Warehouse employees continue to champion better safety conditions and workplace rights. In our latest trendspotting post, we gather the latest news and labor trends that are most relevant to your organization.
New York warehouse worker protection bill signed into law
A New York law that aims to improve safety and accountability within warehouses goes into effect February 19. The Warehouse Worker Protection Act (S. 8922/A. 10020) requires employers to disclose warehouse working conditions and employee work speed data. It’s patterned after an earlier law passed in California and may lead to similar laws in other states. We’ll take an in-depth look at the implications of such laws for warehouse operators in an upcoming blog.
Warehouse employees advocate for their needs
In addition to a growing focus on warehouse safety and accountability issues, workers are increasingly advocating for their own needs. “In all corners of the warehouse, workers are making their voices heard. And that’s a good thing…supply chain is a team sport.”
Glean insights for the future from your data
Through tools like a Labor Management System System, many different warehouse labor data sets are collected, such as order fill rate and units per hour. By choosing which insights are your “north star” measurements, you can maximize your data’s positive impact on your warehouse and employees.
Be wary when it comes to automation
Automation can seem like an easy fix for labor shortages, but Amazon’s experience suggests automation investments don’t always generate the hoped-for ROI. “With the prospect of higher interest rates and a slowing global economy, Amazon may decrease or eliminate other automation investments.”
Our perspective:
Stay out in front of new employee protection laws by maintaining a labor management program, including labor management software and fair performance expectations. That will assure your employees are treated fairly and help reduce turnover. Learn more about the importance of setting fair and equitable performance expectations.
And when it comes to automation solutions, make sure you’re calculating the proper return on investment by first assuring you’re optimizing the capability of your current environment and staff. A Labor Management System System (LMS) can provide you with the labor data you need to accurately determine your ROI.
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