Many HR specialists and managers feel uncomfortable when they need to hire operational staff – e.g. employees for the warehouse, production, distribution. This discomfort comes from the feeling for lost time and constant running in seeking new people because the people in this area leave their jobs quite often.

Acctually the selection and hiring operational staff is easy as there are only two main criteria for selection: the person to be honest and to be willing to work. All the rest can be learned. The difficulties come when there is lack of organized working process. And because the manual work is widely used in the warehouse, production and distribution, it is logical the labor force turnover to be very high.

Here are some steps which may quickly take us down from the whirligig in seeking people:

1. Stabilizing the work environment. The most valuable thing for the operational staff is stability. Thus we have to fix it first via:

1. Establishing order, organization and keeping the rules.

When there are written rules and all employees know them and keep them strictly, the work goes easier. Even if we hire a new unexperienced for our industry person, he may easily learn and deliver quality service if he knows the procedures. In the same time he should be sure that if he delivers high quality, we will receive the promised salary on time. One of the teasing factors is applying rules to operational departments only while the rest departments circumvent the rules and miss the deadlines. This is teasing because breaking the rules blocks the normal work flow in supply chain. And the supply chain people usualy are dynamic and want to achieve the set goals.

2. Establishing an entry probram for every new employee.

Assure that the first 2-3 working days of the new colleague are spent in introduction with the team, environment and procedures. Give him time to look around, to feel as a team and company member, to start longing for the firm. Getting him aware about our standards and work expectations we inform him what we tolerate and what is not tolerated at all – respectively we expect from him to interflow and give his contribution. The entry program gives the global view necessary for assimilating the connections among the departments.

3. Attach the new-comer to a mentor who to involve him in the job and inflame his enthusiasm still from the beginning. The training of the new colleague should be done by a program, preagreed between the general manager, the supply chain manager and the HR manager. This is the sure way that introduction is systematical, effective and according the set deadlines.

4. Registering the progress. Using monthly assessments you may achieve open relationship and clearness about tasks. By assessing your subordinates and when they give their feedback, there is empathy about the common goals and the team is more effective. The assessment is objective if it is based on facts – this convinces the employee that he has been evaluated adequately.

5. Fear rewards and penalties.

The operational staff is rarely rewarded for achievements of the department or the company. Usually the bonuses are given to the managers. In the same time when damages or loses appear, the penalties are paid by the workers. Let’s clarify that no manager achieves the goals by himself only, he needs his subordinates. The right approach means giving bonuses to everyone in the supply chain team when the global goals are over achieved.

      6. Stable, fixed working time.

Apart from payment, the other important factor for the operational staff is the fixed working time and no work during weekends. As the physical work is essential for supply chain and production, the people need to rest for two consecutive days. Otherwise they are exhausted, their health suffers and respectively they seek new jobs. The fixed working time could be accomplished via annual, monthly and weekly planning of activities and resources. Then the work goes smooth, the human resources are not amortised and the staff is happy.

2. Announcing the privileges to work in the company.

After we have built ideal environment for work and staff development, we may start selecting the best for us people. All our current employees should be convinced that they are lucky to work in our firm. Without any modesty we have to regularly announce the advantages we give. And so the people will become our walking advertizing. Just then except honesty and willingness to work, we may add thousands other criteria for selection and we shall not be afraid that we shall suffer from lack of operational staff. Because the environment in our company is rather good and attracts capable and diligent employees. The HR specialists and managers in the big and arranged companies do not spend their time in selection mainly. Their main job is to find ways to motivate more and more the staff and to keep the already trained personnel. Just on the opposite site are the HR specialists in the companies where there are no rules – they are exhausted to launch job announcements and to constantly look for new people who usualy leave very soon.

In the job announcement apart from the standard requirements, the firms should also point the benefits for the candidate to join this firm. The benefits, in the eyes of the operational staff, are the six points listed above. If we share them during the interview and set clearly our expectations, the candidates will accept the job with pleasure and will contribute to the company until going into pension.

Hiring and keeping operational employees is realy easy even in sectors traditionally marked as difficult to work in. But if we prepare the soil and create normal working conditions, the candidates will come and the labor turnover will tend to zero.