The Supervisor
The single largest determinant of whether somebody stays, promoted for the wrong reasons and trained for none of it.
Analysis
People
The best picker becomes the team leader, which selects for output and says nothing about the four conversations the job actually is.
6 notes
Absence and Attendance
Warehouse absence is high, partly structural and partly created by the way it is managed. What distinguishes the two.
Analysis
A Multilingual Workforce
Multilingual warehouse workforces are the norm, and the arrangements built for a single language produce avoidable attrition and avoidable injury.
Analysis
What It Is Like to Work There
The everyday texture of a shift decides retention more than any programme, and it is made of small things that cost almost nothing to fix.
Analysis
Conversations Supervisors Have to Have
Five short exchanges that determine most of the retention outcome, none of which is why anybody was promoted, and all of which can be taught.
Procedure
Conflict, Grievances and the Things That Fester
Interpersonal problems on a warehouse floor are resolved early, cheaply and informally, or they become a departure and occasionally a claim.
Analysis