Woman selects box in warehouse for coworker on tow tractor

Jan/san distributors who hire Millennials for warehouse positions will quickly discover that this generation of workers is very different than Gen X-ers and Baby Boomers.

A quarter of the U.S. population is made up of 83.1 million Millennials, or those born between 1982 and 2000, according to the Census Bureau. Although Millennials specifically state they aspire to work in technology, medical or entertainment fields, with so many members of this generation in the workforce, they will be applying for warehouse jobs.

Unlike previous generations, Millennials are likely to switch jobs often. The average tenure for a Millennial is 3.2 years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor. However, there are three things distributors can do to lengthen this time, or at least, make those few years productive, according to an article from MultiBriefs.

Millennials prefer defined roles and the ability to learn new roles and move up a company ladder. Admittedly, this can be difficult in a warehouse environment where the next “rung” is a supervisor level. However, distributors can try creating “Specialists” that focus on specific tasks, from the basic to more advanced. Millennials can make it their goal to move higher along this track.

To Millennials, time is money. They would much rather work for a company that offered them flexible hours than more pay. One example of this is to have Millennials work a longer warehouse shift, but during fewer days of the week. This will allow them plenty of personal time for family and friends.

Finally, Millennials crave recognition and feedback. They want to share their ideas and know that management is listening. Managers should touch base with Millennial employees often and not just when there is a problem. Conversations can be work or personal related. Millennials just want to be recognized as a person and not a faceless name in the company.

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