Modernizing Warehouse Work
Today’s warehouse workers are experiencing a major shift in the industry. With automation redefining the positions needed in production, desired skills and positions needed to successfully operate have begun to change. Warehouse and production workers haven’t been replaced by automation. In fact, according to ZipRecruiter, jobs in Warehouse and Storage have increased by 85% in 2018 compared to the previous year. Although skills such as loading and unloading are still a necessary function to preforming the job, other skills are becoming more desirable. And with these high-level skills in heavier demand, employers are having to compete to attract skilled workers to keep up with demand.
ZipRecruiter experienced an increase in job postings that included requirements such as relationship management, technical, and mathematical skills. These three skills gained the most recognition by ZipRecruiter’s analyst and became the top reoccurring skills in the warehouse industry this year alone. Skills such as packing and stocking, however, have been in significant decline. This shift in skill set is said to be attributed to the growth of manger positions seen on ZipRecruiter. ZipRecruiter saw a 164% increase of jobs titled “Manager” or management positions available in the warehouse industry.
As automation and technology continue to integrate with the manufacturing industry, an additional 452,000 warehouse workers are predicted to be needed over the next year. This number is due in large part to the number of people using online services for everyday tasks. According to the Wall Street Journal, to fill these positions, recruiters are now searching for new labor pools and looking for candidates in other industries. However, searching for candidates in other industries isn’t a permanent solution to enticing candidates to stay in their positions for long. With a constant demand for skilled warehouse workers, these candidates are being pulled left and right to companies that offer competitive pay and benefits.
The demand for warehouse workers is predicted to climb over the next decade according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Major warehouse hubs have seen an increase in wages by over 10% in the past 8 years. Businesses like UPS are now offering incentives like retention bonuses, paid breaks, gift cards, and other perks. Perks that were once only a norm for a handful of workers are now being offered to many of those in the newly defined warehouse industry.
