Ramping up for your Order Fulfillment Holiday Rush
Do you need to ramp up warehouse staffing for increased order fulfillment activity this holiday season? Getting the right short-term help is critical for a smoother holiday season. Read on for some hints for bringing in the right people for your 2011 holiday rush.
Before starting your hiring process, have a clear understanding of the type of help needed, how many hours are needed and when. Know your forecasted order counts and the number of orders your warehouse can ship per hour worked. These numbers will vary by account and product, making this a highly involved but critical calculation to master. Use this calculation to determine how many pickers, packers and shippers are needed to support your holiday order fulfillment needs.
When creating your job posting or working with a staffing agency, clearly communicate whether the position is temporary or may become permanent based on job performance. Make sure that the job posting is very clear about the warehouse location and any specific conditions such as limited heat, etc. Also make a clear list of job requirements, including the specific hours to be worked and any special requirements such as heavy lifting or knowledge of particular information systems.
If possible, always try to rehire temporary workers from a previous holiday season. This will reduce training time and will probably result in fewer mistakes than a brand new hire. If you currently have high-performing part-time employees, ask them to consider adding extra hours to support the holiday season.
A recommended approach for the interviewing process is to hold a five-minute phone interview before meeting with any candidates. This phone interview will allow you to clearly explain the job requirements and will hopefully give you a reasonable sense of the candidate’s enthusiasm about the job.
After the phone interview, bring in your selected candidates for an in-person interview and warehouse tour. Make sure that the candidate sees the business in operation to have a clear understanding of the job and an opportunity to ask questions.
When you have hired your temporary warehouse staff, provide them with adequate training and mentorship to ensure success. Ask a supervisor to check their work over the first couple of days to find and correct any problems early on.
We hope these hints may help your warehouse staffing process for the 2011 holiday season. To gain more order fulfillment perspectives or learn more about the fulfillment services provided by Fulfillment America Inc., visit our website to request more information.