Better Warehouse Tools Improve Recruitment and Retention

There’s nothing more gratifying to me than visiting a customer’s DC and hearing from shop-floor workers that they like and even enjoy using Lucas Systems’ mobile applications featuring Jennifer voice. Of course, user feedback runs the gamut from those who chafe at every change (let’s face it, there are plenty of glass-half-empty types in every job), to those who have a good experience but expected nothing less – the ho-hum, it’s “fine,” reactions. And then there are people who say Jennifer has helped make their lives better. I recently met one of those people – let’s call her Jane – on a visit to Imperial Distributors.

If this was just a feel-good, human-interest story, you might not be too interested in reading about Jane. But the fact is that having happier workers has tangible benefits for any business: satisfied workers stay with their employers longer, perform better, and help recruit and retain other good employees. And recruitment and retention is an important issue for all DCs.

So let’s look at Jane’s story. I was in Imperial’s area on other business, and we at Lucas make it a point to periodically visit customer locations to check in. My purpose was to see how the Lucas software was performing and offer training tips or suggestions to make sure supervisors and workers are getting the most of the solution.

All of the pickers at Imperial were doing a good job, and one in particular was smiling broadly and eager to provide her feedback. That was Jane. When I mentioned Jane to the area supervisor, she said Jane’s smile is a new addition since Jennifer came on board. Jane herself told me that working with Jennifer has improved her life. Before, she was so worried about making mistakes using paper pick lists that she would double-check herself on each pick. With Jennifer, she said she just listens, confirms her work, and moves along. Jane is more productive and accurate, and she feels less stress.

Like I said, this is more than just a human-interest story. Jane struck me as a conscientious, hard worker – the type of person we all want to work alongside, work for, or hire to work for us. Giving Jane better tools to do her job improved her work life and made it even more likely that she would stay with Imperial, and maybe even spread the word to friends and acquaintances.