Leadership, Lean, Operations, Supply Chain Management, Team Taylor, Warehouse Awards, Warehousing

Working in a warehouse at times can be repetitive, demanding, and labor-intensive. How do you keep warehouse staff engaged and motivated in such an environment? One of the most important resources is a motivated team. How staff are treated and how they value the company has direct impact on our overall success and competitive advantage. With our warehouse team being such a critical part of the company Operations Manager Randy Newman in Bellevue, Nebraska came up with a creative and innovative way to keep our staff motivated.

Who doesn’t love a little friendly competition? Internal rivalry is an effective way to ignite motivation as well as boost performance and productivity. To avoid stress and hostility, great managers must know effective ways to help competition benefit the workplace. Randy has successfully implemented a friendly competition that has our warehouse staff excited and motivated for work each day. He came up with a monthly awards system that are given out to warehouse staff. Awards such as monthly picking winner, receiving winner, putaway winner, loading winner, and most improved.  These awards are based off of three different criteria accuracy, efficiency, and teamwork. It’s not all about who gets the job done fist but who does it with these three things in mind. It’s human nature to thrive on success. We simply love it when we meet a target because it’s proof of our hard work and achievements. All awards are complete with bragging rights along with a WWE style belt that can be worn for the shift or simply held for a picture to be added to our warehouse board.  

Since the implementation of Randy’s award system, we have had a great response from both warehouse staff and management. Healthy contest has made the team stronger than ever. Even though the awards are given out individually it’s teamwork that makes them possible. All in all, the awards have encouraged team members to use the competition as an opportunity for personal growth, to learn from each month’s winners, and to be more motivated. It’s creative ideas like Randy’s that are what makes Taylor’s workplace an environment for all to succeed.