thoughtleaders SUSAN RIDER
the night shift because you find out
all kinds of things on the night shift.
Most consultants don’t even come
to the night shift. But for me, spending some time on the
night shift is a priority. I
go in looking at how
simple things, little golden nuggets, in your facility can increase productivity and efficiency 10
to 30 percent.
We are also focused a
lot on training. I get so
frustrated at facilities
when they don’t focus at all on
training. Usually when they want to
cut the budget, they cut it in training. Then they wonder why they
have massive employee turnover
and why they aren’t very efficient.
It’s because they haven’t focused on
the elements that they need to focus
on in order to become successful.
Training is huge.
QIsn’t that also a big part of the
problem when a company is
disappointed with the ROI on, say, a
major technological investment?
AYou are absolutely
right.
QThey spent a gazil-lion dollars on a
system. The system was
properly specified. It
serves their needs perfectly. It was installed
correctly. But they never
showed the line workers
how to use it.
AThat’s sadly very typical. They
may focus on—and provide
funding for—training at the beginning of the process, but unfortunately in today’s distribution centers, your turnover rate is anywhere
from 40 to 80 percent a year. So you
have to have a training budget every
single year. I suggest that companies
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go through a training process—and a validation of the value of the training being
provided—every six months. That is where
the rubber hits the road. Everybody learns a
different way. I am into “feel, touch, see
training,” then validating that the training
stuck. If it didn’t, then we go in and do some
individual coaching to make sure that they
have the tools to do their jobs properly.
But to your specific question, you are
absolutely right. People spend millions and
millions of dollars on software and don’t
invest in training year after year. Three to
six years later, when they go back and do an
audit of that system, they often realize that
they’re only using maybe 30 to 40 percent
of the functionality that they paid all those
millions of dollars for.
QI know another of your company’s
specialties is helping clients with
recruitment and retention. What are some
of the key issues there?
AThe first part of the problem is that
many companies still don’t realize
they are going to have to get creative to
attract people. The new generation workforce, some call them the “millennials,” are
a different breed of people. Companies
need to realize that, and they need to
understand that if they don’t take steps to
make their workplace attractive to millennials, they face extinction. They just need to
be more creative. How do I attract these
people? How do I need to change the way
we do things?
There is a Fortune 50 company where
they still wear shirts and ties to work at the
manager level in a distribution center, in
manufacturing. They are an old company
that has not evolved with the millennials. I
don’t see very many millennials saying,
“Woo-hoo, I want to go to work for that
company and wear a shirt and tie every
day.” Most of those kids never, ever want to
wear a tie. The times aren’t just changing,
they have already changed.
QSo what do these companies need to
do?
ARecognize that things have changed
and be willing to change the way their
positions are structured to accommodate
that. For instance, consider the employee
who wants to shift to being a full-time
