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New York (CNN Business)
- The most difficult jobs for large chains in the United States to fill are not those found inside stores to serve customers and stock the shelves.
They are in their warehouses selecting items, packing boxes, and loading trucks.
Amazon, Walmart, Dollar Tree, and other retailers are offering pay raises, hiring bonuses, and better tuition reimbursement packages to address staffing shortages in their warehouses.
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Competition for warehouse workers was already intense before the pandemic. Stores were adding jobs to their warehouses and logistics networks as customers placed more orders online. But the pandemic has skyrocketed online shopping, increasing pressure on retailers to hire staff at their warehouses. Now, retailers are rushing to add additional warehouse staff as they prepare for the busy holiday season amid a record number of unfilled jobs.
52% of retailers say they have "significant difficulties" in hiring warehouse workers, according to an Aug. 4 survey by manager search company Korn Ferry of more than 80 grocery, drug and clothing store chains.
33% of retailers surveyed said they had such problems hiring warehouse employees.
Amazon, Walmart and other companies are rushing to hire staff for their warehouses, offering more benefits.
(Credit: Rachel Jessen / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"Demand for DC workers continues to skyrocket," said Craig Rowley, Korn Ferry's senior customer partner specializing in retail.
"Everyone who has a desire to be a distribution center worker already has a job."
Retail warehouse jobs that fulfill customers' online orders and pack and ship merchandise to stores are often more difficult to fill than typical in-store jobs for a number of reasons, say experts in trade, contracting and logistics.
These are the sectors where the level of employment prior to the pandemic has not returned
Warehouse jobs, such as forklift and equipment operators, truck loaders, and shipping and receiving clerks, are often more physically demanding than traditional jobs in stores, such as cashiers.
Unlike most stores, warehouses operate 24 hours a day, so companies must find workers willing to work late or late shifts.
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Warehouses are often located on the outskirts of cities or in rural areas, so the number of workers available to hire is less than in city-center stores and travel time is less attractive to potential candidates.
"Distribution centers are often clustered outside of large metropolitan areas, so there are fewer people to hire," says Rowley.
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"Very competitive out there"
The peak holiday season has already begun for retailers' warehouses, and chains have been quick to find staff.
That's because retailers are loading inventory now in their warehouses to prepare to ship to stores and customer homes in time for holiday shopping, said Matthew Hertz, co-founder of e-commerce consultancy Second Marathon.
"Inventory that will be sold online and in brick-and-mortar stores over the holidays is now being unloaded from containers at ports, transported to warehouses, and prepared for shipment," Hertz said.
One factor that increases the need for additional workers is that companies are trying to bring in more products than they need, known as inventory planning "just in case," to ensure there are no setbacks during the holidays, he said.
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In recent months, retailers have offered cash bonuses as an incentive to fill a number of positions in stores and warehouses.
The last round aims to fill the warehouse and logistics positions.
Walmart began offering warehouse workers biweekly pay raises of several dollars an hour through January.
Some workers have also been offered retention bonuses of up to $ 1,000 for four weeks for not missing any shift in July and August.
The Wall Street Journal initially reported on these measures.
"The situation is very competitive right now. This helps a lot with retention and hiring," said Scott Pope, a spokesman for Walmart.
Walmart is gearing up for the holiday shopping season by bringing in additional inventory and wants to have its entire workforce ready for the holiday rush, Pope said.
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Dollar Tree said last week that it is offering a $ 1,000 bonus to warehouse workers hired between June 27 and September 4 who stay for 90 days.
Burlington Stores is also offering a $ 1,000 bonus for some warehouse positions for the first time.
Amazon announced in May that it was hiring 75,000 workers across its logistics network and that it would raise the starting salary to $ 17 an hour, on average, above its minimum rate of $ 15. The company also offers hiring bonuses. up to US $ 1,000.
"We're spending a lot of money on hires and incentives," Brian Olsavsky, Amazon's chief financial officer, said last month.
"The job market is very competitive. And certainly the biggest contributor to the inflationary pressures that we are seeing in the business."
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Ahold Delhaize, the parent company of grocery stores Stop & Shop, Giant and Food Lion, has increased hourly wages between $ 2 and $ 4.50 for distribution center workers, up 30% from increase depending on the market.
The company has also modified its college tuition reimbursement program for warehouse workers who take classes on their own, so that the reimbursement is effective immediately after the worker is hired.
Previously, workers had to wait for tuition reimbursement, and Ahold hopes the change will help attract talent heading into the fall semester.
Adrienne Heil, Ahold's head of supply chain human resources, said supermarket warehouse functions are "difficult jobs to fill" because they are physical jobs, the work is often done in cold temperatures, handling fresh and frozen items. , and you have to do night shifts, unlike the stores.
"These are some of the additional challenges that we have in a distribution center environment versus a store environment," he said.
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