Every employee in every position wants to do a good job. However, I found we often need reminding about what a good job is, more than we need teaching about what a good job is. And, since everyone and their mother are constantly telling us how to be good leaders, I decided to tell those that aren t in leadership positions, YET, what they can do to be a good employee. Below are 16 tidbits I put together while researching and writing a white paper with the same title. I decided to shorten it up and this is what I came up with: 1. Work While At Work: The average American worker wastes 2.9 hours per day. When you include lunch and breaks that means the average employee works for 4.5 hours a day. 2. Charge Your Cell Phone at Home: I have seen order pickers have to stop working and get off of the Forklift, because someone cell phone was charging and they could not get by without moving the cell phone and the charger out of the way. 3. Stop Complaining About Your Pay: You negotiated it or accepted it, if you are not happy with it, find another job. It is disruptive when one employee talks about their salary. Ben Franklin said, If you want to get rich, diminish your wants or augment your means. It is best to do both simultaneously. 4. Help Out Your Boss: Ask them what projects they are working on and can you help. If your boss replies no, then he or she is an idiot and you should start looking for another job anyway. Any supervisor worth their salt will gladly accept the assistance and the opportunity to assist with your career advancement. 5. Stay Away From Negative Individuals: For two reasons, everyone in the organization already knows how negative they are and you don t want to be associated with them. My mother always told me, You are known by the company you keep! Two, if you are around them enough, you will ultimately begin believing what they are saying. 6. Find Out What Average is And Beat it By 10%: No one wants to be average, therefore to move away from the pack and do more. Every week
monitor your progress. Average people are the ones on the news complaining about the company laying-off half of its work force. 7. Find Out What Your Best Day Was and Beat it By 10% Consistently: It amazes me to see our culture engulfed with mediocrity, then when there is an incentive we always do better. Do better on your own without anyone telling you. 8. Clean Up: Don t walk past that Coke can today: Tell someone about the ladder that is broken today. Tell someone about the blown light bulb today. The problem with most warehouses is not a lack of productivity but the lack of a broom. Most shipping errors happen because the packing area is a mess. Most inventory errors happen because the aisles are a mess. Most receiving errors happen because the receiving area is a mess. Do something about it today! 9. Read an Industry Magazine Article Twice a Week: After high school the average American worker never picks up a book. In order to Earn More You Must Learn More! Warehouse Management Systems, RFID, Pick-to- Light, Voice Directed Picking they are all coming to your warehouse sooner or later. The more you know about them before they get to you, the more valuable you are once they arrive. Side Note: I read somewhere that most people only learn 5 new words a year. And without fail in study after study the highest paid people in the organization have the best vocabulary. What better way to improve your vocabulary, and potentially your salary, than to read. 10. Find Out the Progression Within the Warehouse: That means if you are a picker what is the next position above that. Document what position you want next. If the next position from picking is receiving, then when a position for inventory control becomes available, and you are a picker, you will know why you may not be considered. But also you need to ask what it takes to move to the next position and begin working on it. 11. Stay Out of The Customer Service Office: Inside Sales personnel get paid to take sales calls not talk to warehouse personnel. That does not mean they are better than you, it means they have a job to do. And customers should not be placed on hold because the person who should be taking the call is chitchatting with a warehouse guy about the game the night before.
12. Learn The Names of The Company s Top 25 Customers: You have to know who patronizes your organization. But you really have to know who spends the most with your organization. I know ever small customer has the potential to become a big customer. But as Bear Bryant said, Potential Means You Ain t Done It Yet! 13. Complete What You Start: When assigned a task complete it! Then tell your supervisor, who assigned it to you, that it was completed and they can scratch it off of their list. After they scratch it off, ask, What s Next! 14. Keep a Note Pad and Take Notes With It: A lot of warehouse supervisors do not keep accurate notes. They think they can remember everything. Therefore make it your responsibility to take notes of the tasks you are assigned. This shows your supervisor that you care enough to write it down. It also shows their supervisor that you are a conscientious employee. 15. Go To Lunch With Your Supervisors Boss: Believe it or not, Business is emotional. People trust people they know. When your supervisor puts your name in for a new position, it is good if the person responsible for approving it already knows who you are. 16. Keep Track of The Amount of Work You Produce: Most of us are self motivated individuals. If you pick 100 orders today, and you know it, you will not pick less tomorrow. Without anyone telling you to, you will always try to do better than you did the previous day. If you have read the book, This Place Sucks! What your warehouse employees think about your company and how to change their perceptions! you already know several of these ideas and more are discussed in detail in the book. If you have not read the book, before you tell a colleague that the company you work for sucks try one of these ideas each day. Then when you complete them, start over. Send me your feedback in 30 days and tell me how you feel about your company after that. I guarantee your perception will have changed along with your pay. If you still have problems with employees and your company after that, then you should visit our website, www.logisticsociety.com, and take a look at our
program, This Place Sucks! It is an onsite interactive Employee/Management training program. The program, This Place Sucks! is interactive so the attendee can learn from their own experiences as well as the knowledge we provide. The program is designed to inform and educate the attendee about the influence of their employee s negative perceptions of the organization and the affect that perception has on the company and the quality of service it provides to its customers. Rene Jones is widely known in the industry as the founder of Total Logistics Solutions, Inc. (www.logisticsociety.com) a warehouse efficiency company. He is now the President and CEO of AHN Corporation (www.ahninc.com) a Warehouse Management Solutions provider to small and medium sized businesses. Rene was recently recognized for his achievements in the industry by Supply and Demand Chain Executive and was named one of the to 25 Pros to Know in the industry for 2005. Rene has been published and quoted in industry magazines throughout the United States, Central America, Canada and Australia. He is the author of the acclaimed boo, This Place Sucks (What your warehouse employees think about your company and how to change their perceptions! ) and the book WMS 101 A Complete Guide to: Selecting, Implementing and Maintaining a Warehouse Management System). Rene has been called one of the most dynamic speakers and presenters in the industry. Rene s humor and real world knowledge should be heard by everyone in the organization, Especially the Warehouse! His 18+ years of experience in consulting, training, warehousing, logistics, and as an executive has allowed him to use that knowledge to assist and turnaround small and large multinational organizations alike,
making them more efficient and profitable. Rene can be reached at (818) 353-2962 or by email at rene.jones@ahninc.com.