Of the 16,992 U.S. warehouses in 2016, Marco Trottman and
Sam Zhang of Westernacher & Partner Consulting Inc. state
that just over 10 percent utilized “sophisticated automation.”
Even a generous estimate of 20 percent means that over 13.5
of the almost 17 thousand U.S. warehouses in 2016 didn’t have
sophisticated automation like an automated storage/ retriev-
al system (AS/RS). That’s still a realistic number for today’s
warehouses when you consider a Willis Towers Watson survey
that has business leaders projecting 17 percent of work will be
automated by 2020. It’s quite clear, even though the perception
of warehouses being old and antiquated is wrong, they’re not
evolving fast enough technology-wise to keep pace with the
mindset of the millennial jobseeker - who went from dial-up
internet as a child, to streaming movies and shopping for a pair
of shoes on their phones, by their late teens or mid-20s.
Creating Work-Life Balance
Warehouse automation creates a desirable work environment
for millennials. Research shows that millennials desire a place
that offers them: a good work-life balance, meaningful work, a
sense of purpose, increased influence and professional develop-
ment training programs.
Millennials desire a good work/life balance, which requires
flexibility in their schedules. And though the traditional 9:00
to 5:00 presence in the workplace is increasingly questioned by
all employees, it’s especially questioned by millennials whose
life-long relationship with technology has them easily commu-
nicating with someone across the globe or accessing devices in
their homes while lounging on a beach. Their view of the world
is that you don’t have to be physically present to interact with
someone or something. That’s their view of the workplace, too.
Some flexible work schedules that appeal to millennials are:
•
•
•
Telecommuting – working from a remote location or home
office.
Alternative or part-time schedules – the ability to work
outside of the traditional 9:00 to 5:00 shift or to choose
what/how many hours they’ll work in a given week so they
can attend to other responsibilities or interests.
Ample time off – millennials travel more than any other
generation, so they desire more than the standard two
vacation weeks per year.
Because automation can be used to optimize an existing labor
force, increasing productivity from 200 percent to 600 percent,
automated systems support flexible staffing measures by en-
abling just one worker to handle the picking. With automation
in place, a company can comfortably allow all of its employ-
ees—not just millennials—greater flexibility in choosing when
they want to start and finish work, or to implement variable
shift schedules that give employees more time off.
Desired Sense of Purpose
Millennials want more than flexible schedules and meaning-
ful work. However, meaningful as defined by their parents or
grandparents – a six-figure income and fancy title – isn’t how
they define it. According to Marc LeCuyer, General Manager for
ServiceNow’s Canadian operations, “They’re saying ‘I want pur-
pose in my work, I want to be doing meaningful work, and if
I’m going to spend this much time in the office over the course
of my life, I want it to be important and impactful, and I want to
be at my best.”
An automated warehouse can, in many ways, give millennials a
sense of purpose and meaning in their work. Millennials believe
automation will help them be more productive and, of the half
that responded to a Deloitte survey said, it will give them more
time to spend on creative and value-add activities. Automa-
tion allows employees to tackle increasingly more interesting
projects, and not focus only on the mundane parts of their role.
Automation frees workers to think more strategically, which
ultimately benefits the organization.
Advancement in the Workforce
Another desire of the millennial worker is to have opportunities
to progress in their job and take on leadership roles where they
can have more influence not just on other employees, but on
organizational goals and corporate social responsibility (CSR).
A Deloitte survey reveals that 44 percent of millennials believe
automation will offer them with more influence within their
organizations. This influence is a direct result of the tech-sav-
vy millennial’s proclivity to, and thirst to be experts at, new
technologies. As an expert, they will understand and strategize
(influence) the best way for all stakeholders to utilize new tech-
nologies to achieve organizational goals, mentor and train older
employees and be the torchbearer for all generations in terms of
making CSR a norm on a global scale.
Millennials also have a strong desire for professional develop-
ment. In fact, almost two-thirds said professional development
offered by an employer is more important than pay raises on an
annual basis. Again, millennials’ career aspirations and employ-
er expectations aren’t what company executives, primarily baby
boomers and Gen Xers, are accustomed to. They’re not going to
attract them with money (alone). Additionally, many millen-
nials feel that the education they spent so much to get hasn’t
properly prepared them to enter the workforce. Therefore, they
want to work for companies where they know there will be
ongoing professional development provided by the employer.
Warehouse automation is the perfect solution to give millenni-
als the opportunity for professional development. It’s also a bea-
con to the millennial jobseeker because the constantly evolving
technology means continual training.
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The Satellite Review
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