamp or pallet grab vice. A trained operator doesn’t just know what each control does. They know to use them. It’s important to understand that training is not optional. Operating an order picker is not a right, and it’s a lot of responsibility. Of course that proper training includes classroom instruction, demonstration of the controls and handling, a hands-on evaluation, a review of the site-specific hazards and the observation and certification. Our powered industrial truck training or PIT training. And here’s another opportunity for me to state to never, ever, get on or touch a piece of equipment or machine that you’ve not been trained or certified to be on or operate! And remember that authorization can be removed if unsafe behavior is observed or we don’t act and operate it responsibly, and that’s not punishment, that’s our own fault and for our own good and the good of others. Because the goal isn’t speed. The goal is going home. Here’s the bigger takeaway. The order picker rewards discipline, patience, awareness and respect for process and position. By the way, those same traits are what make great leads, supervisors, and managers. People who master this equipment often become the people others trust because they understand the consequences. The cherry picker teaches you that rushing doesn’t save time. Shortcuts don’t make you efficient and safety isn’t a rule, it’s a responsibility. I loved my time on the cherry picker, it is one of the most powerful tools in the warehouse and one of the most dangerous when disrespected. The difference in those two statements isn’t the machine. It’s the operator. I always love talking about the many different pieces of equipment and the machines we use in our industry. If you have any positions or tools used in the light industry world, shoot us an email to host@warehouseandoperationsasacareer.com or post a comment on our Facebook page using @whseops, or hit us up on Instagram at waocpodcast and I’ll do my best to find us an answer! Well, I hope you enjoyed today’s episode and thanks for spending your time with us, and I’d appreciate it if you’d share the show with a friend or two! Remember to respect our equipment, to be safe at all we do, and that we have others depending on us and waiting for us to return home each day! Y’all be safe out there!

When I talk about warehouse sanitation, I often say, “It’s a great way to get your foot in the door.” And every now and then, someone pushes back and says, “I don’t want to clean restrooms or take out trash.” I understand that reaction. On the surface, sanitation doesn’t sound exciting. It doesn’t come with a forklift, a title, or a clipboard. It came up again this week so I wanted to explain a little better what the warehouse sanitation role really is, what it teaches you, and why it has launched more warehouse careers than people realize. Because warehouse sanitation is not just cleaning. It’s operations support. It’s safety. It’s compliance. And for the right person, it’s a proving ground. Think of it like this. At its core, warehouse sanitation exists to protect people, product, and the process. A clean warehouse is a safer warehouse, a compliant warehouse, and ultimately a more productive warehouse. Yes, sanitation associates may clean restrooms and remove trash, although a lot of times that’s more of a role for the janitorial folks and departments, anyway, that work matters more than people realize. But in a warehouse or production environment, sanitation includes maintaining dock areas, storage aisles, production zones, and shared spaces so that operations can run without interruption and bottlenecks. Sanitation associates are often the first ones to notice leaks, spills, or damaged flooring, broken pallets and debris buildup, blocked exits or fire equipment, and unsafe conditions developing in the aisles, cross aisles, and dock areas over time. In many operations, especially your larger distribution operations, sanitation is not a background function, it is a frontline safety and compliance role. Auditors, inspectors, and customers notice cleanliness immediately, and sanitation teams are often the unsung reason a facility passes inspections. One of the most valuable things a sanitation associate learns is Good Manufacturing Practices, or GMPs. GMPs teach the why behind the rules. Why food can’t touch the floor. Why personal items are restricted in production areas. Why cleaning tools and equipment are color-coded and why documentation is so important and matters. Sanitation associates learn how contamination happens through people, equipment, and behavior. They learn how one mistake in one area can affect product quality downstream. Once someone understands GMPs, they become valuable across the entire warehouse. Receiving, picking, packing, shipping, and quality all rely on the same principles. GMP knowledge changes how people move, touch, store, and think about product. Sanitation associates don’t just follow rules, they help enforce a culture of cleanliness and accountability. And sanitation work is structured. There are daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly cleaning schedules that must be followed. Sometimes called the Master Sanitation List. This teaches sanitation associates how to manage time independently, how to prioritize critical areas, and how to complete work without constant supervision, and then most importantly, how to properly document completed tasks. Schedules don’t care if someone is motivated or not, the work still has to be done. Associates who learn to stay on schedule develop discipline quickly. When managers look for leads or trainers, they often look for people who can manage their time without reminders. Sanitation associates who consistently complete schedules are already proving they can handle responsibility. We also may be given classes, training, and certifications on handling cleaning chemicals, another area where sanitation roles quietly build professional skills. Associates are trained on proper dilution ratios, PPE requirements, SDS sheets, and safe storage practices. They learn that stronger is not better, and that improper mixing can create hazards instead of preventing them. Chemical misuse can damage floors and equipment, create slip hazards, most importantly violating safety regulations. Learning to follow chemical procedures teaches precision, patience, and respect for process. Again, traits that are essential in equipment operation, quality roles, and leadership. Those next steps we’re all after. Ok, what else did I make notes on. Alright, this is where the sanitation role starts to surprise people. Warehouse sanitation often involves powered and equipment and machines, and that equipment brings even more responsibility into play. Think of Industrial floor sweepers, walk-behind or ride-on, remove debris that creates safety hazards. Sanitation associates trained on sweepers learn to perform pre-use inspections, monitor battery levels, and operate safely around pedestrians and forklifts. They learn right-of-way rules, speed control, and awareness of blind spots. Now, we need to remember that sweepers operate in active aisles. That means sanitation associates must anticipate traffic patterns, understand dock activity, and adjust their cleaning routes based on production flow. This isn’t random driving, it’s operational awareness and has to be treated as such. And the floor scrubbers require even more thought. These machines deep clean concrete floors and are essential in GMP environments. Associates learn how water flow, detergent concentration, and recovery systems work together. They quickly learn that too much water or chemical creates slip hazards and damages floors. Scrubbers require planning, which areas are active? Which areas can be blocked for a while? How to communicate wet floors? That kind of forward thinking kind of mirrors the decision making required of supervisors and leads. Oh, and trash compactors. Trash compactors are powerful machines with strict safety rules. Sanitation associates learn load limits, prohibited materials, cycle timing, and lockout awareness. Compactors teach one key lesson, procedures exist for a reason. There are no shortcuts, no “just this once.” They can be dangerous. This mindset, follow the process every time, is exactly what safety managers look for when selecting people for advancement. And Balers. Many facilities recycle their cardboard, shrink wrap, and slip sheets. We’ll learn how to sort materials properly, safely load the baler, tie off the bales, and document counts or weights. Many facilities track recycling metrics, which introduce sanitation associates to cost control and sustainability efforts. Balers build organization skills and attention to detail, two traits essential in inventory control and leadership roles. What else did I note here, Sanitation associates work everywhere. They see inbound, outbound, production, and all of the common areas. They notice how shifts hand off work, where bottlenecks form, and where safety issues seem to repeat themselves. That exposure creates, what I like to call, big-picture thinkers. People who understand how departments interact often become strong supervisors because they already understand the operation as a whole. Remember how I’m always mentioning to understand the task before and after ours? So where can all this take us? Sanitation experience often leads to general warehouse associate roles, Forklift and equipment operator positions, quality control or safety support roles, inventory control or clerical positions, facilities or building maintenance support, and yes, front line management. Some of the most effective leaders I deal with started in sanitation, and they respect every role and understand compliance better than most. So about that, I don’t want to clean mindset. Here’s the truth I share often, careers aren’t built by avoiding necessary work. Sanitation teaches discipline, humility, consistency, and accountability. Remember, managers notice who shows up, with a positive attitude, follows procedures, and does the work, even work that others avoid. Sanitation isn’t about trash. It’s about trust. Warehouse sanitation doesn’t have to be a forever job, but it can be a powerful starting point. And it can be a great career. It builds safety awareness, equipment experience, operational understanding, and work ethic. Sanitation isn’t a dead end. It’s a foundation. And as we’ve learned, strong foundations support long careers. Well, I have to get back to work now myself. I hope I shed some light on why I feel sanitation is one of the strong starting points in our industry. I’d appreciate it if you’d pass the episode along to a friend, ask them to subscribe on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or any of their favorite Podcatchers, we’re even on YouTube! Let’s all do our part to bring more of those entering the workforce into our Industry. Until next week, please give every action and movement the respect it deserves, our family and friends need us to be safe and come back home as well and in as good of health as we left!

Welcome back to Warehouse and Operations as a Career. I’m your host, Marty T Hawkins. Today, I want to talk about something I’ve heard repeatedly over the years, but especially over the past few weeks, and that is the growing importance of, lets see, what am I going to call it, attitude over experience, in the light industrial world. We’ve spoke to attitude a couple of times recently but just this week, I had two different customers say almost the same thing to me. They both told me something like, yes, experience is important. But if you come across an applicant with a great attitude and a strong personality, set them up for an interview. That statement says a lot about where our industry is at, and it’s what I’d like to talk about today. Now, everything we’ve learned over the course of the last 349 episodes, today is number 350 by the way, everything we’ve learned remains true. Our experience absolutely matters. Safety always matters and our skill and competency to perform our task matters. But what we’re seeing more and more is that experience alone is no longer enough. For a long time, hiring in the fields of warehousing, manufacturing, and distribution was simple. We’d be asked if we could do the job? Had we done the job before? And could we hit the numbers? And if the answer was yes, you were probably getting hired. Today, that model doesn’t always work. Like we discussed over the last quarter, operations have changed. Expectations have changed. And the type of associate who succeeds long-term has changed as well. Two weeks ago on one of our ask me anything shows, what was that title, Not my job and a raise. We discussed how Warehouses today are not one-task environments anymore. Associates are expected to communicate clearly, be willing to learn new processes, cross-train into other roles, be willing to help cover gaps when staffing is tight, basically, wear more than one hat. We learned the phrase that’s not my job doesn’t hold much weight anymore, and frankly, it can be a career limiter. Because of that shift, I believe adaptability and mindset have become critical. Operation teams feel you can train someone how to load a trailer, how to operate equipment, and train someone on picking procedures. But they feel, and they are correct, what’s much harder to train is willingness, coachability, accountability, positivity and a strong work ethic. That’s where attitude comes in. Now when managers talk about attitude, they’re not talking about being overly cheerful or talkative. They’re talking about things like showing up on time, being willing to learn, and this one is a big one, accepting feedback without getting defensive. What else did I write down, lets see, communicating clearly and professionally. And here’s another thing we’ve spoken too, following safety rules even when no one is watching and helping teammates instead of competing against them. It’s been realized that these behaviors directly affect safety, productivity, and culture. A highly experienced associate with a poor attitude can do more damage to the team than someone brand new who wants to learn. They may ignore procedures, resist change, create friction on the floor, influence others negatively, and even push back against leadership. On the other hand, an associate with limited experience but a strong attitude often becomes one of the most valuable people on the team within just a few months. I’m finding this is especially true in general labor roles, loading and unloading, order picking, packing and sorting, and any kind of material handling positions. These are physically demanding jobs. They require teamwork, pace, and focus. I’m seeing how a positive attitude in these roles shows up quickly with faster learning, better safety habits, better or consistent productivity, lower turnover, and stronger team morale. Many supervisors will tell you this straight out, they would rather train someone who wants to be there than manage someone who knows the job but doesn’t care. Now, let’s talk about skilled positions. Forklift operators, order selection, pallet runners, and production or manufacturing machine operators, these roles absolutely require training, experience, and a demonstrated skill. But even here, attitude matters more than many people realize. Operators today must communicate with leads and supervisors, follow system direction to a tee, and be able to adjust priorities throughout the shift, and again be willing to accept coaching, all while staying focused for long periods of time. Kind of like we said earlier, an operator with a great attitude is one that takes pride in their work, protects their equipment, respects safety rules, and helps the team succeed. I threw that one in again because I feel in this new world, a team environment, it’s worth repeating! Those qualities are separating average operators from outstanding ones. And I want to make this statement again, and we as employees and employers need to learn it, is that communication is one of the biggest reasons attitude has become so important. Warehouses today rely on radios, text alerts, shift meetings, safety huddles, and performance coaching and hand-offs between shifts. I think we’ve always walked through the motions but today, our responsibilities are more and the expectations are higher. We’re all learning, or maybe accepting, that associates who communicate well prevent problems before they happen. They ask questions. They speak up about safety. They clarify instructions and they don’t just assume. An HR manager shared with me, that he felt, that good communication usually stems from the right attitude, a willingness to listen and engage. Another major shift of thought is the expectation that associates will continuously learn and want to learn. New systems, new customers, new equipment, and new processes mean the job is always evolving. The associates who succeed are the ones who embrace learning instead of resisting it. That same HR manager shared that a strong attitude toward learning looks like curiosity, patience during training, accepting mistakes as part of growth, and wanting to improve. He feels like experience without a learning mindset eventually becomes outdated. For recruiters and hiring managers, this shift changes how they evaluate candidates. Yep, resumes matter, but they don’t tell the whole story. Behavioral questions matter more than ever. How do you handle learning something new? Tell me about a time you had to adapt. How do you respond to feedback? What motivates you at work? These kind of questions reveal mindset, and mindset predicts long-term success. We as applicants aren’t used to these types of questions. I guess in a way there’s our first opportunity to change our way of thinking! Ok, If you’re listening and you’re an applicant or associate, here’s the good news. Your attitude is your competitive advantage. You don’t need a perfect resume, and you may not need years of experience. But you do need or the new need is reliability, a willingness to learn, a strong respect for safety, and that professional communication, a positive mindset. Those behaviors get noticed quickly and they open doors. To wrap up, I know that experience will always matter in the light industrial world. But today, attitude often is a determining factor in who gets hired, who gets promoted, and who builds a long-term career. In an industry built on teamwork, safety, communication, and constant movement, mindset fuels everything else. And right now, a great attitude is more valuable than ever. If you enjoyed todays episode, share it with someone who’s entering the industry or looking to grow within it. Maybe urge them to subscribe on their favorite pod catcher or join us on Facebook or Instagram. Today is a bit of a milestone for us, 350 episodes over about 7 years. We don’t promote sponsors because I like talking about what you send us vs what advertisers want shared! We’re operations folks, not audio experts but we try and do the best we can! Anyway, Thank you for listening and emailing your questions each week. By the way, we used to do quite a bit of interviewing on the show. Some software changed on us, but we’re going back to that format occasionally here pretty soon and we’re excited about that. Until next time, stay safe, stay professional, and keep learning. That’s what it’s all about.

Hello everyone, and welcome back to Warehouse and Operations as a Career. I’m Marty and I thought we’d get to some more questions today, another Ask Me Anything episode. We had some really good ones come in, a couple of topics I’ve been wanting to get to myself. Let’s start off with this one from Carol, a forklift operator in the distribution industry. Carol feels there’s a trend developing where managers are expecting employees to do more than they were hired to. I hear this concern fairly often. When I was a counterbalance or sit-down lift operator, in a production facility, that’s what I did the whole shift. Even when I was an operator at a distribution center I typically drove for, like maybe, 80% of my day. I’d have to stop and down stack a load every once and a while or maybe partially fill a pick location or make the occasional replenishment. But I drove the lift most of the time. That was a long time ago though. I think our light-industrial workplaces, warehouses, manufacturing plants, and distribution centers are different now and for a lot of reasons. Yes, people are being asked to wear more hats. There’s more cross-training. More flexibility being demanded from us. More expectations to help outside of what used to be a very narrow job description. And for some folks, that creates frustration. You hear phrases like, that’s not my job, that’s not what I was hired to do, and that’s not in my job description. But the truth is, those days are disappearing. And I want to spend a few minutes today talking about the why, and more importantly, why that’s not a bad thing when we look at it the right way. Let’s just be honest with ourselves. Light-industrial operations today are different than they were just 5 years ago. Volumes change daily now. Staffing levels fluctuate. Customer and client expectations are higher than ever. Same day and next day shipping isn’t a luxury anymore, it’s the standard. Operations can’t stop just because one person is out or one department is short. We’ve learned that everything is connected. Inbound affects outbound. Picking affects loading. Forklift operations affect inventory accuracy. One weak link slows the entire chain down. For those reasons and a few others is where cross training comes in. Cross training isn’t about making people work harder, it’s about making operations more stable and consistent. It creates flexibility. It gives leaders options. And it keeps work moving when things don’t go exactly as planned, which, and since we’re being honest, happens a lot in our industry. Now let’s talk about that phrase, That’s not my job. I understand where it comes from. For a long time, jobs were very narrowly defined. You did one task, one function, and that was it. But that model doesn’t work well anymore, not in our industry anyway. When everyone stays locked into a single box, operations become, what’s a good word here, challenging I’ll say. One call off, one delay, one surge in volume, or orders, or trucks, and suddenly the whole shift is behind. Employers today are looking for team players. People who understand their main role, certainly, but who are also willing to help the operation succeed when needed. Now, that doesn’t mean job descriptions don’t matter. They do. But they’ve shifted from rigid rulebooks into broader descriptions. And that shift is an opportunity. Here’s something you know I strongly believe, learning more can never be a bad thing. When you learn another role, you gain perspective. When you gain perspective, you make better decisions. And when you make better decisions, you become more valuable. Remember how many times you’ve heard me say how important it is to learn the position before and after ours, where that case just came from and where it’s going after we’ve touched it! A picker who understands receiving makes fewer mistakes. A forklift operator who understands outbound stages freight better. An associate who’s helped with inventory control starts paying closer attention to accuracy. Cross training builds awareness, and awareness improves safety, quality, and productivity. That benefits the company, yes, but it also benefits us employees as well. From a career standpoint, wearing more than one hat, to use a recruiters phrase, is a plus. The more skills you have, the more valuable you become, not just to your present employer, but to the industry as a whole. When someone can share with a hiring agent or recruiter, I’ve worked inbound, outbound, this or that type of equipment, and inventory, that gets noticed. Those are the people who get tapped for lead roles. Those are the people who stay employable when things tighten up or change. Many supervisors, managers, and operations leaders didn’t get there because they stayed in one lane forever. They got there because they were willing to learn one more process, help one more department, and take on one more responsibility. That’s how careers are built in this industry. Now, let’s be clear here though. This doesn’t mean accepting unsafe work practices, and it doesn’t mean skipping training. It doesn’t mean being taken advantage of in any way. Employers have a responsibility here too. Cross training should be structured. It should be safe. Expectations should be clear. No one should be thrown into a role without proper instruction or support. When done right, cross training builds confidence instead of resentment. With that being said I’ll take this opportunity to remind us all to never get on a piece of powered industrial equipment without being trained and certified to operate it. And that goes for production or manufacturing machines also. For us employees, I think mindset matters. If you see cross-training as punishment, it will feel like punishment. And if you see it as opportunity, it becomes one. Asking questions. Being curious. Showing interest in how the operation works as a whole, those things send a powerful message. They say I care about my job. I care about my team. I care about my future. I promise you that attitude gets noticed every single time. Our light-industrial world rewards adaptability. The people who keep learning stay relevant longer. The ones who refuse to grow often struggle when processes change or roles disappear. Wearing more than one hat prepares you for what’s next, whether that’s a lead position, a specialized role, or simply long-term job security. It builds confidence. It builds competence. And it builds careers. Next up is a question from, well, they didn’t include their name, but the question was, how could I get or ask for a raise. Well, that’s a fair question. And a little complicated question, especially in our light industrial, warehouse, and distribution environments. Ok, lets look at how pay works, what managers are actually looking for, and how you can put yourself in the best position when opportunities come up. First, we need to understand the business side. In most light industrial operations, wages are set by position. General labor could pay a certain range, Forklift operators will have a range, Inventory control, leads, supervisors, etc, all of our roles are budgeted for well in advance. Companies don’t usually have the flexibility to give raises on the spot. Pay increases are planned during budget cycles, performance reviews, promotions, or when new responsibilities are added. Now that doesn’t mean raises don’t happen. It means they are earned, planned for, and justified. So instead of thinking, How do I ask for more money? I’d ask, how do I make myself worth more to the operation? How can I make my manager notice me? It’s important to know that managers notice patterns, not promises. The associates who get raises and promotions aren’t usually the loudest. They’re the most consistent. Here’s what always got my attention. First was attendance. And we talk about this all the time. Showing up on time, every shift, matters more than almost anything else. In a productivity driven environment, reliability is everything. When a manager knows they can count on you, you’re already ahead. Second is attitude. Of course this doesn’t mean every day has to be perfect. But staying professional, avoiding constant negativity, and being that solution focused team member makes a difference. Positive employees strengthen teams, and managers notice that. Third, and here’s that statement again, a willingness to learn and cross train. Again, Cross training is huge. Like we mentioned earlier, when you raise your hand to learn another role, another department, or another piece of equipment, you increase your value. You also make scheduling easier for your management team and that matters. And, Fourth would be ownership. Take responsibility for your work. Follow safety rules. Follow procedures. If you make a mistake, own it and fix it. That level of maturity builds trust and will get us noticed as well. Now lets talk about how to have that conversation. Walking into an office and saying, I need a raise, usually doesn’t get us very far. A better approach would sound something like this. I understand pay is based on positions and budgets. I enjoy working here and I want to grow. What do you need to see from me to be considered for a raise or promotion when the opportunity comes up? That shows professional maturity, it shows respect for the business. And something like that opens a productive conversation. Now you’ve turned a raise request into a development and growth plan. In our industry, raises often come through movement. General labor to equipment operator. Pallet runner to selector, receiver to inventory control, fork driver to lead. Lead to supervisor. Etc. Those steps may come with structured pay increases. But you don’t get there by waiting, you get there by preparing and planning. I’ve experience that Managers promote people who are already doing parts of the next job. Oh, and I want to mention that some positions, especially in distribution may have something like productivity pay or activity based pay, like a high productivity order selection environment, maybe even a tiered pay structure based on CPH or PPH. Where we’re paid based on what we do individually. I want us to remember though that a raise isn’t just about today’s paycheck. It’s about your future. The associates who consistently show up, stay engaged, and keep learning are the ones managers think of when new roles open up. Those opportunities usually start with something like hey, we’ve got something coming up, and we thought of you. That doesn’t happen by accident. So if you’re asking how to get a raise, here’s the honest answer, I know it’s not a simple answer but we need to be reliable, be positive, be willing to learn, be ready for more before you ask for more. That’s how raises and careers are built in the light industrial world. Well, I got to talking too much and ran out of time! I hope you got the answers you wanted. I know all that seems simple, and did you notice how and that we, ourselves, in this industry anyway, can control more of our direction and path than what we may have thought we could. If you enjoyed todays episode please share it with a friend or coworker. I appreciate you stopping in each week, and please feel free to check in on our Facebook using @whseops and our Instagram waocpodcast. And as always keep those questions coming in. Have a great, productive, positive, and safe week out there.