Rapid growth caused a distribution center to fall behind in its order processing. Pressure from top management put stress on the warehouse leadership team and they struggled to keep good people. The constant churn of staff (30+/yr) created a state of pandemonium and an environment that was not fun to work in. As we looked at the bigger picture this is what we discovered.

The Challenge:

1. There was no vision for the future.​
2. No strategy existed to change the current situation.
3. Job descriptions were out of date and inaccurate.
4. Compensation was significantly lower than the local wages for similar jobs.
5. Unemployment in the local area was less than 5%.
6. Expectations were vague and there was no regular feedback or communication with the staff.
7. There was no time for training and development of staff members.
8. Employees were not flexible in their ability or willingness to cross over to help with multiple functions.
9. There was an increased number of injuries resulting in more modified work assignments.
10. No feedback was obtained from the team members and new ideas were not encouraged.

The Solution:

• Created a new vision to change the world through the resources that were being distributed.
• ​Updated job descriptions & compensation.
• Created a career path and opportunities within the division and company as a whole.
• Part of the compensation was linked to the number of functional area that were mastered.
• Implemented a performance management system. This was set up to be interactive throughout the year, with a formal touch base each quarter with each staff member.
• Recognized an individual or team each month with the Supply Chain Excellence award.
• Conducted annual staff feedback surveys

The Results:

• Increased staff engagement. The team became excited about their work.
• Staff became eager to work cross-functionally and meet the needs of the organization.
• Fewer staff called in sick.
• Many employees on reduced assignments received doctors permission to increase their scope of work.
• Turnover dropped to less than 10% per year.
• Team members self esteem improved and Directors & VP's from other divisions commented on the change.