Despite an emphasis on automation and robotics, one of the hottest topics at this year’s MODEX in Atlanta was hiring and retaining humans. It shouldn’t be a surprise. The U.S. unemployment rate overall was 3.9% in 2021 — the lowest it’s been since 1969, and in the transportation and warehousing sector, it dipped to 5.1% in March 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Meanwhile, the global warehouse sector workforce is forecast to grow to nearly 13 million by 2025, according to Interact Analysis’, “Warehouse Building Stock Database” June 2021 report. It’s clear that robots, however enthusiastically adopted, are not going to meet the demand alone.

Seasoned supply chain personnel expert, Kelley Wood, warned a standing-room-only audience of mostly Baby Boomers and Gen Xers that they better get savvy about attracting and retaining Millennials and Gen Z, lest they find themselves unable to pack, ship and fulfill orders. These are people born after 1977 and 1995, respectively. 

As vertical marketing manager for Honeywell’s Productivity Services and Solutions business, Wood oversees the strategic marketing direction of Honeywell’s warehouse and distribution center solutions, helping businesses focus on enhancing worker productivity, among other things.

She says the new generations typically don’t stay in any one job for long, and they have low tolerance levels for jobs they don’t like. “You can get a job working at McDonald’s for $18 an hour, with less labor than required in a warehouse,” she pointed out. 

Millennials are set to make up 75% of the global workforce by 2025, Wood said. In the workplace, they are considered the most independent workers, preferring to create their own processes rather than being told what to do. That makes them innovative self-starters, but not as enthusiastic team players as the prior generation. They also tend to be concerned with the ethics and social responsibility bona fides of the organization they work for. And they want feedback, constantly, via text, tweet and any other form of electronic communication available, rather than face-to-face. 

Gen Z, it will surprise few to hear, are super-comfortable and competent when it comes to technology. They’re also ambitious, good at multitasking, and “always on.” They’re natural entrepreneurs, and they are perfectly fine with constantly changing jobs. They also like frequent, prompt, feedback, but prefer it face-to-face.

The important point to take away from these characteristics is that the new generations of warehouse workers are not motivated purely by wages. Baby Boomers and Gen Xers chiefly sought good salaries, benefits and retirement packages, with maybe some stocks thrown in. Millennials and Gen Z want flexible schedules and social rewards, including affirmation that the work they’re doing actually matters. 

Wood said warehouse worker employers need to show they value flexibility, adaptability and creativity. But recognition of warehouse workers’ contributions to the overall business is absolutely key. She related a story about a picker in a warehouse who saw that the company’s top sales rep had been given a trip to Cancun as a reward. That worker wanted to know why he couldn’t win a trip to Cancun, since without his efforts, those sales wouldn’t have been fulfilled. “We want businesses to be collar-blind,” Wood said, referring to the idea that traditionally blue-collar jobs such as warehouse workers are just as critical to the wider outcome as white-collar management jobs. “We have to treat them the same as other workers.”

“The question is, how does a no-frills business like warehousing make the transition to this emotionally conscious approach?” she asked. Technology is a critical helper, Wood argued. She imagines two young workers crossing a parking lot in a business park to a choice of two warehouses — one that offers its workers outdated technology, the other that’s more modern. “I have wearables, I’m hands-free, I have robots working right beside me… Which warehouse do you think I’m going to choose?” Technology also helps keep constant performance scores and this is actually some Millennials and Gen Zers love, because it allows them to compete and see when they’ve achieved goals. 

Training has to change, too, and this is where technology comes to the fore again, reducing the number of skills workers need to learn, enhancing human workers with “wearable” devices that make their jobs easier, and speeding up learning with gamification and other tech-heavy approaches. Workers need to get up to speed faster than they have in the past, Wood warned. “In a warehouse, it’s tough to have people constantly coming in and out,” said Wood. “So you either embrace automation and robotics, or get your workers up and running in hours, not days.”